The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-05-14
GIRLS KILLED IN A PANIC
Accident to a Boy Causes a Catas-
trophe in PHILADELPHIA
SOME JUMPED FROM WINDOWS

During . Mad Rush Down Winding
Stairway the Leaders Lost Their Foot
In. and Were Trampied to Death
Girls Fought Like Furies In Their FL.
forts 20 Escape From Cigar Factory.
Philadelphia, pam unfortunate
accident to q deaf-and-dumb boy. isa-
dor Baccus, was directly responsible
for the death Of eight girls and young
women, the fatal injury Of three 9th.
ers, and the serious injury OF more than
two score Of girls employed In the cigar
factory Of Hamburger, Homan l. Co..
a branch Of the American Tobacco
Company. located at Tenth street and
Washington avenue. The injuries con.
s!st mainly Of bruises about the body
and fractured limbs.
The building In which the disaster
occurred Is hye-st0ry brick structure
and reaches an entire block. Twelve
hundred persons were Mt work ut the
time Of the accident. ninety per cent. OF
whom were girls. whose ages range
from twelve years upwards.
The trouble began on the fourth
door. Baccus started for the NTH for
q bali Of twine. The elevator was at
the top Of the shaft and Baccus pulled
the rope to bring It down. He opened
the door leading to the shaft and
leaned forward to see where the car
ringe was. As be did so. the elevator.
descending slowly. struck him across
the back Of the neck, plnioning his
head between the elevator and the
floor. A boy released Baccus and cried
for help.
The foreman rushed from the build
ing to call an ambulance, and imme-
diately there was a panic among the
employees. Some Of the younger girls
tainted, while others cried IRE. In.
staRtiy there was q mad rush for the
stairway leading into Tenth street.
The girls rushed down the narrow
staircase until they reached bend In
the exit, between the second and third
floors. In their eagerness to escape
the leaders fell. Others Immediately
following tripped over the struggling
mass Of humanity. and In less than q
minute there were hundreds Of children
and young women struggling In the
passageway.
The shrieks and screams Of the ter
ror-stricken girls could be heard for q
block C more. During the excitement
an alarm Of fire was turned In. but be.
fore the engines could reach the scepe
several Of the occupants Of the build
Ing had rushed to the windows and
Jumped to the street, o distance OF
over fifty feet.
Helen Tolini, one Of those to jump.
was almost instantly killed. When the
Aremen and policemen arrived every
effort was made to quiet the terrorized
girls. The fremen rushed up the stair.
way and begged the girls to be calm.
telling them that there was no danger,
but the sight Of the fremen seemed
only to add to the fright. While the
policemen and fremen were endeavOr-
ing to quiet the girls On the stairway.
ladders were being run up on the out
side Of the building. md the employees
who had climbed out on to the frees
capes and window ledges were quick
ly taken to the street.
After q few minutes the men We're
enabled to check the awful crush on
the stairway. and then began the work
Of rescuing those who had been
trampled and crushed between the
second and third floors. A call for
ambulances had been turned In, and as
quickly as the dead and injured were
carried from the building they were
hurried to hospitals.
The panic was over In less than half
an hour, but In this brief space thou
sands OF persons had been attracted to
the scene by the wild screams Of the
relatives Of the victims and the shrieks
~ tho vf,s1a a% IN, yvtndovva