The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-09
MEET DEATH
 IN COLLISION Section of Store Suddenly
 COllapSeS. CAME WITHOUT WARNING Believed That More Than Score Lost Lives. List of Victims st AIhany, N. Y, Un- obtainable Till Rescuers Can
 DeIve to Bottom sf the
 Wrecksge.
CAME WITHOUT WARNING

John G. Myers in North Pearl strest collapsed early today, carrying 0own with it over 100 persons.
 Caught in a chaos of brick. plaster and wooden beams, between twenty and thirty men, women and children. met death. Twelve hours of frantic work on the part of an army of rps- cuers disentangled fitty people. six of them dead and many of the rest badly injured Three bodies were In sight at a late hour tonight but many hours work will be required to set thsm out. Anything like a complete list of the killed and injured will be unob- tainabIe until the workers make their way to the very bottom of the wreck age.
 With few exceptions, those caught in the ruins were employees, large majority of them girls. The collapse occurred shortly after the opening hour. when barely a score of shoppers were in the store. A clock found tn the debris had stopped at twelve min- tues before nine.
 The best account of the event that probably caused the ruin Is given by the head of the crockery. glass and drug department, which occupies the basement.
 The workmen were saving at q wooden floor beam." said he. which  central pillars in the middle of the store. The excavation of the cellar was going on about the base of this pillar and believe that the jarring of the beam beneath 1t displaced the foundation of the pillar. The first thing I knew. two of the counters Eear the place where the men were working began to sag and several pieces of glassware slid off onto the floor with a crash yelled to my clerks tc run for the front of the store. The words were not out of my mouth when there came a creaking ard everything around us began to fall. The wreck came slowly. however. and I think every one in my department. as well as the work men, escapeds'
 1 The pillars which gave way support- ed the ends of two giant. girders and when the main support of the central part of the building was gone, with noise that could be heard blocks away and which shook the adjoined buildings, nearly half the great struc- ture from cellar to roof and extend- ing from one side wall to the other, came grinding down.
 Fell Into Cavern.
 Into this cavern slid scores of em- ployes who were working on the floors above and lacked the warning which enabled those in the basement to es-
  the danger by falling plaster and saved themselves by rushing to the front of the store or to the fire escapes in the rear. Clouds of dust which shot out of the front entrance caused those on the outside to believe the store was on fire and the alarm was immediaG GN turned in. When the fire department arrivd it had plenty to do in rescuing those who were under the wreckage. It was joined by scores of volunteer rescuers and within an hour fifteen or twenty persons were carried out. none of them fatally injured.
 In a short time the city's entire hos pital and ambulance force was on the scene. aided by half hundred doctors from all. parts of the city.
 The volunteer rescuers and hremen continued the work until exhausted. when their places were taken by wrecking force numbering 300 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 1t was estimated that nearly fifty persons still remained in the ruins and that not more than half of these could survive the weight pressing upon them. Fortunately. the wreckage did not take fire.
 Some 100 persons are still unaccount- ed for, but fifty of these are cash boys of whom the firm has no record and the loss of the pay roll makes 1t difi- cult to get anything like a comrSste list of many others. In all the conn pany has 400 employees. but fifty of these are away on vacations.
 The building which collapsed stands in the heart of the shopping district. It Is owned partly by the company and partly by the estate of the late David orr. The loss to the company is esti- mated at between $200.o0o and $S00,00o The building was very old one. but until now considered perfectly sound. Extensive repairs were under way when the collapse took place.