The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-04-17
DEATH AND DISASTER.
TWO BUILDINGS COLLAPSE AND SIX
MEN KILLED.

MEN KILLED.
Isuddenseick Buildings Fall to the Ground
Killing and In.jurins Nen and Destroy
ing Two Hundred Thousand Dollar
Worth of Property.
WHEELING. w. Va. April ga
few minutes past o'clock this morn
ing an accident occurred which threw
the city into the greatest excitement
The fve-story building, Nos 1920 anc
1922 Main street, occupied by T. T
Hutchinson & Co.. wholesale hardware
and saddlery dealers, and w. H. Chap
man & Sons, wholesale painters anc
builders. supplies, collapsed with /;
deafening report, burying ten men be
meath the ruins. TO add to the horror
of the situation, the debris took fire
from natural gas leak, and dense
cloud of smoke arising, the efforts O
rescuers were greatly impeded. The
greatest damage to life was among the
employees of Hutchison & Cos, all ot
whom were at work.
At 9 o'clock to night the list of deaC
and missing was as follows: Father
Z. H. Parke, vicar general of Wesr
Virginia. Diocese and chaplain o1
Mount Dechantel, the Catholic semin
cry here; Benjamin Pritchard, carri
age builder, of Buckhannon, West
Virginia; Robert Wincher, employee
of Hutchison & Co; Eugene Birch,
employee Of Hutchison & Co; Michael
Horan, employee of Hutcbison s. Co
Harry Cowl, Western Union messen,
ger boy. The four injured men will
recover.
The Hutchinson building stood on the
corner of Alley 8 and Main street; the
Chapman building is adjoining Al
the hour mentioned the employees in
Hutchisons heard an ominous crack.
ing, anc without a moments warning
giving The unfortunate men time &c
make an effort to escape the alley wall
fell down with a terrific crash, carry.
ing with it the entire structures Of both
buildings. Only the rear wall re.
manied standing. Frank Haller,
Adam Blum and T. 7. Hutchison were
in the rear office and We're saved by
the aid of two men, who pried OF the
bars of back window and rescued
the men just before a fall of brIcE
buried the room.
The men in the Chapman building
Jared somewhat better. Chiffon, one OF
the workmen, noticed the plastering g
and the wall separating chem from
Hutchison's crumbling and falling
down. He Immediately gave an alarm,
and not a minute too soon, for before
the men had reached the doors bricks
and mortar were pelting them in
showers. All got out in time, how
ever.
A general alarm brought the fire de:
partment promptly to the scene, and
the work OF rescuing was commenced.
Blinded and suffocated by the dense
smoke the fremen worked like Tro-
JAMS and in about two hours the first
victim was rescued. 1twas NJ. j. Ford,
who was comparatively uninjured,
while he was lying directly across Ben.
iamin Pritchard. Pritchard was colo
in death, and medical examination
showed that he had been killed by be,
ing crushed about the chest. No more
bodies were found until $50 o'clock
this evening, when the body of Father
Parke was taken out of the debris so
horribly crushed that the body was
scarcely recognizable.
In the meantime the fire had gained
so that the fremen had to give their
entire attention towards subduing it.
After twelve hours hard work they
got the flames under control, but it
will be morning before the blaze will
be completely extinguished. Both
buildings, together with the stocks,
are total loss. \ more complete wip-
ing out of what were once handsome
structures could not be imagined.
When the first wall fell it broke off
clear down to the foundation, and not
one stone was left upon another.
The Chapman building was new and
in fact not yet finished, so the loss will
fall on the contractors \ building
across the alley, occupied by $. NJ.
Rice & Co., wholesale millinery deal
ers, was struck by the falling wall and
a big hole knocked in the side. The
building next to that was also badly
sprained and fears are entertained for
its safety. Altogether the loss will
amount to over 100000. The lnsur-
ance cannot yet be ascertained.
Father Parke, who was the Oldest
Catholic priest in the State, was walk
ing up the alley when the deplorable
affair occurred. Harry Cowle, the
messenger boy, was also killed in the
alley while returning from call.
Excitement was at fever heat, half
the police force being required to keep
back the immense crowd which quick
ly congregated. Street car travel in
Main street, one of the chief business
thoroughfares, has been blocked the
entire day.
\ startling rumor was extant this
evening that an explosion was immln-
ent, for stored in the Chapman build
ing is carload of turpentine and oil.
If the flames reach this nothing can
prevent a most horrible addition to
what is already the most disastrous
accident that. has occurred in this city.
1T 7.30 o'clock, however, Chief Healey
claims to have the blaze cut Off from
the oil.
The cause of the collapse was the de
fective construction OF the dutcnison
building, which was condemned two
years ago and the work of removing 1t
neglected.
4 Young Fiend Hanged.
COLUMBUS. O., April 1I.-Clar:es
Hart was hanged shortly after md
night in the State prison for Tie MY
der of Elsie and Ashley Goode. c..!.-
drer seven and nine years old, respec-
lively, in Pauling county, November
/. 1894. The children were gather;ug
nuts in The woods and Hart, who WAS