The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-04-28


wood. Human forms were fattencd.
manSled, and dismembered by the ire
mendous weight. Many persons We're
thrown into she turbulent waters and
narrowly escaped drowning
Tonight the gigantic pier is stin sink
ing into the water. The great weight
near the shore end is forcing the outer
end far into the harbor. 1t is believed
the entire structure will be submerged
within the next twenty-toUr hours il
The sinking and slipping continues.
Hysterical Women and Children.
FIfteer thousand excited persons
flockcd To the scene OF the calamity
during the DAY. Hysterical women and
children stood outside the police lines
shrieking and wringing their hands. One
hundred and fifty mon were on or near
the pier az the time the terrific crash
car .e. and relatives OF each OF them
rushed to the foot Of Andre street to
aid i'm the sc1rcE for bodies. but were
driven back by Marshal Farnan's men.
Pier No. S was about a year old, and
almost completed. II was TO be $50
feet long. with $50 jutting into the water.
Thousands of tons Of steel Orders. cor
rugated iron. cement and wood rested OF
the piles under the double deck pier.
Great Weight Too Much.
The great, weight was too much for
the piles and concrete base. The piles
snapped I'm twain like tooth picks, and
the concrete was forced far down into
the bed of the river This caused the
water end Of the pier to sink, and before
many seconds the pier was cracking
from one end To the other. Engineer
Joseph Galbreath. superintendent Of
city docks. says the catastrophe is I'M
precedented in the history of pier build
ing. He declared that only the men
who did the boring and the engineers
can explain the disaster
Coroner Otto NJ. Reinhardt, Of the
Southern police district. stated that an
inquest would be held on Monday or
Tuesday morning 20 fix the response
bility for the death of the men.
Pier Known Unsafe.
It was freely minated tonight that
the contractors bncw the pier was CIV
ing way and had definite information to
that effect several weeks ago. About
ten days ago, IL Is understood. man
was detailed to w1tcl the cracIing Of
the pier and report his Observations to
his superiors. This morning the crack
was more than foot wide and when
the contractors learned This the labor
ers. carpenters, whitewashers, elevator
electors. rivetcrs. and ironworker5 were
told TO get their tools and quit the struc-
ture. II was while gathering up their
implements that the men were caught
in the death trap.
After receiving "a report from his OBJ
server and measurcr who had been
watching the crack, Superintendent Ed
Olson. of the Baltimore Bridge Company.
decided il was unsafe. While warning
wc~'.men he was caught under falling
ruins and badly injured about the head
and body.
Howard Ellender a Hero.
Like all other great crises the pier
disaster had its heroes. and none will
bc remembered longer than Howard l.
EIlender. a valiant and daring young
civil engineer, acting superintendent for
the Mclean Construction Company.
Unmindrul of his own danger, forget
ting that his position was as perilous as
the Iaborers working under him. Mr.. FL
lender who was standing at the shore
end of the pier near a place Of safety,
rushed TO the water end of the pier as
soon as ne heard the ominous creaking.
u flashed upon him that the pier was
going down and he determined TO warn
the workmen who were working over
the thirty-fve feet deep water.
Shouts "Run for Your Livesl"
..Run for your lives he shouted at
the top of his voice as he dashed down
1he pier. shortening his life at every
step NE took toward the water end.
Nvork1en scrambled TO their feet and
ran off the pier in time to save them
selves Il is believed two score men
were saved by Mr.. BLENDERS cries.
Paying no heed to tho impending dis
aster he knew must come the young
man flew to the end OF the pier Selling
men by the shoulder and shouting to
them To Run for Coos sake" They
ran. Some reached the shore end in
safety. Others are still buried under the
tons of ruins
Boy Engineer Was Too Late.
After getting every man started from
the end OF the pier. Mr.. EuendeU started
back toward the land end. IL was too
late Faster and faster the end of the
pier slipped into the water. and before
he had taken many steps toward the
shore the mammoth structure snapped
in the center like a rotten twig, and his
doom was sealed. Down upon mis- head
crashed disconnected Eirders, sheets Of
corrugated iron, and heavy logs OF wood.
Recovery Of the Body.
Severed at the waist, his body was
found near the water end of the pier by
searchcrs shortly after the calamity
As his torn and bleeding body was lifted
10 be carried away. the halves slipped
from the grasp of the Tescuers and fell
into the water. J. A. BURNER. of Az
Twenty-fiTst street. riskcd his life by
jumping into the water TO recover the
mans ed remains. He brought both sec
lions OF the body up a few moments be-
fore the falling pier crashed upon the
spot where ne had been swimming.
Rescue of Captain Nelson.
Stephen Walters. of S25 First street is
another hero. At the risk OF his own
life and oblivious OF the surroundings.
hc plunged into the raging waters and
rescued Capt. Charles Nelson. superin-
gendent OF the Maryland Dredging Com
pany. and with his cut and brushed