Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-10-07

| AIc duoul lOU perSOuS crOWueC
 into an old building used by the Nortt
 End Athletic club at 31 East Farm
 street on Saturday evening listening
 to addresses from republican poll ticians, the floor caved in and pre-.
 cipitated the crowd into the cellar
 It was an appalling accident and to
 make the affair assume most peril
 ous aspect the clothing and hair of
 several of the persons in the cellar
 was set afre by the burning lamps which fell when the floor went down.
 Although several were injured, none
 were fatally hdrt, although all kinds
 of rumors spread around the town;
 the story went like wildfire and many
 were under the impression that a
 couple of persons had been killed. All
 the patients are now doing well, and
 it is expected that all will recover.
 The old house where the accident
 occurred is a two story frame struc-
 ture and originally was on the other
 side of the street. But it was over
 a brook which the Chase Rolling Mill
 wished to use, so the building was
 removed across to its present loca-
 tion, a cellar fifteen feet deep having
 been excavated. The first floor is divided into two rooms, two stores
 as it were, and it was in the larger or east room that the greater part of the crowd was packed. As club room it may be all right, but why in the name of goodness did the re- publican town committee ever select such place as that to hold a rally? It was certainly most unsuitable place.
 The speakers of the evening were naturally seated near the wall about the middle of the room, so as to be heard by the audience in both the rooms. After Abner P. Hayes had made an address he asked the au- dience to come nearer the platform, and they accordingly did so. The accident happened shortly after.
 It was just a few moments after Herbert J. Philips. republican candi- date for alderman in the first ward, had started to speak, when the dis aster occurred. A piece of scantling, said to be about 6x4 inches at the end, running underneath the floor and which was it's main support, cracked under the weight of the crowd. Immediately the floor in the center of the hall began to give away and before the audience could es- cape wide aperture had been made and the crowd went with a crash. Caught like mice in a trap the men went down huddled together SO closely that they were not able to move. The flooring was around them in such a way that it was next | to impossible for them to escape, and l 1t was with difficulty that some of the l men were even able to breathe.
 But though pinned in a most un- way, some of them al- 'eady suffering from broken bones md many of them badly bruised, the was bad enough. But the nen in the pit never realized their position until the burning lamps slid Town into the mass of humanity. The oil, as it poured from the lamps, gnited and the men, as they saw hey were to be set afire, sent up 'ries for help. Few people can really imagine what the conditions were in bat deathlike enclosure. There were not more than half a dozen nen among the crowd that for he time being were able to Ielp themselves and they knew hat unless something was soon Ione. they would in all probability he naimed for life: perhaps their life would end on the spot. A few were ndeavoring to pull themselves out by lutching board here and there. but E the board would crack under their reight, the situation would seem only 1. Il the more alarming To add to the ismay of those in the pit the sound f broken glass and the creaking of he walls made it seem as though the ntire building was about to collapse. trange as 1t may seem. while 1J0 { ves were at stake within the ,lingy | tile hole which would have been in 1 tier darkness had not the clothes I some of the victims become afiame. ( lere were some men on tho outside I f the building who were unaware I Ian an accident had happened. When |. le crash came it seems that almost veryone who had been standing on ' to outside had entered the bnild- q lg. so when the floor fell. there was [ Of soul apparently on the outside { 'ady to send in a call for help. If f lat mob of struggling men. some h ith broken ankles. others with burn { lg clothes. here and there q man s hose face was hadly cut--many .ith their clothing torn-aImost q hatless-as their heafpieces s ld been on the floor when it caved q
 the whole mass. with a few ex- y iptions unable to raise hand or f 'Ot and a1l. even those who had a b 'odly amount of that called nerve oroughIy frightened. had thought r a moment that ther were to te