The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-08-30
On Marrow Platform $50 Feet
Above Furnace Because of
Hatred Engendered by Love
Of Girl.
SPECTATORS PETRIFIED
WHILE COMBAT WAGEO.
With Iron Bar One Workman
Knocked Rival From Perch
To Seething Fires That
GIoWed Beneath.


spectacular in it's details beyond un-
fettered dreams of producers of melo-
drama, which was waged between two
frenzied men on a narrow space on
the brink of a raging blast furnace
was given the seal of tragedy tonight
when one of the combatants died at
the South Chicago hospital. The man
succumbed from blow inflicted with
iron bar, but only the strange inter
vention of fate prevented a horrible
death to one or both of them by the
flames of the furnace after a plung-
ing fall of 100 feet.
Like Scene of He'll.
Spectators of the remarkable Strug-
gle which occurred in the plant of the
Iroquois Iron company, fully expected
this outcome as they watched the
figures scarlet in the glare of the fires.
Nicholas Videyiom, 25 years old, who
lived at Eighty-ninth street and
Greenbay avenue was the man who
died. Ivan Mealitch. a fellow worker,
was his slayer. Mealitch is now un-
der arrest, having calmly surrendered
himself to the police after dealing the
fatal blow.
Battle Over a Woman.
A pretty Polish girl was the cause
of the bitterness which le. to the
fiendish battle, according to acquaint-
ances of both men. Feeling between
them had existed for a long time
Mealitch told the police that Vide
yiom had threatened his life repeated
ly. Il have lived in fear of an earthly
hell" declared Mealitch. THE man
who is dead often threatened to push
me into the fire If I worked on the
same furnace platform with him
Every moment I imagined I heard his
footsteps behind me, ready to push
me over into the flames and report my
death an accident. Last night
turned around suddenly and found him
ready for the lunge The time had
come at last defend myself"
Fight Amid Sparks.
The battle high in the al amid
sparks and clouds of blindi smoke
thrilled those who watched 1Rlplessly
below. AS the men stru Fed word
vent through the mill am all work
was dropped, while the puddlers and
the stokers gathered in tense groups
to watch the swaying figures on the
pedestal of death. The men took sides
in the battle and shouted instructions
to their favorites before they realized
the seriousness of the affair. Ther
they watched in awe ard silence.
ITO the ladder; they have dropped
into the fires was the cry at one
moment when the curtain of smoke
shielded the combatants from view
Some of the men covered their eye
with their trembling hands. Theil
sturdier fellows rushed for the frai
form. Then the smoke cleared away
and the spectators drew back with
faint cries of relief when they saw
that the demoniac figures stripped t.
the waist were still clear of the hiss
ing flames.
Like SiduidlOTS
For a period of five minutes the
two gladiators of the commercial hip
pordome were locked in statuesqu'
embrace. Neither moved a foot anC
the cords in their arms became gnarl
ed and the veins swelled livid
There was a third figure in the tragi,
group which elaborated the terrible
picture. In a corner crouched Georg'
| Detlick another worker. who had a
| first attempted to intercede and wher
savagely repelled by both had crawleC
| to a corner, remaining there in con
slant terror
| Spectators Petrified.
why didn't we go up and stop tn,
| fght?" said one workman who hat
viewed the contest in a paralytic state
| 1T was so terrible that most of u
| couldn't move, and besides they nigh
| have turned on the first man to 90 VI
| the ladder and thrown him into tn
/ furnace The end of the battle cam
when Mealitch. hard pressed and nea
the brink of the pit of fire picked up
| heavy crowbar and struck Videyion
on the head The latter dropped fac
| forward Then Mealitch calmly de
/ scended the ladder and submitted I,
arrest by a private policeman.
1