Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-03
BUILDING DISASTER.
Great Steel Frame of New Hotel Col
 lapSed.

kTreaC Steel trame or New douei CoI-
 lapsed.
 NEW YORK, March 3.-The big steel skeleton of ten story apartment ho- tel that was being erected at 57 and 60 West Forty sixth street collapsed at 1:90 o'clock yesterday afternoon, carrying a large gang of workmen down in the wreckage. There were about fifty men at work on the struc- ture when the disaster came, it was es- timated, and but few of them escaped without injury. @s.a.
 The collapse of the building was ac- companied by mighty roar that was heard for blocks. One or two persons who were In the vicinity said that just before the crash they heard something like an explosion. Some one thought that there was an explosion of the boil CT used in connection with the derrick engine in the basement, and this was advanced as a theory for the collapse. The engineer of the derrick engine, who escaped, said that the boiler did not explode.
 A body taken from the center of the
  Morley, foreman in charge of the con- crete works. Many of the workmen have been taken out badly injured
 Coroner Scholer stated that he be- lieved the collapse was caused by over loading the fifth floor with building material. Assistant District Attorney Rand began an examination of wit nesses on the spot. The building was an uncompleted apartment hotel and was to have been called the Darlington. By it's collapse thirteen lives are known to be lost. Six bodies were recovered, and seven more are known to be buried under the debris of the ruins. It Is feared that the list of those killed will be still fur kher increased when the wreck kers com plete their task. In the hospitals are fourteen injured, several of whom are not expected to recover. Twenty per sons are reported missing.
 Inspector Jordan said that from the time the work upon the Darlington be- gan friction between the builders and the department of buildings has been unceasing. Several times the plans were rejected as faulty. The girders were declared te be too weak to sup port the load they would have to sus- tain. The weight of the building, 1t was said, was improperly distributed upon the foundation. ...
 Work upon the building was ordered Co be suspended until it had been strengthened. A final complaint was made yesterday, and John F. Ahearn had instructed that an injunction should be obtained against the build CTS, but the collapse intervened te make that step useless.
 District Attorney Jerome is making a personal investigation of the hisas ter.
 When Fire Chaplain Wakeley ar rived he found two men pinioned in tho basement. One was Frederick Mohn, a foreman of the Roeblings who was in cage formed of the GU tangled steel. He said he was not SC riously injured and begged that great care be exercised in removing the de brig, so that none of the iron woulc crush him. Another work man of tho name of Armstrong was also in a simi Bar cage of steel.
 Only ten of the fifty or more mer known to have. been at work on th' building had been accounted for a' having escaped injury. One theory offered for the disast was that thu steel girders buckled, allowing th' whole structure to collapse.
 Mrs. Frank Storrs, who was eatins luncheon in the dining room of th Pattison apartment house, was takel out in dying condition and expired q few minutes later in Dr. Barclay oElee in thV Pattison. Mrs. Storr owned large summer house at Rye N. '. Her husband Is travelling in Eu rope.
 Erneyt Meyers, a waiter, was car ried from tho dining room of the Pat tison badly injured.
 Policeman Frank Martin of the Eas Fifty-frst street station, who was q post near the wrecked building, dia covered two dead bodies in the rear