The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-14

New York, Dec. 13.-The great steel
gas tank of the Consolidated Gas COM
pany, at Avenue A and Twentieth
street. the largest of its kind in the
world, collapsed at $50 o'clock this af-
ternoon. 1t went down with A crash
and roar like a great explosion. Mas
onry of granite blocks and bricks to
the height of so feet fell like a chld's
toy house OF blocks and looseaed frcm
bondage eight millions of gall
Ions of water deluged the streets
and in 10-foot tidal wave
carried death and destruction through
the surrounding neighborhood. 1t is no.
known how many were killed and in
jured.
The dead, so far reported. are:
ANDREW wENDT. workman.
JOHN GRAY, 80 years old.
Plus BAUM, engineer in adjacent
factory.
The seriously injured: Catherine
o'Connell, years old. leg fractured;
Peter Walker. dislocated shoulder.
About 10 others. so far as has been
learned, were injured more or less Sc
verely or almost drowned.
Missing: George Brewer. timekeepcr;
George Wlnkie. Is years of age. son of
Foreman winkie: James O'Connor,
foreman in Fuldner's factory. adjoining.
and believed to have been in the base
ment with Engineer Baum, who wds
killed, is missing.
The steel tank was rs feet in diameter
and $50 feet high. Rising out of the
ground to a height of so feet was a
great circular wall of granite and
brick, many feet in thickness. This
was filled with 100000 gallons of wat
er.
n gang of men were at work Under
foreman filling the pit with water
to make the first water test" Sud-
denly came an awful crash. The men
below had scarcely time to fly from be-
meath the falling walls ere they were
picked up by the mass of rolling water
and hurled hundreds of feet away. Into
the basement, the first and second
floors of factories and tenements rush.
ed the flood. workmen were shot out
u
block or more as If mere straws. wo-
men were washed out of the flats from
the floors and almost drowned. Mary
Ann O'Connell and her little four-year-
old sister. Catherine. were seated at the
front window of the second of No. $50
Avenue A. Before they could flee a
rush of water struck them both. smash
ing them through the door and carrying
them half block distant. Both were
terribly injured, the little one perhaps
fatally.
Henry Fuldner was taken up bodily
and carried almost to Twenty-first
street. His son was almost carried out
caught in the debris, and but for the
timely arrival of some workmen with
axes he would have been drowned.
Andrew Wendt. one of the killed. was
near the base of the tank when IL col
lapsed. He was caught by the rushing
waters and borne almost an incredible
distance. His mangled and almost
naked body was found against an ele-
waited railroad pillar at Twenty-frst
street ana FIRST avenue, more tnan
block away.
w. ]. Logan of the Logan Iron works
OF Green Point, J.. l., the contractor
who was building the tank. arrived on
the scene within a few minutes after
the collapse and was at once placed un-
der arrest.
william II. Bradley. chief engineer
of the Consolidat ted Gas company and
said to be jointly responsible for the
work with Contractor Logan. was also
placed under arrest. They were
charged with homicide and their bail
was fixed at $4,000 each.
After the masonry OF the tank coll
lapsed, the tank proper careened and
fell in a battered heap TO one side. The
loss of the tank is said to be complete,
s30O. 200.