Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-04
DEATH IN THE RUINS
City Hall at London, Ontario, Collapses
With Direful Results.
TWENTY FIVE KILLED OUTRIGHT
Many More Persons Seriously In
jured in the Awful Wreck.
CELEBRATING AN ELECTION


hall, but 1t is not needed to oremind the citizens
| OF the horror of last night. The city hall
presents the appearance of a wreck, and
the streets in front of 1t are crowded with
the curious and sorrowing citizens.
| Ihe list of dead numbers twenty-five. but
II is much to be feared that it is not yet
complete. Many of the injured not ex-
pected to recover. and others will be con-
| fined to their beds days, weeks and some
for months. The list of injured can never
| be made complete. in far as the minor
sufferers are concerned, as many are able
to be about. though suffering bruises. aches
and pains as result of their terrible fall.
| Wonder So Many Escaped.
| AS one looks at the ruins today the won
DER Is that there were so many escapes
| among the 800 persons who made the fear
ful drop. 1t was nothing short of miracu-
| ious that so many are alive today. Fear
| prevails that the gallery of the hail. which
Is just above that portion of the wall which
| gave way, may also fall, but there is no
one In the building. ropes have been
stretched along the street to prevent the
| passing OF pedestrians and the iron doors
| of the Arcade, which is a public thorough
| fare. have been barred
The inquest will be begun this afternoon.
| but 1t is not likely that any evidence will
| be taken until after the funerals of the
| victims.
! No new victims have been found in the
! city hall ruins today. The following Is a
| revised list of the dead and the more seri-
| ously injured:
| Benja min ]. Nash, carriage maker, York
| street; John Turner, carriage maker, Rich
mond street; John Burridge. shoemaker
King street; Frank Robinson plasterer
| Horton street; Crawford Beckett con-
| tractor, Wellington street, Exeter; Edward
| Luxton. farmer, Exeter; w. H. Dell, baker,
London West; r. s. Leigh. plumber, Rich
me nd street Abraham Phillips, flour deal
er, King street; Benjamin jacques. painter,
Great York street: Stephen Williams, la
bcrer. Waterloo street; w. c. Smith, gar
dener, London township; l.. w. Burke in
| Deppers Corner; James Harris, moder
Dundas street; Wilson Carruthers. farmer
| West stminster township; w. J. Borla nd.
| wood worker, Tecumseh avenue; Noble
Carruthers, son of Noble Carrutaers of
Grigg House; Fred. Heaman, son of W.
Heaman. York street: W. E. Talbot, young
son of~W. Talbot, Hamilton road; Oswald
Bruce, son of w. Bruce. shoemaker Warn
cliffe road, Allen Towe, son of E. Towe,
| Princess avenue aged thirteen years; John
Burgess, laborer. 2J2 Warncliffe road, Lon
don South; James Mclean, young of
James Mclean, Clarence street. Total, %.
Injured.
| Fred H. Fry, arm broken; Louis Stein
berg, leg broken frankie Freeand, in
ternal injuries; William Gibson, East Lon
| don, arm broken and crushed; Thomas
Hogg, jr. head badly cut James Cutler m
| ternal injuries and arm broken, may die;
| William Durnion, leg broken; Moses Min
| ers. head badly cut and both legs crushed;
| Alderman Charles Taylor, back injured
Charles Garrett bad internal injuries; AL
| bert Joyce, chest crushed; William Stone,
| internal injuries; Edward Marshall right
| arm broken and head cut; William CoXl,
| teamster, bad internal injuries; Joseph MUIR
| ray, head cut and internal injury; J. {. Nc
laD hr-n1 Vnt,, l.tt
| bruised and back hurt; d. Sweeney, arm
| and ribs broken; William Ellwood, chest
hurt; Charles kidner. leg broken and back
| hurt; Maurice Baldwin contractor leg and
arm broken; Alderman Neil Cooper badly
| cut about head; John Dromgole, seriously
| injured; Fred Ward, both legs injured and
head cut: James Sussex, aged fourteen
years. spine injured: William Baker leg
| broken; Sidney Glendenning, leg broken; -
Schofield, badly injured; James Dean. bad
cut face, legs injured; - Johnston chest
| crushed; Moses Mines Hill street both legs
crushed and arm broken: Albert Joyce,
chest crushed in; Michael Morkin. arm bad
| ~ fractured; son of James Mattinson, arm
| broken; Ed Barrett, face cut and internal
| injuries.
How the Accident Occurred.
During the celebration over the result of
an election at the city hall in London,
Ontario, last night the floor collapsed,
carrying down with it almost the entire as
| semblage.
At the close of the polls. a crowd gath
| cred in the city hall, where it has been
| the custom for years past for the success
full Candidates to address the electors.
The building was crowded to the very
| doors, probably 1900 people being jammed
| in its narrow space. There was a lull in
the proceedings, the audience called sew
| eral of the newly elected aldermen at
| once, and there was some delay in securing
| speaker to address them. Alderman Car
| rothers joined the mayor in an effort to
| secure quiet.
| In response to numerous calls R. NJ
| Toothe was pushed forward to the plat
| form on which the speakers stood. AS he
| reached 1t there was an omnous cracking
| and the raised platform on which the
mayor and newly elected aldermen were
seated seemed to pitch forward to the
floor.
There was sagging of timbers. and the
| next moment $50 people were preciptated 20
| feet to the next floor below. A beam run
ming twenty feet along the center of the
hall had given way: large safe stood
| in one corner of the hail. and a huge steam
coll, weighing half ton, came crashing
| down on the heads of the victims.
| A Wild Panic.
Following the crash there was a wild
| rush for the DOORS At the south door,
where the majority of the crowd had en-
| tered. there was terrible panic. Those in
front were thrown down by the oncoming
| rush, shrieking and fighting for the door
| and safety.
Only one-har of the rear door. space
| of probably three feet, was opened, and in
| the mad rush no one thought to open the
door In it's entirety. and 500 people strug-
| gled through the narrow space, the strong
| bearing down the weaker.
Within moment after the floor had
| fallen in there were not more than three
| persons In the hall on that portion of the
! floor which had not fallen.
Several men lowered ropes and endeavor-
| ed to haul the wounded out OF the pit.
| From under the massed weight of the
| broken beams came many cries for help
| The windows the ground floor were
| broken in, and the living and dead We're
| tenderly passed to the waiting ambulance
An Old Building.
A glance at the wreck after the catas-
trophe disclosed the fact that whole sec
| ton of the floor had dropped. the joists
| having been as neatly cut off as though
| the work had been done with a saw.
The building was an old one, having been
| erected in the early ffties. and Of late
years additional stories had been placed