Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-12-12

CeTldluly lie CAL say " lue gangs Ue-
low to stop work because something
possibly may fall through the hole and
crush a mans skull. No; the condition
is that it is a rush job, and as such the
foreman walks away, unwillingly, but
having no recourse that is practicable.
Right there the conditions are all
ripe for the unexpected to happen-as
the unexpected always does. Indeed,
rivet may fall, red-hot, through a
knot-hole just as easily as through a
hole ten feet square, and man just
as easily may be under the one as
under the other.
Another thing making accidents in
building easier is the general idea of
one gang of wOrkmen that have small
duty toward another gang. An iron
worker. for instance, will be careful
Of other ironworkers, but he is dis
posed to say to blazes with the ma
sons, who may be working just below
him. Workmcn get careless, too, even
of themselves. 1t Is not often that
they fall; their carelessness largely is
that of men who work looking to the
other fellow to take care Of himself,
provided he is not of themselves"
Accidents that Happen.
To show how easily the unexpected
may happen in the work of putting up
a great building, an accident that
broke both legs of a riveter in the new
Chicago postoffice building may be. re-
called.
A heavy derrick had been put up on
the third floor, and in order to anchor
the legs of it ropes had been looped
over them, doubled around stringers
on the floor below, and for Tightening
them wooden levers were run through
the ropes and twisted, shortening the
doubled ropes and thus holding the
heels of the derrick firmly to place.
One day a riveter working above the
ropes holding this derrick chanced to
look down and saw one of these an
chor ropes on fire from cinders drop
ped from forge above. 1t was burn
ing briskly. The derrick was lifting a
load at the time, and in order to avoid
accident it occurred to the riveter that
he must put out the fire quickly. Seiz-
ing a column, he dropped down, hand
over hand, to the next floor and sprang
for the blazing rope just as the strands
burned through. This loosened the
tight wound lever, which whizzed
around. striking the workman across
the legs, breaking both of them and
throwing him off his feet, twenty feet
below.
AS to workmen falling, it is the ex-
perience of foreman that many men
lose their nerve on buildings; that
some fright or narrow escape so i'm
presses the possibilities of danger upon
them that while they may continue to
work, and may believe that they are
as steady as ever, they are really
constant menace to every one about
them.
To the average workman walking
about the skeleton of a new building,
200 feet above the pavement, the ele-
ment of height cuts no figure SO far
as his nervous system Is concerned;
he can walk six-inch beam at that
height az readily as a person in the
street can keep to the line Of street
car rail. But persons in the street oc-
casionally step into coal holes or trip
over Instructions, and to this extent
at least the workman on high build
ings is not immune from falling In
case of falling however, the ordinance
requiring temporary flooring up
through building is the meaas of
preservi lg many Hves.-Chicago Trib-
une.