Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-10
TUNNELS KILLED HIM
Sturdy Youth From Boston
Ready to Begin at Bottom.
LIVED ONLY TWO DAYS
Tragedy Of the Pennsylvania Work
Under the River.
COMPRESSED AIR THE CAUSE
Liked Hard Work and Took a Me-
chanic's Job That He Might
Learn.
COMPRESSED AIR THE CAUSE

L
educated. wanted to be civil engineer and
learn to build tunnels Like some of those
being constructed in New York. He was
told it was best to begin at the bottom and
he said that didn't scare him. He'd begin
| there.
So on Monday morning he went to work
as a hydraulic filter In the Pennsylvania
tunnel under the East river. He was al
ready an expert electrician. On Monday
| night he was In New York Hospital. dead
Of "caisson disease" Or 1.-The Bends as
the tunnel workers call the dreaded malady
| that attacks compressed air workers. His
relatives say that the man who looked so
healthy really had Bright's disease. as the
autopsy showed, and that laid him sus-
ceptible to the disease that killed him. But
Coroner Hamburger declared last night that
| he had heard Of no such thing having been
revealed.
Billiard was the son Of Willard -. 6ul-
lard, president of the Harvard Trust Com
pany of Cambridge, Mass. He was twenty
| five years old and was a graduate of the
Cambridge Latin School Ten days ago he
was one of the ushers at the wedding of his
brother Arthur and Miss Teresa Parker,
daughter Of the famous chief of the Sen
ecas. The ceremony took place in Christ
Church, Cambridge, and drew a brilliant
| assemblage of well known people.
Acted as Life Guard.
Young Billiard accompanied the bridal
party here, and when he left them to start
on their honeymoon to Europe with the
bridegroom's father he went about
| seeking his own career in life. For two
years he had acted as life guard for the
city of Cambridge at Captains Island beach
| in the summer. studying electrical engineer
| ing in the winter. But now he wanted to
do something bigger-really to begin in life.
70, hoo II y,r Ivsxrir,
place and hired two rooms. saying that he
would probably remain here q long while,
getting q practical idea of tunneling and
| engineering. Then he sought out his cousin,
Wolfert Delaney, who is the hydraulic
| foreman for 8. Pearson & Son. the con-
| tractors who digging the Pennsylvania
| tunnel and told him that ne wanted to be-
| come a hydraulic engineer.
You must begin at the bottom Of the
| ladder and work yourself up said De-
| lancey. But maybe It's too tough a job
| for you to do plain mechanics work?'
Billiard replied that he liked hard work.
and he'd take mechanics job readily II
| it would help him to learn.
Operation Failed.
| So he got one. He had left the boarding
| house on Monday morning neatly attired.
| He returned at noon in overalls despatched
with mud, and wearing a yellow hat pulled
down over his eyes.
I'm at work in rough place." he ex-
| planned.
| He returned to the tunnel and to work in
| the compressed air as a hydraulic rtveter.
At night he came up the shaft with the day
gang In East 33d street soon after reach
| ing the top he collapsed
Two sand hogs-that is, labOrerS accus
toned to working in compressed air-picked
him up and carried him to the tunnel emer-
gency hospital. There the tunnels doctors
worked over him for several hours. Finally
how ont n
save his life the hospital doctors resorted
to an operation. 1t failed. They telegraph
ed to the members of his family in Massa-
chusetts, but when the family arrived in
New York the young man was dead.
s. Pearson & Son, who are digging the
tunnel and by whom the young man was
employed, made this statement about the
case last evening:
Caused by Collapse.
Charming Billiard was a hydraulic filter,
| and his death was caused by collapse. He
had been carefully examined by the ply
| sicians before being engaged, and had gone
successfully through all the preliminary
tests.
! before man goes to work in compress
! ed air he is taken into the compressed air
to stay for short periods so that he may
| become accustomed to The pressure. Billiard
| went through the ordinary process, going
! into the compressed air several times for
| not more than an hour or so at time. He
| started to work regularly on Monday.
| There are rigid rules forbdding the men
| to come out of the compressed ar TOO SUD
denly. as that is most often the cause of
the bends In this case Billiard did not
come out suddenly. He was working in the
tunnel where there are two sets OF air
Locks He came out of tie high pressure
into a somewhat lower pressure and then
through another lock into the normal air
"Bullard was physically we'll qualifled TO
work in compressed air. There was nothing
about him to show that it's effects would be
Injurious He did not complain of any pain
as many with the bends have done. He
was overcome by feeling of sickness on
Monday about three quarters of hour
after coming out of the compressed air. He
was taken i'll in the street and taken at once
to the hospital room and put In the meolcal
airlock The physicians worked over him
al; night, but on Tuesday he died"