Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-08-10
BIG STORE
COLLAPSES
More Than 100 Peo-
pie Carried Down
\ lin Ruins
List, Of Fatalities Be-
tween Twenty and
Thirty
Workmen at Repairs
Caus e Building
to- Crash

Albany, n. Y.,l Aug. 9.-Ihe mlauIe
section of Jonn G. Myers company 5
big department ia North Pearl street
collapsed yesterday, carrying down
with it over 100 persons. Caught IN
chaos of brick, plaster and wooden
beams, between POI and 80 men, wom
en- and children MET death. Twelve
hours work on the }part of an army OF
rescuers disentangl9d so persons sA
of them dead and many OF the rest
badly injured. Tntee bodies were IN
sight at late hourl last night, oul
many hours Of work. will be required TO
get them out. Anything like a com.
plete list of the killed and injured
will be understandable until the workers
have made their way to the bottom oil
the mass of wreckageI Vita few eX-
ceptions those caught in the ruin were
employees, large majority OF them
girls. There were few shoppers in the
store at the time. Extensive repairs
were being made to the building
When the collapse came workmen
were saving a wooden floor beam
which runs under pillar in the middle
of the building. Excavation for eel
lar was going on about this pillar and
it is believed the EARRING of Sne beam
displaced the foundation of the pillar.
The pillar which gave way supported
the ends of two giant girdersl, and
when it fell the main support OF the
central part of the building was gone.
With a noise that could be heard
blocks away and which shook ai9oin-
ing buildings, nearly nalf Of the great
structure, from cellar to roof, and EEK
tending from one wall to another, came
grinding down.
Into this cavern Slid scores of EN-.
ployes who were working on the four
floors above and lacked the warning'
which enabled those in the basement
to escape. Some, however, were ap
prised of the danger by falling plaster
and saved themselves by rushing to
the front of the store or to fire escapes
In the rear. An alarm of fire was
turned in. When the fire department
arrived it had plenty to do in rescuing
those who were pinned under the
wreckage. They were Joined by
scores of volunteers and within an hour
Is or 20 persons were carried out, none
of them fatally injured. When dark
ness came it was estimated that nearly
so persons still remained in the ruins
and that not more than half OF these
could survive the weight pressing up.
on them. Fortunately the wreckage
did not take fire. Some 100 persons
are still unaccounted for, but so of
these are cash boys of which the firm
has no record, and the loss of the pay
roll makes it difficult to get anything
like a complete list of many others.
Partial List of Dead
The dead thus far removed from the
ruins are:
Michael Fothergil.
Frank Leonard.
Miss Anna e. Whitbeck.
Miss Kittie BLIZZARD
Miss Alice L. Sharp
An unidentified woman.
Misses Whitbeck, Billiard and
Sharp were crushed out of shape by
an iron girder and identified by their
clothing and jewelry.
The list of injured is more compiete
and shows SO employees injured, three
seriously. Besides these, five shop
pers were injured, among them Mrs.
William Borst of Window. MINI.