Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-01-27
DARING OF SOME WORKERS.

DARING OF SOME WORKERS.
Housesmiths Brave Death Daily and
Think Nothing of 1t.
They had been watching man
ascend to the tenth story of the
framework of a new bank building by
the simple expedient of standing on a
large beam and holding on to the hoist
ing rope.
ITS against the rules" explained
the contractor, but they will do it.
You can't stop 'em. 1t Is just as quick
for fellow to go up by the ladders
as to risk his life in that way, and
mighty little more trouble, but famil-
iarity with danger breeds contempt of
1t. That's why there are very few big
buildings put up in this town with
out at least one man being killed in
each.
"Only the special providence which
watches over the reckless as well as
over babies and drunkards prevents a
whole lot more deaths among these
Ihousesmiths. The insurance companies
hate to take them as risks at any
price, and don't blame them There's
hairbreadth escape a day, at least,
on one of these tall buildings.
Some of the things I've seen myself
I'd hardly have believed If anyone had
told me about them. I'll tell you Just
one, and though don't expect you to
credit 1t, my reputati ton as a truth
full and sober man may be good
enough to carry it. 1 was an eye
witness
I'VE were putting up big hotel.
The framework had just reached the
eighth story and the masonry and the
| flooring Of one or two Of the interven-
ing stories were already In. I was
up on the top with a gang Of house
smiths. and they were hosting up
big girder. The foreman was kneeling
on the edge of the frame, shouting
directions down to the street, and the
girder had just reached the top.
"As they were swinging it into
place the men let go Of it for mo-
Ement and the end swung around upon
the foreman, hitting him behind as he
kneh and sweeping him over the edge
into the street, 120 feet or so below.
There seemed to be no possible
chance for his life. Somehow, though,
he fell against the slack guy rope
which was dangling from the beam.
His leg and arm got tangled in 1t
three stories below, and he stuck to
the rope. More than that, the slack
rope actually swung him into a win
dow in the fifth story. That happened
to be one of the few in which the
flooring had been put in, and the rope
dropped him on the floor, unhurt
HE had been working for our firm
for years, and 1 knew him and liked
him as good foreman. When he
went over the edge of the framework
was horror-struck.
1T was a minute or two before re-
covered my self-possession. Then I
hurried down, expecting to find his
mangled body in the street.
"As went down the ladder 1 met
him coming up, bruised, but unhurt,
and all he was thinking of was how
he could best tell the men who let
the beam slip what sort of a BANKED
set Of blankety blank shiftless good
for-nothings they were.
HE did Though he has as mar
row an escape from death as I can
conceive of q mans undergoing, he
went right back to work and bossed
the gang for the afternoon, after firing
the man who he believed was respon-
sible for the accident
Some folks were surprised to read
of the bridgemen and housesmiths who
only thought of being paid for their
overtime when they went back with
the firemen up the tower of the East
river bridge and fought the fire,
standing on the burning bridge while
they hacked away the timbers. 1
wasn't I know the kind they are, and
for sheer reckless daring they're hard
i to beat"-New York Sun.