New-York tribune., 1908-11-23
BODIES STILL In DITCH
SNORING NEARLY DONE.
.6ttenapt WM Be Made to Reach
Brooklyn Tictims Tonight.

Just as soon as the work of snoring up the pig
ditch in Gold street. Brooklyn. where fifteen or
more persons are buried is finished to-day the
men of the Fire Department Will undertake the
hazardous task Of removing the dead The shor-
ing work proceeded rapidly yesterday, under the
personal direction of DR.. Walter Bensel' the
sanitary commissioner. the only man in the city
government who get an emergency appro-
p-iation for such rescue work He has estab-
Iished an ofHce in Gold street. right on the edge
NJ the nlsce where the street has tumoled In
ard will stay there day and night until the last
body has been recovered.
Outwardly yesterday there was little to show
for the amount OF work already done The shor-
ing was extended nearly fifty feet east TO Front
etreet and now the entire strip Of fifty yards or
more where the bodies are supposed TO lie,
crushed under tons Of rock. cement and sand
has been superfcialIy shored up. The work was
halted for time in the afternoon while the
men Clipped away the thick cement walls of the
conduit used by the Edison company This had
90 be taken away in small fragments. and hours
-rer. ,lsed I'D while the which had slipped
down into the ditch was being carried away by
the sole travelling bucket
While big piece of concrete vas being re-
moved by the workmen last night 1t crashed
against the panking over the excavation am
for several minutes IL was feared that ue
structure would be torn down and all the WORK
go for naught besides inturing several work
men: but fortunately. Pete" Banta, foreman
for the Bridge Department. who is in charge q
part Of the work. was on hand ana prevented
anv serious damage being done
The work Of rescue has been retarded. too. by
the uorkmen All are italians. with the e1cep-
tion Of few negroes. and when they are not
directly under the eyes Of their Irish bosses tne
work drags Two Italians last night engaged
IN saving through 1o-inch timber took more
than half an hour for the job, while two other
-z-orkraen. working under the eye Of the gang
boss cut through two similar urnoers. carried
them away and began on the third one IN the
eEu1e time.
Double shifts are working il the ditch and the
tirnbe-s are being forced rapidly into place The
,.o.ss;-y for snoring I'D the sandy walls Of the
6i,o, before any Of the wreckage can be re-
moved makes II impossible 10 begin the work Of
excavation The big travelling bucket, which
can carry away half 4 ton or so OF rock made
only occasional trips along the ditch in the in
,.rxs1s Of carving timber to the worknen. The
work has been proceeding in a way which
called forth favorable comment last night from
Dr. Bensel but st is doubtful if the actual search
for tte bodies will begin before this evening. It
IS believed that all are lying right at the bottom
~ the sewer. and if this he true some twenty
odd feet Of earth and wreckage will have to be
removed
The Fire Department was represented yester-
5av bv Battalion Chief Kirk. whose record Tor
absolute fearlessness has made him parhcu-
larlv fitted for the dangerous work Of exhurlng
the bodies The police had little difficulty In
keeping back the crowds yesterday. for In
spector Titus had forty men distributed at ad-
vantageous points. Hundreds visited the ne'sh-
borhood Of the trench yesterday. although there
was nothing to see even if they had been al
lowed TO approach closely Unless they had
good reason 10 be within the lines one was
allowed TO 60 within a block or more Of the
cave-in.