The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1895-07-19
CRUSHED HUMANITY.
Frtg htfui Accident al the fiks F~stivt.
ssss-A Lsr<. Number OF People njur~d.
some of Whom VIII die. by the sudden
Collapse of Platform Upon Whioh Oac
Thousand Persons Hal Assembled.

some of Whom VIII Die. by the Sudden
Collapse of a Platform Upon Which Oas
Thousand Persons Hal Assembled
ATLANTIC Crrr. y. j.. July IA
Srightfnl accident terminated the Elk
festivities at the lllet Casino last
night, IN which large number OF per
sons sustained terrible injuries, from
which somr will die. 1t was at $50
o'clock. when the grand exalted
ruler OF the Buffalo body. Meade Dit
wiier. OF Harrisburg. bad finished his
address at the opening OF the social
session Of the ElAs, and was about TO
Introduce James A. Armstrong,
of New York. when crack
from tile stand was heard A mo-
ment later the stand. upon which
were almost n thousand people. slowly
opened. and mass of humanity was
precipitated 10 the first floor. n dis
fance of twenty-ive feet Men. women
and children were plunged into the
hole and upon one another. The cries.
shrieks and groans were deafening
and the dire>t confusion reigned.
An alarm was Immediately sent out.
and all the physicians in town re-
sponded. The work of extricating the
injured proceeded rapidly. and by Il
o'clock they were all removed TO the
hospital or the hotels.
BY > o'clock more than l. 200 persons
had gathered on the second floor of
the pavilion. anticipating a pleasant
evenings enjoyment. The bands at
tached 70 the visiting lodges had given
fine concert, and Capt. samuel
Perry. Of the Atlantic City lodge. had
just begun the preliminaries % start
ing the social session. The night was
lovely one and as the strains OF the
music f,oated out over the ocean il
seemed that more Joyous crowd
could not have been gathered together
anywhere. But there were several
hundred If the people who had no
ticed the vibration OF the floor. and
left the pavilion fearing that the
great weight would lead to its de-
struction and the consequent injury of
the merry masters Among those eau
tious people We're a number OF the
members ~ .he Camden lodge, prom
incnt among whom were ex-Assernblv-
man William J. Thompson and County |
Clerk Robert J. Barber. Of Camden.
Fearing 20 create panic, they I
quietly approached some members OF /
visiting lodges and discussed with /
them the advisabi.ity Of bringing the \
affair 70 a close. 50 a To relieve the 4
floor % 4 portion Of the weight While
they we-e vet talking. the crash came.
"A portion %. the door. some thirty feet
square. located near the middle Of the
pavilion and near the railing on the
board walk side came tumbling down.
bringing along probably 100 people.
In second the electric lights on the
second hoo- were extingaished. but
luckily those on the lower iioor KEEP,
burning long enough TO permit some
OF the panic-stricken people to get TO
the stairway. which remained intact.
and reach the board walk. Men.
women AMI children were damned to-
Gether. trying TO escape by the stair
way. while the victims ~ the crash
were screaming for aid TO extricate
them from the fallen beams and tim
bcrs.
When the first feeling Of panic mad
the surviving EllSs gallantly
rushed to the rescue of their injured
brothers and friends. indifferent a. TO
the danger that confronted them. as
they did not know the instant the re-
'nainder 81 the pavilion might bury
them beneath its ruins While the !
work ~ rescue was going on the lights I
on the first ioor became extinguished
and plunged the place into darkness. !
Men ran 20 the car barn Of the trolley !
road near by and obtained a number |
Of headlights from the cars These
were most useful in assisting the work
nj the reScuers I
In the meantime. the people who {
were seated in the vicinity Of the break I
found themselves in imminent danger
u falling through the hole. Indeed.
son.e We're obliged to clutch the edge
y The floor 10 keep themselves from
falling through. Maurice A. Rodgers.
'x-presiaent ~ the senate OF New
ierser and member OF the
.Anden lodge. was seated b- the side
" hi, wife 10 the section that fell. :,
Mrs Eo3 gers Twas precipitatel to the
ground. sustaining only nervous
'hocS. Senator Rodgers had both !
ianGs caught between two beams and I
lL1g suspended in the air until re-
cased pv some one unknown
An alarm ~ fire was turned in. but
when The ircnen arrived all the vic ,
isHs had been released Before the
arrival ~ the anbulances number Of
'mnihu>es were prcssed into service 10
AIRY away the wounded 10 their no
els or ~ TIE city hospital
he utmost excitement prevailed
.rcrywle~e On the streets and in the
iotels. ~ il was not known just who !,
raj been injured. ana most ext rayagant
tories prevailed Of the extent 81 the
'ccident These stories arose from the
act that many women tainted and had :
q bc carried out 81 the Casino and con-
eyed to their homes in carr lagos and
lmnibuSeS
% Assist the Chicago Civii Service Conn
mission. ,
WAsHINcroS. July II. J. T.. Doyle. ,
secretary ~ the United States Civil /,
service commission. will 70 to Chicago