The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-02-10
Crowded Elevator at the Sim
mons Factory Drops Five
Stories Tuesday Night
MEN WILL SURVIVE
Between Thirty-fve and Forty Work
men Were oh the Car at the Time
of the Accident and Many Have
Miraculous Escapes.

One of the most serious accidents
ever known in the factories in Kenosha
occurred Just after six o'clock Tuesday
evening when the big freight elevator
in the building E23,' of the plant of
the Simmons Manufacturing Company
dropped five stories carrying down with
it frightened load of between thirty
five and forty men and resulting in the
serious injury of eight of them and
minor injuries to a score of others.
Today the men injured in the accident
are resting as easy as could be expect
ed and it is not thought that the in
juries will result fatally to any of them.
The list of the more seriously injured
follows:
Homer j. Inclenrock: 33 years old.
SCI Garden street, Back and spine
injured and may have suffered frac-
ture of the back bone. Condition re-
garded as serious.
Arthur Van Gasbeck: aged %, 161
Congress street. Both legs broken at
the ankle and bones badly crushed.
Resting easy today and recovery ex-
pected.
Joseph Mostowska: 35 years old, 81
Newell street. fractured clavical.
Improving.
John Baxter: % years old, ZIG Mil
waukee avenue. Slight scalp wound
and fractured leg.
iona Fonta: II years old, 260 Val
entine street Severe injuries to side
and back.
Fred Smith: 20 years old, SIS Linde-
mann Court, Slight injuries and suf-
fering badly from shock
All Of the above men are being car
ed for at the Kenosha hospital and at
noon it was stated that the conditions
for the recovery of all of the men
were encouraging.
Angelo Amici-Badly injured on left
leg
Henry spoor-52 years old, $50 Bond
street. Back injured and seriously
bruised.
George Cheviac-22 years old, oper-
ator of elevator Badly bruised and
.,,feor;rr fro,,, oboo1z
In addition to this list w E. Owens,
Richard Kimball and Harry Krebs
were among those who were badly
bruised and cut in the accident.
All of the injured men were employ
ed in either the assembling room or
the pillar room of the building and
most of them had been in the employ
of the company for several years
The accident occurred just after the
plant had been closed down at six
o'clock Tuesday evening and following
the usual habit the men made grand
rush for the freight elevator to get to
the ground floor of the building.
Passenger use of the elevator was
strictly forbidden by the managers Of
the plant, but Notwithstanding this
fact the men working in the upper
stories of the factory building are al
legged to have used the elevator in this
capacitv for some tine Cheviac was
running the elevator and before he had
started from the sixth floor the car
was filed to its capacity and as one
of the men on the car put it the men
were packed in like toothpicks. After
the car had started for the ground floor
three other men made a lunge for it
and fearing that the men would be in
iured the operator of the elevator re-
yersed his brake and allowed the men
to get into the car. The car creaked
with the heavy weight of humanity and
at this time one of the workmen de-
clared that he wanted to get off the
car but the car could not be stopped
before the accident occurred Just as
the car was passing the fifth floor of
the building she plunger which support
ed it broke into three pieces and with
nothing to hold it up the elevator
frightened with human life dropped
to the bottom of the well distance
of between forty and fifty feet.
The accident came so suddenly that
the men on the car had no chance to
save themselves, but at that some of
the men, including the operator, leaped
from the ear before it struck the base
of the we'll As the car struck the
bottom of the well portion of the
broken. plunger crashed through the
floor of the car and the men who were
linear the center Of the car were struck