New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-27


ABLE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT.
The greater part of apartment house in
course of construction at No LOIS Madison-ave
between Eighty first and Eighty second sts, col
lapsed without the slightest warning at 4:20
o'clock yesterday afternoon. About twenty men
were working in various parts Of the building.
and thirteen of them were carried down with the
falling walls and timbers One OF the men
killed. and eight others were severely injured
that 1t was necessary to send them to the hos
pital for treatment Two others were slightly
injured. Only two escaped unhurt.
Robert Crane, a brcklayer, thirty-eight years
old single. of No. 332 West Fifty ninth st. was
killed His head completely crushed under
the fallen walls, and his back was broken by the
heavy timbers
The injured men are:
SHANNON. Lawrence, bricklayer, twenty-five years
od Of ~ No & 81 W;. I'd St o Ssdy M bs oeutssa @
Of builders that had the contrac; 10 construct The
building.
ROSS Joseph aborer thirtys years old. Of No 2174
Second dave. scalp wound
CASSIDY Bernard brickayer thirty years old. OF No.
1907 Tenth-ave. scalp wound.
sHASNoN lanes F. OeHaysT M 6.ss years nS ,.a ola
wound.
SHANNON. James F.. jr. twentyfour years old OF No
1884 Park ave. thigh broken.
FRANKLIN. William p, aborer thrtyone years old, Of
No 517 West Forty-eghh-st. right hip broken and
scalp wound.
HANION. Patrick bricklayer thirty nine years Old OF
No. 2s West One-hundred and twenty-eighth ST.. con-
fusion Of right leg.
GREEN John Iaborer thrty-three years old of No.
West One-hundred and forty hrsst., scalp wound.
Besides these, Edward Gaffney laborer. Of
No. 547 Columbus-ave. received severe bruises.
and James Beaney. a brcklayer. twenty-eght
years old of Columbus-ave. and One hundred
ard-sxth-st. had his right hand and wrist cut.
but they were not badly injured as to require
surgical attendance.
NO WARNING TO THE wORKMEN.
The building which collapsed 25xS5 feet.
The walls cf the first two stories had been
erected, three tiers Of beams had been laid and
the workmen were engaged in building the walls
for the third story. The call Of the bricklayers
for bricks and the answering calls Of the labor
ers showed that all busy engaged when,
without the slightest warning. the entire of
the structure collapsed. The bricklayers had no
time, even to drop their trowels and laborers
still had their hods on their backs when the
walls, timbers scaffolds and men fell in a con-
fused mass to the cellar. The cries Of the men
rescunded through the neighborhood, and a
great cloud of dust arose from the ruins
To those in the neghborhood ,he shock felt
like miniature earthquake, and great excite
ment prevailed. Hundreds ran to the In
dismay. and soon the rumor went about that
a more OF men buried in the
wreck and that many had been killed Police
man Hickey, of the East Eighty -eighth-st sta
ton, who on duty at Seventy -ninth-st. and
Madison ave. heard the crash. the clouds
Of dust arising from the collapsed building, and
FASTENED to the spot. He at once sent out a fire
alarm, and engines Nos 90 and Al, hook and
ladder and Insurance Patrol No. were soon
at the scene Of the disaster
CRIES OF THE BURIED MEN
BY the time Chief Duane reached the place the
dust had partially cleared away, and the extent
Of the disaster could be plainly seen The build
ing. from the wall to within thirty feet of
the front walls, down, with the exception of
a part of the south wall. and that was topping
and appeared to be about to fall. The cries Of
the buried men were heartrendng. Policeman
Hickey and Fireman Kanehan were the first to
enter the ruins. and they found James Shannon
lying under BEAM They at once removed him
to the street. They followed by other police
men and fremen, and the work of rescue began
Chief Duane had sent out double ambulance
call. and two ambulances arrived from the Pres
byterian and Flower hospitals. One after an
other the buried men reached and carried
out. until eight men In all had been rescued and
turned over TO the care of the ambulance sur
geons.
These men were conveyed to the Presbyterian
Hospital and the work went on with greater
energy as one poor fellow was distinctly seen far
under the pile OF brick and rubbish. 1t not
long before the man reached and taken out
1t proved to be Crane. His head was horribly
crushed. He had evidently been killed outright
The body placed upon a stretcher and re-
moved to the East Sixty eighth-st. station In the
patrol wagon. Then the police began to look up
the survivors and they soon discovered that all
the men who had been at work on the building
were accounted for. Under the direction Of
Chief Duane the firemen then proceeded to pull
down the dangerous part Of the south wall
CROWDS GATHER IN THE STREETS.
While the work of rescue was in progress an
enormous crowd gathered in all the streets in
the neighborhood, and the reserves from the
East Sixty-seventh-st. East Eighty-eighth-st
and East One hundred and -fourth-st. stations
were called out. They soon cleared the avenue
ard the adjoining streets near the collapsed
building, and established line through which
no one was allowed to pass.
When the excitement had somewhat subsided
an examination OF the wreck was made in order
to find the cause of the catastrophe Those who
anneared to understand the matter said that the
mortar used in the building had not had suff-
cient consistency, and their opinion seems to be
borne out by the fact that the bricks of the
fallen walls were as clean as II just lald Inc
mortar had crumbled to dust
TRYING TO DETERMINE THE BLAME.
Great dtffCulty was tApeiitH'tu III SaiiiiHs any
knowledge of the owner of the building or of the
builders At last Il ascertained that the
building was owned by l.. b. Rogers, whose home
could not be learned, and that the builders were
Shannon e. Roche. Police Captain Dean of the
East Eighty -eighth-st station began an investi-
cation for the purpose of determining the re-
sponsibility for the catastrophe.
He found that Roche. one of the firn or build
ers had disappeared directly after the accident
occurred and that one of the Shannons In the
bospital was the other member OF the firm. Cap
tain Dean also learned that Patrick Hanion VINO
was in the hospital was temporarily In charge or
the work when the accident occurred. The cap
tain ordered Hanlon to be placed under arrest.