The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-08-30
FALLS;
MANY DROWN
Huge Construction Over st.
Lawrence, Crashes into
River, Killing 80 Men.
AMERICAN MECHANICS
over-Heavy Load of Building Ma
terial on Track Brings Dis
aster to Great Works.

Quebec Que Aug. (Special.)-~
One-half Of the enormous cantilever
sl0.000.o0o bridge being constructed
across the st. Lawrence. six miles from
Quebec. crumpled up and crashed f50
feet into the river late this afternoon.
carrying 70 their death eighty workmen.
a majority of whom were skilled AM
erican mechanics.
or ninety men who are known to
have been on the section of the bridge
which collapsed only eight escaped un-
hurt
The bridge which was nearing COM
pletion. was TO have been the greatest
cantilever bridge in the world. The
cause of the collapse. which practic-
ally split the bridge In two. leaving
one-half tangled mass OF steel IN the
St. Lawrence. is not known.
Crash Comes without WARNING.
Ninety men were at work on that half
of the bridge extended from the south
shore TO midstream The quitting whis-
tie at $50 had just blown and the men
were preparing TO leave their work.
Suddenly grinding crunching
sound from midstream startled the men.
An instant later those fartherest out
screamed The bridge is fallingi"
Some Of the men made a frantic
rush shoreward, but the distance was
too great for them to escape. The fall
len section of the bridge dragged others
with II, the swapping girders and cables
booming like the crashing OF artillery.
Terror lent speed to the terrified me-
chanies who had been working nearest
the shore.
Eight Win Race With Death.
With the bridge crumpling up be-
hind them they ran desperately 90
reach the shore.
None of the men reached the shore.
but eight who went down with fhe
Esection nearest the land were rescued
This part Of the bridge was the only
section of all that fell that did not
vanish in the water.
River Closes over Tragedy.
The steamer Glenmore had just
, cleared the bridge when the first sec
tion fell The waves thrown up by the
debris drove clear over the bridge OF
the steamer The captain at once low
cred boats. The small boats piled back
ward and forward over the sunken
wreckage for half an hour, but there
was no sign of life.
The twisted iron and steel had Its
victims In terrible death grip. few
floating timbers and the broken strands
of the bridge toward the north shore
were the only signs that anything un-
usual had happened.
Ten minutes after the crash there
was not ripple on the smooth surface
of the st. Lawrence as 1t swept along
toward the gulf.
Only a few Of the dead were resi-
dents Of Quebec They were employed
by the contracting firms which are
them lived in the United States, many
of them in Pennsylvania.
At 10 o'clock tonight sixteen bodies
had been picked up and Of the eight
rescued men now in the Lewis hospi-
: tai. two are not expected to live
throughout the night.
Relief Expedition sent Out.
The contractors Offices on each side
% the St. Lawrence at the point where
the bridge fell were the first to send
the news of the disaster to Quebec.
There are no hospitals in the immed-
late vicinity Of Lewis and few physi-
clans could be obtained.
Relief expeditions were fitted out at
once and sent across the river at this
point by the electric cars and on up the
lother side of the ST. Lawrence by teams.
The Quebec hospitals were all called
upon to send all the physicians they
could spare.
The bridge ives being built by the
Quebec Bridge company. a local con-
I cern. and its construction was started
l. three years ago. The steel work, which
{ was the feature of the bridge. was be-
ing done by the Phoenix Bridge COM
pany Of Phoenixville, Pa
Was Giant Among Bridges.
The St. Lawrence river cantilever
I bridge was designed to be one of the
most gigantic structures OF its kind
t ever erected. a twentieth century mar
r vel Of bridge building. It was intended
n TO be both a railroad and highway
g bridge. with accommodation between
the two trusses for two steam railways
two electric car lines. and two driv-
!. ways for vehicles. while outside the
trusses provisions were made for two
J. sidewalks hanging over the st. Law
G renee.
n In design and construction the bridge
s offered an engineering problem OF the
e greatest magnitude fraught with I'm
; mense difficulties.
= The design Of the bridge called for a
II total length from center to center oi
.e anchorage piers Of nearly 1900 feet
- comprising two 500 feet anchor spans
J. extending from the anchor piers OF tbs
n towers. two $50 feet cantilever arm:
= reaching out over the river and carry.
ing between q central suspended spar
measuring 60 feet.
III The BARGAINS offered by the LIoS
STORE on page and +. c. SIINAS co