The Red Cloud chief., 1905-08-11
DEAD IN THE DEBRIS
DEPARTMENT STORE AT ALBANY,
N. ", coLLAPsEs.
Over One Hundred Men, Women and
Children Are Carried Down In the
Wreck and Between Twenty and
Thirty Meet Death.

Wreck and Between Twenty and
Thirty Meet Death.
Albany, n. Y, Aug. 9.-The middle
section of the big department store OF
the John G.. Myers company, In North
Pearl street, collapsed, carrying down
with 1t 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 frantic work on the
part of an army of rescuers disentan-
gled fifty people, six Of them dead,
INT many of the rest badly injured.
Three bodies are in sight, 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 or
the mass of wreckage. With few ex-
ceptions those caught in he ruins
were employees, a majority OF them
girls.
0 The collapse occurred shortly after
the opening hour. when barely a score
of shoppers were in the store. The
best account OF the event that prob.
ably caused the ruin is given by the
head of the crockery department,
which occupied the basement.
"The workmen were saving at a
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 | believe that Earring OF the beam
beneath it displaced the foundation of
the pillar. The first thing | knew two
the counters near the place where
the men were working began to sag,
and several pieces Of glassware Sided
off onto the floor with a crash. l
yelled to my clerks TO run for the
front of the store. The words were
not out of my mouth when there came
a %creaking and everything around us
began to fall. The wreck came slow
ly, however, and l think everyone in
my department escaped, as well as
the workmen."
The pillars which gave way sup
ported the ends of two giant Orders,
and when it fell the main support of
the central part of the building was
gone. With a noise that could be
heard blocks away and which shook
the adjoining buildings, nearly half
the great structure, from cellar to
roof, and extending from one side
wall to the other, came grinding down.
When the fire department arrived they
had plenty to do in rescuing those
who were pinned under the top wreck.
age. The volunteer rescuers and fire.
men continued the work until eX-
hausted, when their places were taken
by a wrecking force, numbering 300
men, from the railroads. These
delved in the ruins all night, but the
work of rescue proceeded slowly. II
was estimated that nearly fifty per
IONS still remained in the ruins, and
that not more than half of these could
survive the weight pressing on them.
Fortunately the wreck did not catch
fire. Some 100 persons are still unac-
counted for, but fifty of these are cash
boys, of which the firm has no record.
In all the company has 400 employees,
but fifty Of these are away on vaca
lions. The loss to the company is es.
timated at $780, 600.
The dead thus far removed from
the ruins: Michael Fitzgerald, Frank
Leonard, Miss Anna E. Whitbeck,
Miss Minnie Ballard, Miss Alice L.
Sharp, unidentified woman.
Thirty-six employees of the company
were injured, three seriously. Be.
sides these, five shoppers were hurt.