Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-09

Albany, N. Y, Aug 9-Fully 200 men this morning were still toiling over the wreckage of the John C.. Myers Co department store, where "A hours ago occurred the saddest catas- trophe in the history of Albany, Elev- en dead bodies, many of them man gled almost beyond recognition, have been taken from the ruins thus far, and one woman died after being car ried to the hospital. The known death list, which last night numbered only five, has been more than doubled by the addition of the following, all em. plOyes:
 Mary McAvoy, died at hospital.
 Anna Cashman.
 Theresa SpannbaueT.
 Etta Sprinks.
 Grace E. Ebner.
 Helen Malone
 John E. Powers, cash boy.
 In addition to these it Is almost cer- tain that 15 or 20 bodies still remain in the twisted mass of beams. wires, plaster, brick and lath that was once the main portion of one of the cityS largest stores.
 Shortly after daybreak the searchers found the twelfth body. It was that of Miss Helen Malone. a young girl, who shared the cashiers gallery OF the main floor with Anna Whitbeck. Minnie Pullman and Alice Sharp, and was crushed beneath the same Iron girders that killed her three compan- ions. Others in the above list were carried out of the ruins between the hours of 2 and o'clock this morning.
 The injured in the hospitals are do ing well with two exceptions. Miss Ella Donahue, who was one of the hrst survivors to be taken out Of the wreck, has several of her vertebrae fractured and 1t is said cannot live. Mrs William Borst of Windom, Minn' who was one of the few shoppers in' iured. is also reported to be in a crlti- cal condition. Mrs Borst was visiting Mrs Richard w. Brass, wife of well known attorney, and the two women were out on an early shopping tom. Mrs Brass also was injured, but af' | ter being in the wreckage several hours was removed without serious | wounds. The only addition to the list of injured is Thomas Rogers. a fire
 man, who was painfully though no' seriously bruised and cut while at the work of rescue.
 It is thought scarcely possible thai
 any of those now imprisoned in the debris can be alive. Since midnight only dis1gured
 corpses have been taken out Fifty
 women employees are still unaccounted for and as the firm has complete lls' of these grave fears are expressed TOT the safety of the majority. A large percentage of those in the central DOT iion of the building, which collapsed were women.
 The number of men unaccounted fol
 is about the same. but the loss ot th' firms books makes anything Ike
 complete record of the male employe' inaccessible. It is thought that nlne | tenths of the bodies remaining In th' 1 ruins are those of women. The people of Albany have begun tC i ask who is responsible Mayor Gaus i Chief Higgins of the fire departmen ! and Commissioner Cantine of the de
 partment of public safety believe tha l fine accident was caused directly bl workmen excavating beneath the base ment floor. who undermined one o | the key brick piers in the center o l the building. and their belief IS gener | ally shared. Mayor Gaus said to-da!
 If any person has been guilty o l negligence. 10 which this accident | due. he will be punished Commissioner Cantine said:
 Those who have charge of th' work will have to explain" Roth officials promise an investiga ! tiou as soon as The work of rescue I over. This investigation VIII prOba | bIy t-e preceded by the coroner's in | o1leS,. as soon as the last body is re ! covered.
 The work under way when th' ! building collapsed was in charge o | Contractor John Dyer. jr. H th' | thIrry-One men employed hy him oi the building. every one eSca1ed. Al nearly aIl of them were in or uDie tha basement in the Very center of th' | structure. their escape is aimoS 1 miraculous.
 Stories of the survivors however
 show that those on the basement floor
 where the underpinnIng of the build | ing first gave wsy- received warniO. which enabled all but one or two q | them fo reach a place of safety befor' the four upper floors came crashing down
 All day yesterday Coniracts- Johl Dyer. Jr. refused to sec reporters an
 wovIId nOt talk about the aeciden1- To dav he made the following statement
 Fl had the contract for the wori ]. that uss being done st the NFer ssore- We were enlarxing the base
 ment- I had sbost thirty men a wcrk- There was excavaTi1n do1r hEr none that I knc- of that w11i | weaken the walls I cogid not szv Q.
 hand what the thickne<z of the vsIl
 vae- Ncse of our vcrk gave uay