Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-02-28
PLACING
 THE BLAME
Authorities Making
 An Investigation.
To Ascertain Cause of Col. lapse of Church Floor heavy beam which Sup ported Floor Gave Way.

New York, Feb 2S-A searching in vestigation was begun to-day by the county and borough authorities of Brooklyn and the police of that borough to ascertain the cause of the collapse of the floor of the Fleet street African Methodist Episcopal church of Zion last night when eleven persons were killed and upwards of fifty in jured. Statements disagree on the point whether the supports of the floor of the church were so rotten as to convict some one of criminal negli- gence in permitting an assemblage of five hundred persons within the build ing. The authorities are trying to find out just what the condition of the floor was and to place the blame for the disaster. Coroner Flaherty of Brooklyn to-day began his investiga- tion and soon afterward declared that the disaster was due to gross negli- gence on the part of some que and as serted that it is his intention to fix the blame for it upon those guilty.
 Three hundred persons were crowd ed into the pews and aisles of the church last evening to attend the fu- neral of Sidney Painter when sec tion of the floor about forty feet square fell into the basement ten feet below which was used as Sunday school room. Into that hole the throng of people fell until they filled it to the level of the floor ten feet above. Those underneath were crushed to death by the weight of those above. Eight of those killed were colored wo- men and similar large portion of the injured were women. Those who were not either killed or badly injured be- came panic stricken and terrible scene ensued when their frantic efforts to escape from the building in the absolute darkness ana clouds of dust from the splintered flooring added to the horror of the disaster. Two hun dred of the funerl party. members of the colored order of Elks who were assembled in the basement below the main floor of the church. were not un- der that portion of the floor which fell and so escaped injury.
 It was ascertained today that the cause of the collapse was the breaking of heavy beam supporting the floor and running lenghtwise of the church near the south wall. Under the weight of the great number of people gather ed above it snapped square in two midway between the front and rear of the church. With scant warning af- fording no opportunity to escape the crowd was dumped into the chasm in the floor amidst mass of broken pews and snlintered timbers. Many of the persons who first fell wera buried under broken beams debris and a hundred struggling men and women. A great cloud of blinding. choking dust arose and added to the panic.
 X revised list of the dead follows: Bertha Green. Theresa Ellis, Samuel Chisholm, Anna Bean. Benjamin Clark. Anna Sulia. Anna Louise Smith. Freq, erick H. Voorhees,, Harriet Nelson, Ruby Thorp.
 Of the injured ten are in the hos. pital suffering with fractured limbs. broken bones and contusions, but none of them Is believed to be fatally in- jured Most of the injured were re. moved to their homes and their in- juries are of a minor character. Death fin nearly every case was due to suffo cation.
 Borough President Martin w. Little ton of Brooklyn was on the scene of the disaster soon after it happened and began an inquiry to find out who was to blame. He said to-day that the church building had never been official ly condemned. but last August mo- tlce of violation of the law providing for ample exit was sent to the pastor of the church. This resulted in the construction of rear exit which con tributed to the relief of the crush last night.
 The timbers which gave way first last night. he said. were of pine. and apparently in perfect condition. They were neither decayed nor of an un. substantial character. but had broken under weight greater than they were intended to support. Mir Little'on add ed that he could not see that anybody was to blame for the disaster. that it could not have been foreseen.