Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-05-28
CAGE DROPPED so FEET.
The Dead are Mashed Almost
Beyond Recognition.
A STEEL CABLE SNAPPED
Elevator Fell Four Stories and the I3
People Therein w ere Jammed Under
Twisted Steel and Broken Timbers
Huge Weights Fell OH Them.

Pittsburg, May 23.-One man and.
three women were killed and five or
six injured last night at 1926 Fifth
avenue, a building occupied by
dancing academy. The cause of the
fatalities was the swapping of the
elevator ropes, allowing the cage to.
drop 80 feet.
The dead are so badly smashed
that Identification was impossible up
to midnight. The only one whose
name may be correct is Catherine
Curtin. On her body was found u.
railroad ticket with the name on it.
Among the injured are:
Harry Lipson, aged %, bruised all
over body and hurt internally.
Miss Kate Flanagan, 27, bruised all
over the body and suffering from
shock.
Albert Myers, 20, fractured leg.
Mrs. Lulu Postlewaite, scalp wound
and body bruised
banquet and ball was being held
in the building by the Pennsylvania
Electro-Mechanical institute and
every available portion of the fifth
and sixth floors was crowded by
members of the institute and their
friends.
At about 10 o'clock the elevator
with a load of 13 passengers started
for the banquet room on the sixth
floor. When that floor was reached
1t was found that every place was.
crowded and the passengers decided
to go to the fifth floor, where the
dancing was in progress. When be-
tween the sixth and fifth floors the,
steel cable snapped and with re-
sounding crash that was heard
blocks away the cage dropped with
its load of human freight
1t smashed through the floor above
the cellar of the building and was,
stopped by braced post Of wood,
three feet below the first floor. In
this inaccessible position the passen-.
gers were iammed under broken tim
bers and twisted steel, yet none
might have been killed had not the
heavy iron balance weights, weigh
ing over Il ton, come crashing down
upon them. MiraculouSly all but four
were able to scramble out. The
others were pinioned under heavy
weights. Four were mashed almost
beyond recognition.
Albert Myers was held a prisoner
NOR more than an hour. While fire
men and volunteer rescuers were pre-
pairing riggings to lift the machine
so as to be accessible, he lay pinioned
under the wreckage. Whisky and
water were passed TO him, with
words of encouragement. fireman
endangered his life by dropping into
e
the injured mans head. "Ifeavens,
it was hot down there" was the
brave mans first words spoken while
being carried from his prison to a
hospital ambulance. That more peo-
pie were not killed is a miracle. The
wreck of the elevator was complete.
1t required dozens of firemen to ac--
complish the work of securing the
bodies.
When the accident occurred more
than 400 men, women and children
were on the dancing floor. As the
elevator struck the bottom cloud
of dust blew into the room from the
open elevator door. Quickly Harry
ellison closed the entrance and cried,
"ralle your partners for two-step.'
Scores of policemen were present
and ordered all persons IN the Ouild--
ing to remain quiet. In this way the
people were allowed to pass from the
building by relays, avoiding panic
that might have resulted in many
more fatalities.
The opinion prevails that the elc-
vator was overcrowded and Superin-
tendent of Police McTighe ordered
the arrest of Prof. L. y. Giles me-
chanical engineer and instructor of
the Pennsylvania Eleotro-Mechanica
institute.
At the time of the accident he was
running the elevator. 1t is alleged
that he allowed the elevator to be
overcrowded and that he had no eX-
pericnce in running an elevator and
was partly responsible for the acci-'
dent.
Col. AmmOn Is Rearrested.
New York, May 23.-COl. Robert \.
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