Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-01

the present writer. They included an es-
cape on the part of the contractor that was
remarkable. In truth. the accident hurt
no one, though the building was entirely
wrecked. 1t happened early in the morn
ing, before the men. had gone to work.
The repairs to this building. which was
of four stories, comprised the rearrange-
ment of the partitions on the upper three
floors and the putting on OF a new roof.
Nothing whatever was being done to the
walls or foundations. SO there was no cause
whatever to suspect any danger of col
lapse.
At about o'clock on the morning of the
accident the contractor, his foreman. the
owner of the building and one skilled work
man began inspection of the work, as
far as 1t had gone. Having visited the
three floors above the street level. they
climbed the narrow stairs leading to the
roof 1t. was then a little after $50, and
the workmen on the job were beginning to
assemble In front of the building.
Suddenly and without warning" as a
local afternoon paper told the story. that
day, a great cracking and creaking was
heard and the men on the roof felt 1t set
tie. The owner ran to the edge as IL TO
Jump off, but the contractor grasped him
by the coat collar and prevented any such
hysterical foolishness. One Or TWO or the
workmen started toward the building as
soon as they saw the bullying walls, SEEM
ing to think they might rush into the build
ing and rescue the men on the roof. Pres
emily. however, they thought better or II
and ran for their lives with their fellows.
Then the grand smash came with deaf
ening roar and a great cloud of dust. The
walls collapsed slowly. however, and the
roof came down ION an even Keel, so TO
speak, the owner franticafly bobbing ABOUT
during the entire descent, while the con-
tractor hung on to him with the grimncss
of death itself. Arrived to within about
fifteen or twenty feet of the street level
the downward journey of the roof was ar
rested and then balanced itself on a
great mound of brick, broken glass, board
and timberS.
After little owner, contractor. foreman
and skilled workman were helped to de-
scend, hysterical and trembling with nerY-
business, to be sure, but quite unhurt, save
that they were all half-blinded by the cloud
of fine dust which the collapse had raised.
Certainly few more thrilling moments
have been experienced by any men than
those which came to the contractor WHO
saved himself from the raging waters OF
the trunk sewer and he who rode to the
street from above the fourth floor of col
lapsed building. But the excitements of The
contractors life are by no means confined
to those which grow out of accidents
There is hardly contractor of any weight
in any city who could not tell score OF
good yarns about the thrills thai come
sometimes when bids are being made UP
for city work and big contracts for COR
pora tons; of business intrigues plotted
with much beating of hearts, months in
advance; of scleyerly laid schemes to learn
the plans of other contractors; of money
raised with difficulty, impartially 20 glease
the palms of the grafters on both sides OF
the political fence, in order that thare may
be no falling through of weu-laid plans
when the awards are finally. made; of days
and nights of racking uncertainty some
times terminated with the securing of the
coveted contract and consequent fortune
winning; sometimes terminated by loss OF
the award and occasionally financial ruin.
In oil, in beef and pork, in tobacco, in
sugar and in some other commodities great
combinations which we term trusts have
been built up to prevent just such uncer-
families due to competition, and more sue
cessfufly than Is to the liking of the most
of US, too. Contracting trusts have been
attempted from time to time, also, and
with some little degree of success occa-
sionally, though generally they have peen
futile.
Possibly the labor unions furnish the chief
reason for the comparatively non-success
of the attempted combinations of the con-
tractors; possibly the chief reason lies IN
ness. At all events, as long as 1t remains
essentially what 1T Is and human nature
is unchanged there will be plenty of CON-
petition And long as there Is COM
petition there will be no lack of excite
ment, of thrills. of uncertainty In the con-
tractors days work.