The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-09-11

New York, Sept 1l.-A disaster that has
.o,,c beer predicted happened here last
night, when an elevator in the big Tract
Society at Nassau and Spruce treets, broke
from it's moorings and fell a distance OF
twenty one stories. The chief engineer
of the building, Nicholas Nelson, was on
TOP CT the elevator adjusting the safety
cord and governor appliances connecting
with automatic cut off valves. This cord,
when pulled. lis supposed to stop a falling
elevator instantly II is connected with
the valves in the basement regulating
tie speed of tEe elevators
At 9 O'Clock last night. tie engineer was
working bet ween the fifteenth aud six
teenth floors with Isaac Bachrach ia
charge of the elevator. In pulling the
safety rope into its proper place, 1t slipped
too far The bo, could not control the
machine. Instantly the cage of iron
shoi with rocket swiftnrss TO the roof,
struck the steel gircers like a cannon
haa The fearful shock snapped the steel
cables at their roots, pulled others from
their sockets aud the big cage dropped
tuent, one stories with a crash heard
blocks away.
Down that three hundred foot shaft fell
the lreadydying engineer and the boy. As
they struck the roofthcir Tyrang through
the building. With broken bones and dis
figured faces, they dropped 10 a second
death. The steel cage was crushed into
fragments, bGryinC the man and boy In
tons Of iron rubbish, piercing their bodies
and crushing in theirksulis-
The instant the elevator struck, six
.nch water pipe alongside, in the base
inent, burst as { by an explosion, and a
stream of water, roarding like safety
valve, spouted over the basement. This
catapult u' water shot through andthroush
tie pile Of wreckage encasing the hdics
and drenched the concrete floor with
crimson flocd. In places it was foo; deep.
Two p,iliceneH Ilauollng Nassau street
rushed in, waded into tire horrible pool and
attacked the mass OF broken iron mixed
up with the bodies. The roar OF the spout
irg water main 50 bewiidered them that
they did not suspect new and more terri
bic horror
A fun head of electricity from the great
dSnarnos lighting the building made the
steel elevator more deadly than when
tuIhbling from the twenty-first story. A
Wild warning cry from an employe un-
dorbtctHy saved at least another life. Tie
engineer was dead and NO one there seemed
able TO shut off the dynamos.
cali ont the fire department shouted
a vGice in that Niagara OF uproar. Other
voices took up the cry. Some vne outside
rang ia an alarm, and policemen clubbed
siraals Cor help on the pavement. Hook
ana Ladder Company No. and engines Nos.
81, and IL appeared as if by magic.
Into tae basement rushed twenty firemen,
with axes and hooks. They took possession
OF the situation at once. The dynamos
were stopped and the electric current turned
off. BY the light OF the lanterns the fire
rnen turned tie wrecked cage apart and
dragced the massive broken framework out
of the flooded pit into which the Car had
fallen.
A line was formed and the body OF the
elevator boy gently extricated from its bed
of broken irol.
An ambulance surgeon was already there
for BUSH esS. H. covered the torn face
with squares of lint. The body Of Nick
Nelson the engineer, was laid beside that
of his companion in that awful ride to
death.
SuIt. Landau is on duty In the build
ing during the day and Michael Casey
at night. The latter is known as faith
full man and had been watching the en-
vineer working on top of the elevator on
tie second floor when the accident oc-
CURED. He said the new machinery was
the best and the valves in good order, and
bat for the displacement OF the safety rope
the accident could not have occurred.
the history OF the Tract Society building
elevators is undoubtedly a subject for Grim
inal vestigation. 1t was commonly re-
portec that the Otis Company had a new
system Of elevator wheel, and as the Tract
building was the first completed they
wished TO try il in that structure because
OF its great height. II was said that two
other sky scrapers had refused to be a
party To any such experiments, though
$50, 900 WAS alleged to have been offered
FOR the privilege.