Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-09
iix of Them Are Dead aud Many Are
Seriously Injured,
'HREE MORE BODIES IN SIGHT
fifty Persons Are Missing and Most Of
Them Are Probably Dead.
STRUCTURE UNDERGOING REPAIRS
Foundation Under Two pillars Gives
Way and All the Floors Fall
wallis stiII stand
ing.

ALBANY. N V, Aug S,-The middle
section Of the big department store OF
the John G. Myers company in North
Pearl street collapsed early today, carry
ing down with It, over 100 persons
Caught in a choas of brick, plaster and
wooden beams. between twenty and thirty
men, woman and children met death
Twelve hours frantic work on the part
Of an army Of rescuers disentanEled fifty
people, six Of them dead, and many of the
rest badly injured Three bodies were in
sight at late hour tonight, but many
hours work will be required to get them
out Anything like a complete list of the
killed and injured will be unobtainable
until the workers have made their way
to the very bottom Of the mass of wreck
age. with few exceptions those caught In
the ruins were employees, majority of
them girls.
The dead thus far removed from the
ruins:
MICHAEL FITZGERALD.
FRANK LEONARD.
MISS ANNA, 2. WHIITBECK.
MISS ALICE J.. SHARP,
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN.
The fatally injured:
Miss Helen Donahue.
Miss Mary McEVoy.
The list of injured as compiled tonight
shows that thirty-sx employees OF the COM
pany were injured, three seriously. Besides
these FIVE shoppers were injured.
The collapse occurred shortly after the
openipg hour when barely a score Of shop
pers were in the store A clock found In
the debris had stopped at twelve minutes
before nine showing that the crash came
then.
The best account of the event that prob
ably caused the ruin is given by the head
of the crockery, glass and drug depart
ment which occupied the basement. He
said:
The workmen were saving at wooden
floor beam which runs under the northerR
end of the central pillars In the middle or
the store. Excavation for the cellar was
going on about the base of this pillar and
IL displaced the foundation of the pillar.
The frst thing l knew two of the counters
near the place where the men were 1870 VOTE NJ
ing began to sag. and several pieces OF
glassware were Slid off onto the moor
with a crash. ] yelled to my clerks 20
run for the front of the store. The words
were not out of my mouth when there
came cracking and everything around US
began to fall. The wreck came i,e $40 sl0wis, ds,
partment escaped, as well as the Workmeil'
The pillar which gave way supported
the ends of two giant girders and when II
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 adjoining buildings, nearly half
the great structure, from cellar TO roor
and extel-Eing from one side wall to the
other, came grinding down. When the
fremen arrived they had plenty to do In
rescuing those who were pinned under the
top wreckage.
In a short time the citys entire hospital
| and ambulance force was on the scene
aided by half hundred doctors from all
! parts of the city
The volunteer rescuers and iremen con-
/ tinued the work until exhausted, when their
places were taken by a wrecking force
| numbering 300 men from the New York
/ Central and Delaware & Hudson railroads.
| These delved in the ruins all night. but
the work Of rescue proceeded slowly. When
darkness came it was estimated that nearly
/ ffty people still remained in the ruins, and
! that not more than half of these could sur
yive the weight pressing on them Fortu-
! nately the wreck did not catch on fire.
Some hundred persons are still unac-
counted for. but nifty of these are cash
boys Of which the firm has no record and
. the loss of the payroll makes II difficult
to get anything like a complete list OF
many others In all the company has 4GC
employees, but fifty Of these are away on
! vacations
The building which collapsed stands in
the heart of the shopping district at Nos
| 80 and Al North Pearl street. I'll Is owned
partly by the company and partly by the
! estate Of the late David Orr. The loss "a
the company is estimated at between 500
OOO and 100000. The building was very
old one, but until now considered perfectly
sound.