The labor world., 1898-03-05
RISE AND FALL OF MURPHY.
The Thrilling Adventures of Mr.. Murphy
and Barrel.

( The Thrilling Adventures of Mr.. Murphy
and Barrel.
This is the story of Murphy S
travels. Murphy did not travel for
agreat length of time, but he moved
rapidly while he was at it, and he
met with variety of incidents equal
to any related by Marco Polo or
Bayard Taylor
The true story of Murphy's trav-
els is told by the employee of a
prominent accident liability insur-
ance company, whose duty it was to
adjust claims.
One day he received telephone
message directing him to call at an
unfinished building in the down
town region and investigate an acci-
dent which threatened to result in a
lawsuit against the company. He
went to the building and made in
auiries, and the facts, as nearly as
he could get them, will be hereafter
submitted.
Itseemed that Murphy and Clancy
(Irish) and third man named
Schmelz (not Irish) had been put to
work to clear the rubbish and de-
bris from the top floors of the build
ing. They did not wish to carry it
down five or six floors, SO in spirit
of ingenuity they rugged block and
tackle in one of the elevator shafts
ard prepared to lower the rubbish
down in barrels. The pulley was
fastened to crosshead beam at the
top of the shaft, and the rope trailed
down through the shaft to the first
floor, where Murphy was stationed.
His duty was to let out the rope
and lower the barrel. He gave the
rope couple of turns around pipe
and brought the first barrel down
without any trouble. He emptied it
and sent it up again and made his
turn around the pipe and brought
down barrel No. 2 with great sue
cess.
After the second empty barrel had
gone up Murphy was standing in the
shaft holding to the rope and wait
ing fo- the signal. At the top of the
shaft Schmelz and Clancy, satisfied
that the system was in working or
der and that no further signaling
would be necessary, hooked the rope
to the loaded barrel, which was
pushed off into the shaft. It was
heavy load, consisting mostly Of
brick dust and fragments of plaster
ing. 1t started down the shaft very
rapidly. Murphy, in accordance
with the law of nature, started up
the shaft at the same time. He start
ed go suddenly that he had no time
to think of letting go of the rope or
giving it turn around the pipe.
The barrel gained speed and SO did
Murphy. Half way up the shaft
they passed each other. Just as
Murphy reached the top of the shaft
with a slam and swing the barrel
struck the cement floor at the bot
tom of the elevator shaft. The force
OF the blow drove the bottom out of
the barrel, releasing the loose con-
tents.
AS Murphy was heavier than an
empty barrel, he began to descend
from the top of the shaft, and de-
scend in a hurry at that, while the
shell of the barrel started upward.
This time Murphy met the barrel
fairly. 1t shot up and struck him
from underneath. He kicked madly
and disentangled himself and finish
ed his descent at a speed which
would have defied instantaneous
photography. He came down in
sitting posture on the heap of loose
mortar, shavings and brick. At the
same moment the barrel jammed in
to the top of the shaft and was fur
ther shattered, although still held
together by several turns of rope.
Murphy was SO terribly Jared
that he let 60 of the rope. The rope
being free, the wrecked barrel de-
scended of it's own weight and buried
Murphy beneath pile of loose
staves.
Schmelz and Clancy came running
from the top of the building and
dug him out. He was in daZed
condition and had only cloudy
recollection of what had happened.
In addition to three welts on the
head he had received "jolt" in the
back and bitten the end of his
tongue.
They took him to the hospital,
where he remained for several days,
trying to piece together the con-
fused impressions of his trip. He
did not blame Clancy and Schmelz,
but he did say that they ought to
have reached out and pulled him in
just as he arrived at the top of the
shaft.-New York Sun.