The Ladysmith news and Ingram news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1906, 1905-08-12
OVER SCORE DEAD IN RUINS.
Section of Big Department Store at
Albany, N. Y, CoIlapses.

Albany, NJ. Y, CoIlapses.
Albany, N. Y, Aug. 1O.-The middle
section Of the big department store Of
the John G. Myers company collapsed
early yesterday, carrying down with
it over one hundred persons.
Caught in a chaos of brick, plaster
and wooden beams. between twenty
and thirty men, women and children
met death. Twelve hours frantic
work on the part of an army of res
cuers disentangled fifty people, six of
them dead and many of the rest bad
ly injured. Three bodies were in
sight at a late hour last night, but
many hours work will be required to
get them out. Anything like com
plete list of the killed and injured will
be unobtainable until the workers
have made their way to the very bot
tom of the mass of wreckage. With
few exceptions those caught in the
ruins were employees, a large
Majority of Them Girls.
The collapse occurred shortly after
the opening hour, with barely score
of shoppers in the store. The best
account of the accident is given bv
the head Cf the crockery, glass and
drug department. which occupies the
basement.
"The workmen were saving at
wooden floor BEAM" said he, which
runs under the northern end of the
central pillars in the middle of the
store. Excavation for the cellar was
going on about the base of this pillar,
and I believe that Earring of the beam
beneath it displaced the foundation of
the pillar. The first thing knew two
of the counters near the place where
the men were working began to sag,
and several pieces of glass were Slid
off onto the floor with a crash. |
yelled for my clerks to run for the
front of the store. The words were
not out of my mouth when
There Came Creaking
ana every luluS dlOuAO I'D OCSon w
fall. The wreck came slowly, however,
and | think every one in my depart
ment escaped, as we'll as the work
men,
The pillars which gave way support
ed the ends Of two giant girders, and
when it fell, the main support of the
central part of the building was gone.
With noise that could be heard
blocks away, and which shook the adj
joining buildings, nearly half OF the
great structure, from cellar to roof,
and extending from one side wall to
the other, came grinding down. Into
this cavern slid scores of employees
who were working on the four floors
above and lacked the warning which
enabled those in the basement to es-
cape.
When the fire department arrived
they had plenty to do in rescuing
those who were pinned under the top
wreckage. They were joined by
scores of volunteer rescuers, and
within an hour fifteen or twenty per-
sons were carried out, none of them
fatally injured.
Rescuers Work All Night.
The volunteer rescuers and firemen
continued the work until exhausted,
when their places were taken by
wrecking force numbering 800 men
from the New York Central and Della
ware & Hudson railroads. These
delved in the ruins all night, but the
work of rescue proceeded slowly.
When darkness came it was estimated
that nearly fifty persons still re-
NAMED in the ruins, and that not
more than half of these could survive
the weight pressing upon them. For
tunately the wreckage did not take
fire. Some one hundred persons are
still unaccOunted for