The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1904-03-03
FIVE ACCIDENTS IN ONE.
So the Victim Figured 1t Out, But
the Insurance Company Thought
Differently.

"The soullessness of corporations IL
something to stun you,' said the man
with the heavy mustache and the band |
age about his head, writes w. Bob Hol-
land in the Philadelphia Press Sunday
Magazine II am myself a victim; and
instead of being man of wealth and an
honor to the community, am now rel
ic of humanity just from the hands OF
surgeon who made an earnest effort to
restore me to the form in which grew
while reaching manhood's estate.
Let me tell you about it. carry an
accident insurance policy, by the terms
Of which the company that insured me
agreed to pay me $25 week during such
time as I was prevented from working
because of an accident.
"A week ago | went around on
Sunday morning to a new house that Is
being built for me- l climbed the stairs,
or rather the ladder that is where the
stairs will be when the house is finished,
and on the top floor I found a pile Of
bricks which were not needed there.
Feeling Industrious, I decided to re-
move the bricks. In the elevator shaft
was a rope and pulley, and on one end
Of the rope was barrel. l pulled the
barrel up to the top. after walking down
| the ladder, and then fastened the rope
| firmly at the bottom. Then / climbed
| the ladder again and filed the barrel
with brick. Down the ladder climbed
again, five stories, mind you, and united
| the rope to let the barrel down. The
barrel was heavier than was, and be-
fore had time to study over the prop
osition, l was going up the elevator
shaft with my speed increasing every
minute. thought about letting go OF
the rope, but before had decided to do
so, was SO high that it seemed more
dangerous to let go than to hold on; SO
Iheld on. Half way uD the elevator shaft
| I met the barrel of bricks coming down.
The encounter was brief, but spirited.
I got the worst of it, and continued on
my way toward the roof That Is, most
of me went on; but much Of my epider-
mis- clung to the barrel and returned tc
earth. Then struck the roof at the
same time that the barrel struck the
cellar. The shock knocked the breath
out Of me and the bottom out of the bar.
rel. Then l was heavier than the empty
barrel, and started down, while tht
barrel started up. We met in the middle
of our journeys, and again the barre
uppercut me. pounded my solar plexus
barked my shins, bruised my body ant
skinned my face. When we became un
tangled, resumed my downward jour
ney, and the barrel went higher. / wa
soon at the bottom. | stopped SO sud
denly that l lost my presence of min'
and let go the rope. This released tn
barrel, which was at the top of the ele
vator shaft, and it fell Ave stories AM
landed sQuarely on top of me. And
landed hard, too. Now here is wher
the heartlessness of the insurance com
pany comes in. sustained five acci
dents within two minutes. Once on m
journey up the shaft when met the bar
rel of bricks, the second when I struc
the roof, the third when was descend
ing and met the empty barrel. the fourt
when struck the bottom and the fift
when the barrel struck me. One az
cident would entitle me to $25 q weel
Five accidents should entitle me
$125 a week, and figured that by stay
ing in bed ten weeks I could clean u
a comfortable sum. But the tnsuranC
man said it was but one accident, and b
would pay but $50 week.
Argument was of no avail, and 50
remained in bed four days and am no
expecting check for $14.2S. Now, ism
that a shame?
, "No? Yes?"