New-York tribune., 1908-09-01
ABLE SNAPS; TWO DIE
1T OLD CUSTOM HOUSE.
Three Carpenters Dropped from
Scafold at the Dome.

BY the falling OF scaffold used in the pres
snt work cf remodelling the old Custom House
at William and Wall streets late yesterday
afternoon two carpenters We're killed. and
third was so seriously injured that he win prob
ably die. A wire cable suspending the scaf-
folding upon which the men stood. Immediately
under the dome SNAPPED and they fell eighty
feet to skylght.
Andrew O'Malley. twentv-seven years old, was
instantly killed. While the fall of the other
two carpenters was broken by half finished
skylight. oMalley fell upon a section of frame
work that had not been completed and was
merely covered by a piece Of canvas. 1t was
not suticient to hold oMalley. who fell so the
first floor. eight stories below the scafold.
Charles Clark. thirty years old. of No 14I
East 51st street, received fractured skull and
serious decorations and contusions Of the face
and BODY He died soon after being taken to
81. cresory's Hospital James Graham. thirty
years old. OF No 90 West 18th street, sus-
tained g fractured skull and internal injuries
He also was taken to ST. Gregory's Hospital
The accident which occurred ten minutes be-
fore the several hundred men at work on the
building would have stopped work for the day.
csused intense excitement in the fnanciai
section Runaor had il at first that the enli'e
building had collapsed and that fataiities were
numerous Police reserves were ordered out
and Gordon was formed about the oio Cos'Oiii
House to keep the crowds back
The scafolding where the three carpenters
were working hung under the dome, which VIII
- rs-,o,,es as soon as the temporary roof which
80, -hree scarnenters were constructing in oroer
"a rrote-t the stories underneath from ram mas
hean co71plefed. They stood upon PLATFORM
,,,,ilt Of inch boards and supported AT each emu
nv wire cables run through holes IN tne "ahs'
~ she outside Of which the cables were knotteo-
The cables were new, IT is said. having oeen
substituted yesterday for the old ones Nui0n
had been pronounced unsafe The "eisht VI
~. Me-, On She scafold and the constant viora-
ton of the cables caused such frictloil 'i,"l
of the wire supports cut in two ny the
IN .,d tho last strand snapped suddenly
dashing the carpenters into space oeioio
knew what had happened
All -he zorkmen on the building threw oo"ih
their tools and tried to reach the carpenters "
render assistance but il was too lale'
and Graham hung unconscious upon the shs
lis-h+ eighty feet below the broken down scaf-
fol6 and O'Malley lay dead in the DEBRIS elehl
stories below. -Four an,bulances from 81 0ies
ory's and the Hudson Street hospitals causeo
still more excitement among the cro"o o. sPeo-
tators and svorkmen
In the anxiety 70 save the life OF clark "Iio
MAS taken off the skylight almost dead a 81
c-erorv ambulance carrying the injured man,
DR. Kaiser DR. Block and Father owens OF 81
Andrews Roman Catholic Church, overturned as
i clsr-ered around the corner Of Wall ana Broad
streets The driver, William King. of No. 5s6
Atlantic avenue. Brooklyn. vas thrown out ana
sustained a possible fracture of the Skull Dr-
z,oct drove the ambulance the rest OF the dis
tance TO the hospital. where, Clark died fifteen
minutes after arriving
The contract for reconstructing the cid Gus
tom House had been let TO the Fuller Engineer
ing Company. of No. III Broadway, by the pres
g, e,yners of the building, the National City
Rank A man named Norris, who was superln-
tendent of the work, could not be found. 1t is
said but Policeman Waiter r Ehre arrested
Harry smith. twenty-eight years old. an assist
ant foreman in charge of the carpenters. He
-ll ne a-raigned this morning on a charge Of
criminal negligence