St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-10
CRASHING WALLS.
Large Brick Blocks at Wheel
ing Collapse Without a
Warning.
FIVE DEAD IN THE DEBRIS.
Bodies Of Only Two Recovered
Several People Rescued
Badly Injured.
FIVE DEAD IN THE DEBRIS.
FLAMES ADD NEW HORRORS
no Possible Hope Of Recover
ing the Missing Victims
Alive.

WHEELING, w. Va, April AT
$50 this morning the south wall of
the four-story brick block of L. T.
Hutchinson & Co., on the corner of
Main street and the alley south Of
Twelfth, collapsed without warning.
Next north Of it, Chapman & Son
were just finishing five-story brick
block to be used as a paint, glass
and building supply store, and they
already had stored in it about $14,-
600 worth of stock and were doing
business there. Hutchinson & Co.
deal in hardware, saddlery and
wagon makers supplies, and the
building was packed full of goods.
The wall on the alley first fell out,
pulling with it the part of the wall
between Chapman's and Eutchin-
sons. People who were near say
the crack of the timber was like
the rattle of musketry, and that in
few seconds everything was rem
dered invisible by u huge cloud of
dust.
THE CRASH
of the falling buildings was terrible
and soon drew thousands to the
scene. The horror of the accident
was increased by a fire which broke
out Immediately, and as there were
large quantities of oil, turpentine
and the like in Chapman & Sons,
the situation was delicate.
AS soon as the people about the
place became cool enough to think
& 1aD%
In the Hutchinson buildings ruins
four employees, as follows:
ROBERT WINCHER.
- EUGENE BIRCH
, p. j. HORAN.
M. J. FORD.
charles Haller, the bookkeeper, and
Adam Blum, junior partner. were
penned up against the rear wall and
We're released by prying the bars off the
windows They were unhurt.
MIR. Hutchinson was in the second
story and was badly injured, but was
rescued alive and hopes are entertained
that he may recover. Ford was
reached after hard work by a large
force of men and found alive and con-
sc1ous. He was taken out after an
hours work and removed to the hos
pital. He may get well. The other
three employees are still in the ruins and
doubtless dead. When the collapse
came Ford was selling a bill of goods
TO benjamin f. Pritchard, a wagon
manufactures of Buchanannon,s w. Va.
Pritchard's dead body was found lying
across Ford's legs. He was crushed to
death.
PRIEST WAS "A VICTIM.
Shortly before the accident Very Rev.
Father f. H. Parke, vicar general of
the Catholic diocese of Wheeling, was
seen to enter the alley and he was
believed to be killed, and this belief
was sadly confirmed at $50 p. m by
the recovery of his body. He was sew
enty-tWo years old, a distinguished
clergyman, chaplain of Mount Dechan-
tai academy and having been twice
administrator of the diocese first when
Bishop Wheelan died, in 1874, and sec
ond in 1894 when Bishop Kane was
made an archbishop and removed to
st. Louis. A Western Union telegraph
messenger, Harry Cowl, aged four
teen, is also thought to have been in
the alley and his body has not been re-
covered. No others are known to be
lost. There was an early report that a
cab, its driver and four occupants were
buried by the falling walls, but this
is proved to be untrue.
The falling brick and timbers knock
ed hole thirty feet long in the three
story brick building across the alley oc-
cupied by G. NJ. Rice & Co., whole
sale milliners, and the smoke and
water ruined that firms stock The
smoke also permeated to the adjoining
house occupied by Speyer Bros, whole
sale millinery, and their loss will be
heavy. Water caused serious damage
to Greer & Laing'S hardware store and
OFT Eros & Co., hardware dealers.
The cellars were flooded for block,
ten streams playing all day, and av-
eraging LOCO gallons a minute, and
yet at o'clock the fire is not extin-
guished.
Great Indignation is expressed be-
cause at the time the old Meloden hall
property was remodeled and a story
added, in 1891, by Mr.. Hutchinson, the
walls were condemned, but he per-
sisted in using them and owing to the
lack of adequate laws, could not be
prevented.
The loss will probably aggregate
S150.00O, but owing to the fact that the
condition of the stock in adjoining
stores cannot be ascertained, the losses
can only be estimated. T. T. Hutch
inson & Co.'S loss will reach $50, 900.
Fatal to Trafnmen.
BRADFORD, Pa, April "a west
bound freight train on the Buffalo,
Rochester & Pittsburg railroad, near
Sykes, a small station between i)u-
bois and Punxsutawney, ran into a
washout on the river bank. The entire
train was dumped into the raging tor
rent. The engine and eighteen cars
We're demolished and three persons
were killed. The dead are: Engineer
Taylor, of Bradford; Fireman Shea,
Conductor Bruce.
LyEchers Hoodwinked.
ROMNEY, w. Va, April Sd. S.