Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-11
WALL COLLAPSES:
2 MEN INJURED
PARTITION OF STRUCTURE NOT
PROPERLY BRACED
LABORERS BURIED BENEATH
THE RUINS
Golden State Realty Building Is Being
Wrecked, and When Accident
Happened Only Small Ele-
walton Remained

G. Hill, 4S years old, laborer, living at
61S1s South Spring street; four ribs frac-
tured, nose broken, severe conclusion and
numerous decorations and abrasions about
face, head and body; will recover.
w. s. Cobb, As years old, refused to give
address; sprained ankle, liberation of upper
lip, cut on head and slight conclusion; not
seriously injured
Two men were injured and several
other workmen had narrow escapes
from injury and, probably, death, when
a section of partition wall in the
Golden State Realty companys build
ing, at 60S-610 South Spring street,
which is being torn down TO make
place for a larger structure, fell yes
teh1ay afternoon and buried beneath
the ruins C. Hill and w. S. Cobb
lahore s.
That \ q two men were not killed
outright :. due to the nature of the
ground, whl-' was followed cut where
they were ST, Hding and which pre-
vented their / eeiving the full force
of the falling woodwork.
The building was a two-story BRICK
structure. The Eureka Planning COM
pany had the contract for wrecking it.
L
Hathaway, foreman for that company
The work was begun on the structure
short time ago and almost the en-
tire building had been RACED with the
exception of a section of brick wall
ten feet high and forty feet long, on
the north part of the structure, and
a partition wall from which the bricks
had been removed, leaving the wood
work standing.
Hathaway and several other labor
ers were working on the north wall,
and Hill, Cobb and two other workmen
were tearing down the wooden wall
near the center of the building. The
workmen on the north wall pried loose
the brick and with a crash which
shook the ground the entire wall, ten
feet high and forty feet long, toppled
over. The shock was so great that II
Jared and loosened the wooden wall
on which the other men were work
ing, and it fell almost simultaneously
with the bricks.
Had Mo Chance of Escape
Because of the nature of the ground
on which they were working-it being
streWn with loose bricks and rubbish
and owing to it being so unexpected
the men did not have a chance &c
fee from danger and were struck by
the falling wall before they knew Wha'
had happened.
other workmen rushed to the aid OF
their injured companions and soon
extricated them. Some eXcitable per-
son who appeared on the scene while
the men were being placed In the
police ambulance, which had been
rushed to the scene of the accident,
started a report that one of the work
men had been buried beneath the wall az
and a further search was made for the
supposed dead man. A thorough
search of the place, however, failed to
reveal any other injured workman, ana
as all had been accounted for, no tur-
Their search was made.
Hill was taken to the receiving hos
pital where Police Surgeons Wiley
and Chamberlain dressed his INJURIES
which consisted of four fractured ribs,
a broken nose, a laceration of the
mouth, a long and deep cut on the
head, and numerous Commissions ana
abrasions on the face and body
Cobb refused to be taken to the hos
pital. He was dazed for several min
utes after the accident and continued
asking what had struck him. he sur,
fered a slight conclusion, spra1ned
left ankle, and a laceration on the
head. He refused to give his address
and declared he was all right and
would be ready for work the follow
ing day.
The foreman refused to discuss the
accident. 1t is thought the workmen
did not anticipate the entire section of
the north brick wall would fall when
they were prying it loose, and that
the proper precautions for avoiding
such had not been made, and that the
wooden partition wall had not been
properly braced.
Although Hill is seriously injured,
the police surgeons saw he will re-
cover.