Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-05-01
JUMPED TO DEATH,
Fatal Panic in a Cigar Factory
at Philadelphia.
Eight Girls Dead, Three Dying and
Over Two Score Injured.
All Caused by Accident to Boy and
False Fire Alarm.

IHlidueipilid, -ApiH oV.-An unfOr-
tunate accident to a deaf and dumb
boy, Isador Baccus, was, TODAY. direct
~ responsible for the death of eight
girls and young women. the fatal in
jury of. three others, and the serious
injury of more than two score of girls
employed in the cigar factory of Har-
burger, Homan & Co. Il branch of the
American Tobacco Co, located at 10th
street and Washington avenue. The
dead are:
Mary Geneva, aged Is years.
Helen Tolini, aged II.
Elizabeth Tartine, aged H.
Annie Rosschneider, aged IS.
Louisa Desepi, aged 16.
Ida Green, aged Is.
Annie Ford, aged 13.
Unidentified woman, about % years
Of age. whose body is at the morgue
Fatally injured:
Mary Mesino, injured internally,
skull fractured.
Josephine O'Ronco, injured inter-
nally.
Unidentified woman, fractured skull.
unconscious.
The injuries of the others consist
mainly of bruises about the body and
fractured limbs.
The building in which the disaster
occurred is a five-story brick structure
and reaches an entire block. Twelve
hundred persons were at work at the
time of the accident, 90 per cent. of
whom We're girls, whose ages range
from II years upward.
Tho trp11blp ba,rlO tba foI,rtI,
floor of the structure. Baccus, who was
fifth floor, for ball. of twine The ele-
Vator 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 carriage was. AS he did so
the elevator, which was descending
slowly, struck him across the back of
the neck, pinioning his head between
the elevator and the floor.
A stock boy released Baccus and
cried for help The foreman rushed
from the building TO call an ambulance
and Immediately there was a panic
among the employees. Some of the
younger girls tainted, while others. not
being able to control their feelings,
cried Fire" Instantly there was a
mad rush for the stairway leading into
10th street.
The girls rushed down the narrow
staircase until they reached a bend in
the exit. between the second and third
floors. In their eagerness to escape
the frightened leaders fell. Others i'm
mediately following tripped over the
struggling mass of humanity and in
less than a minute there were hun
dreds of children and young women
struggling in the passage way. The
shriekS ana screams of the terror
stricken girls could be heard for block
or more.
During the excitement an alarm of
Gre was turned in. but before the en-
gines could reach the scene, several Of
the occupants of the building had rush
ed to the windows and jumped to the
street, a distance of over 80 feet. Helen
Tolini, one of those to jump, was almost
instantly killed.
When the firemen and policemen ar
rived, every effort was made to quiet
the terrorized girls. The firemen rush
ed up the stairway and begged the girls
to be calm, telling them that there was
absolutely no danger, but the sight OF
the firemen seemed only to add fuel to
the flames.
While the policemen and fremen
were endeavoring to quiet the girls on
the stairway, ladders were being run
up on the outside of the building and
the employees who had climbed out onto
the fire escapes and window ledges
were quickly taken to the street
After a few minutes the men were
enabled to check the awful crush on
the stairway and then began the work
of rescUing those who had been tram
pied and crushed between the second
and third floors.
The. work of taking the girls from the
windows was necessarily tedious. They
were so excited that they did not seem
to understand the pleadings of the fire
men. AT nearly every window of the
huge structure were girls screaming
and crying for help.
Fne panic was over in less than half
? l hour, but in this brief space thous-
nds of persons had been attracted to
4he scene by the wild screams of the
relatives of the victims and the shrieks
of the girls at the windows.