The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-08-09
dead and INJURED IN
THE ALBANY DISASTER
ONLY FIVE BODIES THUS EAR
REMOVED FROM THE
RUINS.

{ sg- x @ e
Many Others buried Beneath the Debris
and Exact Number Of Those Who Lost
Their Lives VIII not be known Until
workers Have Made Their way 10
Bottom--V Victims Include Large Num-
ber Of Csirls--Cause Of the Collapse
Of the Building.
Albany. N. Y, Aug. s.The middle
section Of the big department store Of
the John G. Myers company on North
Pearl street collapsed to-day, carrying
down with it over 100 persons. Caught
in "a mass OF bricks, plaster and wooden
beams. between twenty and thirty men.
women and children met death ia a
multitude of horrible FORMS Twelve
hours of frantic work on the part Of
an army of rescuers disentangled fifty
people, six Of them dead and many of
the rest badly injured. Three bodies
are in sight, but many hours work viii
be required to get them out Anything
like a complete list Of the killed and
injured will not be obtainable until tha
workers have made their way to the
very bottom Of the mass Of Wreckage.
With q few exceptions those caught iii
the ruins We're employees, and a large
majority Of them were girls.
The catastrophe occurred shortly af-.
ter the opening hour when barely
score of shoppers were in the store. al
clock found In the debris had stopped
att IL minutes before g.
The best explanation Of the cause Of
the accident IS given BY the head Of the
crockery, glass and drug department,
which occupies the basement.
The Workmen were saving at the
wooden floor beams he said, which
runs underneath one Of the central pill
lars III the middle of the store Ex-
caVations for the cellar was going On
| about the base Of this pillar, and be-
| ilieye that jarring the beam beneath 1t
displaced the foundation Of the pillar.
The first thing / knew two of the
counters near the place where the men
We're working began to sag, and several
pieces Of glass were slid off onto tfe
floor with q crash. yelled to my
clerks to run to the front of the store.
| The words were not out Of my mouth
1 when there came creaking and every
thing around ls began to fail. Tile
wreck came slowly, however assaaa y
think everyone IN nv department go
capped as well as the Worknen.'
/ The pillar which gave way supported
] the ends Of two giant girders, and
when 1t fell the main supports 81 the;
1 central part OF the building was gone.
With noise that could be heard blocks
! away and which shook the adjoining
1 buildings like an earthquake, nearly
i half Of the great structure from cellar
/ to roof, and extending from one side
i wall to the other, came grinding down.
i In this cavernous hopper slid scores Of
employees who; were working On the four
4 floors above, and lacked the warming
which enabled those ii the basement to
escape. Many, however, were appris-
ed Of the danger by falling plaster ana
saved themselves by rushing to the
front Of tn estore Or to the fire escapes
in the rear
Clouds Of dust which shot out of the
i front entrance caused those outside to
believe that the store was af1re, ana
the fire alarm was turned In, When
i the department arrived 1t had plenty
to do la rescuing those who were PIN
Il ned under the Wreckage. The firernen
were Joined BY scores of volunteer ress
Il cuers, and within an hour fifteen os
twenty persons were carried out, none
LOT them fatally injured In a short
time the eity's entire hospital and am
bulance force was on the scene, aided
by half hundred doctors from all
lparts Of the city. The volunteer res
cuerss and the f1renen kpet up work
until exhausted, when their places were
staken by a wrecking force numbering
800 from the New York Central and
Delaware and Hudson railroads. These
delved in the ruins throughout the
Il Continued on Eighth Page.3