The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-14
ELEVATOR FALLS 70 FEET.
TWo OF THE SIX OCCUPANTS ARE
INJURED.

both Legs or ono broken and the Right Leg or
THO Othrr-The Cable Attached to the Coun-
ter balance weiaht HroLe-The Rope Was
Nrw-uhat Caused d TO Break n Mystery.
4 freight elevator in the factory OF Thomas
Farrell Mt 3cs West Forty.lrst street fell
seventy feet yesterday, impcrilling tho lives of
six workmcn who wero upon 1t and injurinE
two. The injured men arc Thomas Watkins of
los West Forty.ilrst street, both OF whose legs
were broken. and Peter Ottcnburg, whose right
leg was fractured. They were taken TO Bellevue
Hospital for treatment.
Mr.. Farrell manufactures butchers fixtures
and ircboxes. He occupies a s~ix.story brick
building, near the front of which is n big freight
elevator which runs from tho basement TO tho
top floor. seventy feet above. This elevator Is
or the ordinary open platform construction
and is used 10 carry materials to tho workshops
on tho various floors. TO take down the finished
goods, and for the conveyance of the workmcn.
II Is heavy in itself, and Is intended to carry
heavy weights as we'll. II is hoisted directly by
n drum in tho basement, around which tho
cables coil, and while It Is In use the drum Is
held from turning backward by a brake which
connects the drum with the parts connected
with the hosting engine.
On this, as upon many elevators used for
similar purposes, there nre mono OF the safety
grips controlled by a governor, such as modern
passenger elevators have, but instead there Is
n device at the top of the frame Of tho car
which throws out grips against the guides and
catches the car in case tho hoisting ropes break.
Such n device does not act, however, unless tho
cables break, and there Is no provision for stop
ping the car when its speed Is merely accelerated
Through other causes and the cable ia not re.
lievcd OF strain, as an extra cable was attached
10 the ear which carried at its other end an iron
weight of about q ton. which countcrbalanced
the car and load.
Watkins. -Ottcnburg, Oswald I%othmnn, Carl
Peterson, Matthew Leinold, and Raymond
Mtdriagc, after they had lowered a big Ice
box in sections to the street yesterday morn
ing, got. on tho car to return to their work
in the shops. They ran the car to the sixth
q sharp, ,sngpping noise heard, followed by the
thud OF the falling counter balance weight. Tho
car, relieved of this weight, began to descend
with great r%aridity. The men clutched each
the framework to support themselves. They
shot down past floor after floor with ever in
crossing speed. until the car reached the base
nent, rcbounded, and then threw them off,
scattering them upon the basement floor.
What caused the rope of the counter balance
TO break is a mystery. The elevator is regularly
inspected by an insurance company, and about
n month ago inspectors declared that the rope
then in use was showing n dangerous amount of
wear and ordered "A new rope put in. This was
done, and il was the new ropc which broke. 1t
artcd near whore IL was secured to tho weight
and at a part where it never goes over tho
shcave above, and has only a direct pulling
strain upon 1t.
The police took the parts OF tho rope adjoining
the point OF breakagc and will enGeavor to find
whether it had any fault which might have boon
discovered beforehand by an inspection.
IL is a curious fact that the four cables which
let tho passenger elevator Mt the Hotel Waldorf
drop a few days hEOi were also new within n
month, and experts declare that they can not
account for their parting.