The Washington times., 1903-02-01
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ing in many directions at once around
the tops of neighboring buildings.
That's where the beauty Of en-
pIoying seafaring men for this line Of
work comes in. said Foreman Con-
nors, in charge of the Commonwealth
Construction Company's building on
Washington and Milk streets, Boston.
They are accustomed TO being aIoft
in all kinds of weather They can
feel a breeze coming. They seem
to know which way the next puff Of
wind is coming from before IT strikes.
They know it by intuition, I suppose"
It was in many a piping breeze,
dangling from yardaTms far out over
wildly pitching ship, that these men
/ learned to gauge the force Of the wind
and to anticipate its veerings. TIE
knowledge SO acquired has stood them
in good stead.
I have seen a good many bad falls
in my day, observed Foreman Con-
nors. but have never known one Of
these scafaring landlubbers to get
blown of a steel column. If ever they
fall it's from some other reason. I
don't believe they could be dislodged
by an Irishman's hurricane That,
you know, blows straight up and
doEn, with a corkscrew twist"
Arc Careless at Times
The degree Of care used bys these
men is simply astonishing. and yet the
most careful are at times careless. To
stand and watch them moving about,
one not acquainted with the business
might think them the most needless
set % men in the world.
High above you a man Is crossing
from one side Of the building to the
other on a narrow steel frame. The
frame on which he walks is. perhaps.
five inc1es wide. You notice him lean
slightly to one side as ne walks. A
pufr Of wind struck him just then and
he leaned to counteract it.
His walk across the narrow frame at
an end, he stops beside the column
and stands ready to adjust heavy
Crossbeam that is being lifted by the
derrick. Slowly it moves into place.
The man sits on the narrow edge of
the beam running at right angles. It
is tiny shelf. not over an inch and
half wide Steadying himself with one
hand, he uses his free hand and both
feet to crowd the end of the suspend
ed beam into its appointed slot. Then
he sits on it and prizes it into its ex-
act position by aid OF an instrument
that looks like steel marlinspike.
Throughout this little maneuver he
has worked with careless air. In
reality his slightest move has been
made to safeguard his own safety.
And yet accidents do happen. He may
90 through the same movements a
thousand times. and then-by some
little thing quite unforeseen he is a
shapeIess mass on the ground beneath.
Should ne fan inside the building the
chances are he viii not be greatly in
jured, Massachusetts, has a wise law.
which comprls contractors 10 lay
flank hoorings on each floor az the
building goes up. It is rarely now that
a man falls more than one story on
the inside, but occasionally an exposed
place may let him through for two or
three floors.
According 10 the forerIen on build
Ings now being erected in Boston, the
carelessness of the men is to blame
for about all the accidents. The men
themselves admit that this is in
measure true, but they point out that
il is impossible wholly 10 avoid danger
H. such hazardous calling
Deaths IN Queer Ways.
Men sometimes get killed in queer
ways William Pope, a riveter on the
State Mutual Building on Congress
street. tells Of a fellow workman once
who lost his life by reaching for his
coat The garment hung from an ad-
Joining column about TWO feet distant
A blur may have passed over the
mans eyes. No one ever knew. His
hand failed TO touch the column by an