The morning times., 1896-01-27

| office. are disposed TO ignore the aliega tons
| OF the Federation of Labor, as TO the in
sufficient protection against danger to the
workinen on that building.
| Mr. Thorpe, speaking for the firm to
| The Evening Times Saturday, made the
statement that If there was any complaint
it must have originated with a discharged
| workman.
This statement Is untrue, for the fact is
that the ironwOrkers, before and after the
terrible accident by which Ironworker Beach
lost his life by the parsiinony of the contrac.
| tors. have never worked u day without
being exposed TO the most imminent peril
| TO their lives. There was a buff made by
the contractors. in the name of humanity,
| and under the fire of The Times. after that
shocking bitchery OF workman, TO put
| IN more protection, bat il amounted only to
Il few boards -la
There are scarcely mora than 4 few boards
now to keep the men from daily disasters.
Mr.. Thorpe says that the men he has
employed are workmen of experience and
that they can protect themselves. This is
equivalent to saying that all the protection
they have is II watchfulness over feet and
hands while they are at work at their
present dizzy height on the ninth floor.
PROTECTED THEMSELVES.
OhC paw Vi itihs thst mas
been no complaint. Against this fiagrantly
erroneous statement may DE published the
following letter:
Washington, ID. c., August 2. '95.
Mr.. John W. Kinsey,
Dear Sir: | wish to Call your attention
to the fact that different workmen employ
ed 10y other contractors OH the new post
office building have "A persistent habit of
helping themselves TO the use of my syaffold
ES m nd l-ftsr fv,-n
scaffolds prepared for my nasons to work
upon. rendering the same extremely danger
Gus, and may be the cause OF some serious
accident. i have never entered into any
contract with any one to furnish all the
scaffolding required to complete all the
different branches of work on said build
ing, confiniug myself TO purchase, and
make good strong and substa INT al sea fields
and runways or ample proportions for the
briCkwork only. Now ] desire OF you that
the men employed Icy other contractors
keep hands Off my ststffolds panks. and
runways, as ii is very annoying, expensive,
uncallel for, ana extremely dangerous.
Yours respectfully,
ARTHUR CowsILL.
EvcA Mr.. Thorpe will readily see that
while he did not provide suffiI.-ii, plank
ing, and while he contends that there is
sufficient protection by reason OF the aero
batic ability of his trained victims. yet
The men contradict him by the fact OF
the property of the brick con-
tractor 10 protect themselves. In one case
the irunworkers removed n whole plat
form built by the brick contractor for his
men and used it until complaint was made
as will be noted in the above letter.
DEATH OF BEACH
1t will b. an additional shock To the pub
lie to learn that tie unfortunate Beach
belong to Thorpe X Bond To DO his work
safely with, and that he was Killed in the
act of so protecting himself. It. is further
in reference 10 this affairahat on,.
of the men refused to go down and testify
before the coroner Ia what lac did not be-
ii.ve to be true and said that he didn't care
il that refusal cost him his job.
Mir. Arthur Cuwsill is the contractor for
The brick work. The iron work is put in
first, then the stone work, ard lastly the
brick work. so hat il will be uEderst ood
that the iroGworkers are always exposed
at the greatest heights. Observers from
he streets have possibly notice d that there
are in several places around The ascending
walls the most substa :al platforms. on
which the men work with ease ard safety.
These PLATFORM have been put in from il.t
OF the brick work by tile
who, as The men say. Las been
of expense in constructing good
platforms. They range from twelve to
thirty feet wide, or say general average |
If about fifteen feet in width. The credit |
for this is due entirely TO Mr.. CowsilI.
WALK THE PLANK.
IL is The fact that the runways for the |
-vnworkers provided by Messrs. Thorpe |
Bond are mostly about two pianks wide, re- 1
gardlcss of the height at which the men |
ire engaged. Along this narrow pa thway.
With Possible fail beneath them Of $50
~ $50 feet, they carry heavy iron material
The accident 20 Beach occurred when the
building was only six stories high and the
,ody was snf:i ished to pulp as II struck
very cross beam on the fall. There is |
lot, ard there will not be, according to |
dr. Thorpe, any effort 10 prevent repeti-
ion OF such a case al height of eight or |
line stories.
The government does not allow inspec-
ions of its work by the outside world but |
ortunately in this case there have been ac-
urate photographs taken OF every stage Of
he building, which were seen by-a repre-
entatiye of The Times yesterday after,
oon and in not one OF these photographs a re
he runways or platforms more than two
lanks wide. Mr.. Thorpe states n melan-
holy fact when he avers that the men are
lfe through their own skill.
Mr.. Thorpe is challenged to deny that
here has been five accidents since the
each tragedy. heavy iron spike fell
hrough the whole height of the building
nd struck the foreman, but the position OF
he latter saved him from a more serious |
urt than he received.
In another instance what is called q |
rip pin came tumbiing from The height and
ust grazed the foreman OF the brick work. |
he uninterrupted fan OF either of these |
irectly on workman could scarcely have |
eSulted in anything less than a fatal ac-
dent.
HEAVY BEAMS FELL.
In three separate instances heavy iron
cams crashed from the 10 p and are now
wing on the gro uIid in the enclosure |
hey are warped and twisted showing
hat they struck the succeeding lower |
cams with great force. There is belief
the building that these things fell or |
Terc let loose by the workmen who held
lem. 10 save themselves from the fate
I the material mentioned. 1t was a case |
the man or the material crashing through |
he net work of beams
1t is also true tina II these men are Obliged |
work in the seyerest cold AMI tits also |
rue that not more than two weeks ago |
ne OF the iron men tainted at q height
nearly one hundred and fifty feet |
nd was saved by the men near him.
IT will probably make the public lcok
Ito this matter when they are informed !,
,at the most dangerous part of the work
yet TO be completed, that is the putting
| of the iron work of the main roof
yer the court. This material may be
fted bodily by two engines and even
rat is dangerous or it may be put In
y the caniilever method, piece by piece,
le men finishing from the base to the mid
le of the arch
If this latter method is resorted TO the
10 ! \!