The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-06
Miraculous Escapes From House Owned by MT. Stephens. A NEGRO WORKMAN
 INJURED SERIOUSLY Building Occupied by Family Being Raised When
 It Collapsed. News Caused Sensation, and All Am- balances, Surgeons, Police and Fire Department Were Sum-
 moned to Scene-Loss
 Estimated at

A negro laborer pushed a trine too hard on a jack" while raising the res- idence of Thomas A. Stephens, 120 Will kinson Street. In less than a minute Thomas A. Stephens was homeless.
 The building like a house of cards. with which children play, had collapsed before more than bare word of warn ing could be shouted by it's owner, who was directing the work.
 This occurred shortly after 3 o'clock yesterday and threw the neighborhood into excitement.
 The wife of Mir. Stephens and his aged mother were in the residence at the time of the collapse, and although the structure was completely denol. ished, both of the Mrs. Stephens were taken from the ruins practically un- hurt.
 Linton Howard, a negro laborer, who was engaged in the work, was caught under the mass of debris and suffered a fractured skull and broken arm. He was taken to St. Margarets Hospital where he will probably die.
 George Simpson, another negro ia- borer. was missing until a late hour last night, when he was found at his home. Excavation into the debris had not disclosed the whereabouts of Simp~ sons body, and 1t was believed he was
  was working near a chimney toward the rear of the structure and 1t was thought that he could not have pos- sibly escaped death.
 Hoase Purchased Recently.
 The one story frame residence at 120 Wilkinson Street was purchased by MT. Stephens less than year ago. The structure was in reality two-story house. one floor being below the sur- 70 tAn pfA n ago Mir. Stephens decided to raise this floor to the level of the sidewalk. Hiaks ing it a two-story house.
 The work was practically completed yesterday afternoon at S;16 o'clock and the twenty-two negro laoorers were doing the last of the work of raising the building with jacks"
 The negroes working on the north- east side of the building were going at theirs labor with. more energy than their fellow wofkmen end the supports were not placed under the house quick enough. The structure teppied and ca" reened. Mir. Stephens saw what was about to happen, and, crying out a warning to the negroes, he sought safety in flight.
 The structure fell with a crash that was heard in the downtown district. For few minutes nothing could be seen for the dust. During this period pandemonium reigned. Numbers of neighbors of the Stephens family had seen the building rased within five sec onds and they saw nothing of the nu- naerous workmen who were inside and under the house.
 Telephones were resorted to and hur- " calls for surgeons. ambulances, the police and fire department were sent. News was Exaggerated. Reports which reached town inme- diately after the accident indicated that Mir. Stephens, his entire family and 8 number of workmen were killed or were buried alive under the mass of debris.
 The entire Fire Department quickly responded and a special detail of po- lice was sent to the scene.
 great crowd collected with unusual rapidity and the police were compelled to establish fire lines.
 The work of clearing the debris was at once begun. A nasty search was fn- stituted to ascertain if any one was killed. Five young children had es" capped all danger, being either down. town or playing in the neighborhood.
 Sidney Stephens was assisting his father in directing the work of the negroes at the time of the collapse,