The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
EXPRESS ELEVATOR LOOSE.
vIIL THE CLUTCHES WoRks res!
No, YES! ny GRAClOUSf

v,.,, Hardware club Lunchsons Upset. In
-. Postal Buiiding-Cnr Finally Lodg~d
=, IN, seventh Fioor-Had to Remove the
c,ll.vork to Let the Passenger Out.
,,smor through the stesl-frans Postal
r"o,r,rh Budding. a crashing and sudden
-, drought many Of the tenants to the corri-
49,. about | o'clocR yesterday. Peering up or
So.n or straight across. they saw one Of the
.vrros, elevators lodged at tho seventh floor.
=. 'front.' OF A stairway. with men gesticulating
"a calling FIR assistance. There IL no door at
Az, aoor. and Il was quito awhile before the
rsp were extricatod and let down on q ladder.
Meanwhile, rs they did not know how long the
.In,,h. which had stayed their fall to the bottom.
,ould stand the strain. their faces betokened
,,,ious degrees OF anxiety. and their hair had
atsndeney 10 rise on enu.
!, busy time OF dav for tho two express
.l.va,ors, whose work Is then mainly to con.
cav members OF the Hardware Club on the
,onr,senth foor TO and from the lunch rooms
o,,h, club. Eight members Of the club after
,nnch 90, into tho west-side elevator. There
"a, 10 be no stop for about a hundred and tifty
,sst below and, in fact. there are no means OF
All, from the two express elevators for the
nrst eight stories.
Tbs elevator de seconded In its ordinary speedy
way for two stories and then 1t began to whiz.
There was a clacking sound as II something
was clutching at the sides every moment.
Something like ugh" came from several
,hroats, but no expression OF the sort was
smit,ed By the elevator man. He had been
,hsrs before when an elevator gave way during
the Home Life Insurance Company fire. next
door md the elevator clutches worked after q
'al Of a story or two. He had faith In the
clutches. which are so arranged that they are to
act when the elevator attains extraordinary
speed. His face betokened no alarm as he
looked down from his superior knowledge on
the dlsromposure ofthe, passengers. expecting
10 feel the Jolt OF a clutch wedged into q cog In
less time than he could think about 1t.
But the eleventh and tenth floors were gone.
with only the sound OF clutches striking out
but not catchIng. ne lost interest IN the LOOKS
selves tOr the crash at the bottom. The ninth
floor ted up and faith In the clutches was all
but gone. Nearing the eighth the, clutches
again became uppermost In his mind, for one
Of them GOT a bite on the cogs. causing a
trls ng check 10 the speed. but away they went
sgaIn. suddenly, there was a bang and, a loIt-
Ing that shook all hands up against each other
or the sides OF the car. and they knew they had
stopped somewhere. some oil. them thought
they had struck the bottom and mentally felt
themselves over. No one com planned OF inlu-
res, and they glanced out to see where they
we're at. After looking across the stairs and
corridor at names on the doors OF office the
elevator man odd Thorn they we're at the sew.
enth floor,
let us out said some one.
can't, said the elevator man. There Is no
door here"
They we're afraid 10 move for fear they might
shake the clutch loose, and they stood motion
less, calling for assistance from the attendants
Of the building. Mechanics arrived In. the
course OF tlme and they set 10 work from ladders
and from the stair above to emove the graf
ing that opened upon the stairway leading from
thu seventh to the eighth floor. IL took a con.
siderable time TO do this. and the anx iety OF
the occupants did not lessen az the work pro-
ceeded. When the grating was finally I'M
screwed and lowered, a ladder was put up to
The elevator platform and the confined men
descended to the stairs.
How did IL feelP' asked an attendant OF one
Of the fallen travellers as he was passing out OF
the building.
We went 80 quick that we thought we had
left our lunches up5tairs,' was the reply.
II was said that the accident was due 70 a
strand Of steel giving way. The ear showed
no injury. Five long cigars that were burned
but Nightly lay on tho floor OF the car.