Evening star., 1903-10-19
FELL ON MEN WHO WE'RE WORK
ING BELOW.
Four Other Men Are Badly Hurt and
Two Are Missing-Engineer
Gave Warning.

Inc Oeau.
w. ]. McCloud
! George Wells.
G. w. Keitlinger
| William Kempton.
| c. l.. Fleming
Fred Sallirger.
Frank Dalby.
j. Campbell.
| Missing:
| Edward Morris.
James Simmons
Rep0rts of the missing are conflicting. it
being stated that one or two men were still
unaceounted for.
Two Unidentified Bodies.
Two bodies are at the morgue unidenti-
fed and one of them is thought to be that
of William Kempton of New York. card
numbered 2631 was found in his pocket. 1t
bore the name of kempton as member of
Local No. >. United Housesmths and
Bridge-1en's Association of New York. 1t
is thought that Kemptons home was in
New York. Death was due 10 conclusion
of the brain.
The injured:
Adolph Vosburg of Duquesne: fractures
below left elbow and of left femur.
Frank Hoover, Allegheny; injured in
ternally; recovery doubtful
VIM. Jay. aged twenty-siX, of Beaver
Fails: bruised; not dangerously hurt
y. NJ. Fowler, aged twenty-eight, of Pat
erson N. j.; left foot crushed; amputation
may be necessary.
The bridge is of the cantilever pattern,
being constructed by the American Bridge
Company for the Wabash railroad, and is
building from both sides of the river to-
ward the center by means of overhead
travellers.
The men had been at work on the Pitts
burg end but a short time this morning
when suddenly the traveller which pro
jected beyond the finished part of the
bridge dropped and fell. landing a sec
ton of the bridge which was being placed
in position. So unexpected and sudden was
the crash that few of the worllmen on the
wrecked section were warned in time 10
escape.
Bridge Lands on Barge.
The falling bridge landed on top of a
barge load of steel anchored at the pier and
several of the workmen there We're carried
down.
John McTighe. a cousin of the superin-
tendent of police who is a blacksmith
helper employed at the city machine shops,
happened 10 be the Monongahela wharf,
watching the men at work. when the acci-
dent occurred. tcTighe, in giving a de-
scription of the accident, said:
The men We're preparing 70 ram in one
of the pins on the bridge when the accident
took place Before | knew what had hap
pened l saw tile entire tcp Of the traveller
collapse, and the next minute the men were
falling through the air. 1t was terrible
sia.It. The men turned over and over as
they fell, and their bodies looked like SO
many flies. One of the men who fell from
the top of the structure alishted on his
head on the barge and rebounded several
feet, falling into the water. His crushed
body was taken out later One man was
at work some distance above the barge,
having hold of one of the ropes which was
used in hosting. He managed to escape,
and l saw him about the place later
Ao,;Ia,,f ~, bo WcrL
The accident is one of the worst of its
kind that has ever happened in this neigh
borhood. II is the first of a serious nature
to take place at the new bridge being con-
structed by the Wabash Railroad Company
over the Monongahela.
When the traveller snapped the hoisting
engineer realized what had taken place.
He opened the whistle of his engine and
blew a loud warning. This continued until
the breaking sections of the bridge threw
his steam pipes out OF gear HIS warning
however had been heard by Foreman Will
lam Riddle and the seven men at work IN
the ba rges underneath the bridge. They
scrambled to the planks and most of them
got ashore One of the men in his hasty
fight fell from one of the gangWays ana
had TO swim ashore.
Snagboat Rescues Bodies.
Near the new bridge was the United
States Sn2SDOat H. ~. " oooi uii' "Ho'S
crew with their skiffs, soon had recovered
four bodies most of them badly crushed
Another victim was rescued alive, but died
Of his in niures before he reached the shore.
| The towhoat John d. Watson came across
! the river from the opposite bank and joined
| the work of rescue. 1t succeeded in taking
| two raangled bodies from the river. Sk1rS
| from along the bank took two bodies from
! the steeI-laGen barge, while five men, more
/ or less crushed, were taken to the shore
The portion of the structure which gave
/ way. allowing the men to fall into the
! river over 200 feet below, is known as a
! ''cantilever crane" one being placed at the
| end of either span of the new bridge on the
| two sides of the river. The traveller" does
| not form IL part of the bridge structure
| portions of the span. On the top of the
| crane is level platform or floor. on which
| McCloud. Fleming and Sallinger, three of
| the victims, were at wrok. A number of
| the other men employed signalmen,
| holsters or hammers" were employed on
| were at work in the barge underneath the
| span. getting the girderS ready for hoist
| ing.
Bridgemen Offer Their Services.
| President c. P. Fitzgerald of Structural
| Iron Workers Union, No 3. arrived at the
wharf shortly before 10 o'clock Fully 400
| structural ironworkers from all portions of
| the city left their work and went 10 the
| scene of the disaster. President Fitzgerald
| and the men for time were unable to do
| anything but the president called for vol
| uhtecfS TO assist in towering and removing
| the Wreckage. Fifty structural ironwork-
erS responded. and in a short time were :,t
| work on the wreCkage.