Evening journal., 1898-01-04
TWENTY MEN KILLED
Fatality at Public Meeting In
q Canadian City.
TRAGIC END TO MUNICIPAL CONTEST.
Flooring Gave Way and Panic Fol-
lowed-The Newly Elected Mayor and
Several Aldermen Among the
Many who Were Injured.

LONDON. Ont. Jan. 4.--One Of the
hottest and most stubbornly contested
municipal elections ever known in this
city eliminated last night in a tragedy
that has put the city in mourning.
At the close Of the polls the crowd. as
is usual gathered in the city hail.
where il has been the custom for years
past for the successful candidates to
address the electors. The meeting had
been conducted IN the usual manner
and was about to be closed. when the
floor in the northeast corner of the hall
gave way. and the people situated in
that section were precipitated TO the
floor below
An alarm Of fire was sounded, and
the brigade soon reported and began
the work Of removing the debris and
taking from the ruins the bodies of the
dead and injured
Twenty bodies have been removed
from the wrecked building and identi-
fed. How many were injured win new
er be known, as those who suffered but
slightly at once started for their
homes, or were taken care Of by their
friends Those who were more serious
ly Injured were carried TO neighboring
drug stores, whence they were TAX
en- to the hospital or to their homes,
after their injuries had been attended
70. The dead We're taken to the com
mittee rooros Of Alderman Parnell, the
defeated candidate for mayor, across
the street
The building was crowded to the very
doors probably 1000 people being jam
med I'm rs narrow space. There was a
lul in the proceedings, the audience
called for several Of the newly elected
aldermen at once, and there was some
delay IN securing a speaker to address
them. Alderman Carrouthers joined the
mayor I'm an effort to secure quiet. In
response TO numerous calls r.. NJ Toothe
was pushed forward 10 the platform on
which the speakers stood. AS he reach
ed Il there was an ominous cracking,
and the raised platform on which the
mayor and newly elected aldermen were
seated seemed to pitch forward TO the
floor.
There was a sagging Of timbers, and
the next moment $50 people were hurled
20 feet to the floor below. a beam rum
ming 20 feet along the center of the hall
had given way, and the crowded mass
standing above that section of the floor
was thrown in a heap to the bottom,
a large safe stood in one corner of the
hall. and a huge steam coil weighing
half a ton came crashing down on the
heads OF the victims.
Following the crash there was a wild
rush for the doors. AT the south door
where the majority of the crowd had
entered. there was a terrible panic
Those I'm front We're thrown down by
the oncoming rush. shrieking and fight
ing for the door and safety. only one
! half OF the rear door, a space of proba-
| bly, three feet was open, and I'm the mad
rush no one thought to open the door
! completely. and 300 people struggled
through the narrow space. the stronger
hearing down the weaker. Within q
moment after the floor had fallen ir
/ there were not more than three persons
in the han on that portion of the looi
which had not fallen.
Alderman Neil Cooper was among tn,
! first to be dragged out of the broker
beams He was quickly carried to al
adjoining room, and I'm a moment hal
a dozen more were keeping him com
pany.
A glance at the wreck after the ca.
tastrophe disclosed the fact that q
whole section Of the floor had dropped
the jolsts being as neatly cut off as
though the work had been done with g
| saw.
In the Grand Opera House. which ad
! joins the wrecked building, the first ac
of "The Girl From Paris" had just beer
! concluded. when word was whispered
through the theater of the calamity
| A panic was imminent. but was averteS
by the actors and ushers, and the peo
pie quietly left the building.
The injured include the newly elected
mayor, several aldermen, the wate
commissioner and several newspape