Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-11-06
THEATRE ROOF COLL kP2ED
Frlghtfal Accident to Building Con-
Structing at Detroit

WONDERLAND THEATRE WAS
NEARING oMPLBTIoN-A
HEAVY CEMENT ROOF HAD BEEN
PUT UPON steel. BEAMS AND
GIRDERS-WORhMEN WE'RE EN-
GAGGED INSIDE THE BUILDING
BENBATH-wITHOUT A SIGN OF
WARNING THB IMMENSE ROOF
GAVE WAY, BEAMS AND GRID
ERS SNAPPED. AND THE
WHOLE MASS, WITH THE FORTY
OR MORE WoRkMEN, WAS JAM
MED INTO THE PIT or THO
THEATRE-A LIST OF THE
KNOWN DEAD. MISSING AND IN
JURED.
Detroit, Mich, November 5.--The
| new five-story Wonderland theatre
| building is tonight in hopeless
state of collapse, and fifteen or more
| lives have been sacrificed by an APP
palling accident which occurred therein
this afternoon.
| Shortly before o'clock, while some
/ SO men were at work In various parts
of The half-finished theatre portion OF
the structure. the roof fell in without
a seconds warning.
Nearly every workman was carried
down into the theatre pit; the top gall
| lery was crushed down upon the lower
gallery, forming a sort of fatal hill
side, down which slid broken steel gir-
ders, planks, timbers, brick and a great
quantity of cement from the roof. and
carrying along q struggling company of
men into the pit below, where very few
eScaped injury
The front of the building remained
practically intact, but the east side wall
bulged and bucked Overwhelmingly.
Notwithstanding the latter danger,
the work of rescuing the Injured and
taking out the dead was rushed and
good progress made until 5:f5, when
the upper portion of the east wall fell.
a shower of bricks striking around the
crowd of laborers. officers and newspa-
per men, extinguishing the temporary
electric light and causing a stampede
for the street. Fortunately none was
seriously injured.
Mayor Maybury decided not to fur
Their imperil life TO save dead bodies,
and work was suspended until to-mor-
row.
THE DEAD ARE,
AUGUST SALLACH, laborer.
GEORGE w. WIFI u, tlnner,
THEODORE MORTENS, laborer.
MARTIN SIIAFER. painter
CORNELIUS MARION, latlnluu
JAMES CEGERs cA~-. YffnsI.
AUGUST JANUSCHowSISI. iatNV
JOHN CRESZEISIiI. lather.
Two other bodies had been discover
ed in the debris at the time OF the Sec
ond crash.
THE MISSING ARE:
PETER CONNORS, lather.
JACOB LEWEN. metal polisher.
FRANK WOLFE and --- BELTS.
metal cornice makers, and
o. MULLIN.
THE INJURED AREs
CHARLES t. CROSS, arm badly cut
and bruised internally.
OSCAR ROBINSON, severely bruised
| about the lungs and internally In
jured.
JOSEPH MBRIDE, ankle crushed, two
scalp wounds and bruised.
JOHN DUKINSKY, ribs broken.
JACOB POLIKE, nose partly severed
and bad scalp wounds.
JOSEPH FERGUSON, seriously In
jured about head and face.
EDWARD FISHER, leg broken and
badly hurt internally, may not re-
cover.
WIN. CROSSFTELD. scalp wound and
arm injured.
PAUL SKOZHOWSKI, spine injured
and body bruised.
]. w. WILSON, eyelids torn. heel bro
ken, two ribs broken, badly shocked,
may die
LOUIS SCHMIDT, foot crushed, badly
bruised, will recover.
Others who were less seriously In
iured are: B. Shipkowski, w. II. Street
er, Fred Schneider and Peter Pfeiffer,
Louis Schmidt, Oscar Mier, --- Cross
field. OF those injured only two are
considered as unlikely TO recover.
The cause Of the catastrophe has not
vet been definitely settled.
IL seems to rest, however. between
too much weight In the roof and faulty
steel beams used In its construction.
The top Of the roof was of cement
about eight inches thick, and maay
builders lean to the opinion that this
was too weign-y for the supporting
steel work. Others claim that the
fault lies in the steel work, which they
aIlege was Of poor quality. Several OF
the beams snapped of sharp instead
of bending.
The workers In the building say
there was no warning OF the collapse,
the first thing heard being crash az
the roof fell.
The walls. steel work and roof wera
the only completed portions OF Won
derland. which was without floors or
interior finish. The property is owned
by Patrick Virgins, partner OF James
II. Moore, I'm his combined theatre ana
museum enterprises. The property
loss is yet unestimated. The archi-
tect, John Scott. and Alex. Chahatons
the contractor. aver that the accident
is as yet unaceountable.
The police have secured a nurnbeE
OF broken Orders to be used as ev-
dence later.
Will gY uTg Up