The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-08
NO loops" THERE.
Small Boys Perch on $50 Foot CHM
ney to Smoke Cigarettes.

ney to Smoke Cigarettes.
Here are three untold stories in con-
nection with the construction of the
mammoth $50 foot brick chimney to
the new city garbage crematory-and
| they are all true.
Story No. 1.
The park and excavation watch
| man who has as his beat the district
| around the city park was strolllng
| along near the new crematory the 9TH
| er night when he heard the voices OF
and thinking that it was no time of
night for the boys to be away from
their mothers apron strings the watch
| full Waterman started in a hunt for
| them
] He looked down in the garbage
plant pit, around on the brick piles,
near the underbrush, on the station
airy engine and practically everv out OF
the way place which might be well
coined by a small boy. Still he found
no clue.
Say. kiddo, let's go swimmin' in
the river just above the bridge to-
night, will you'se? It's peach of
place and there's no one around The
waters low and we can swim out on
| the sand bar
From somewhere in the darkness
came this voice.
Once more the big Waterman start
!
| found.
Nav, I don't want to go swimmin' :"
| answered the other voice; "Pd rather
smoke these cigarettes-it ant often
we can find a place to pull the pills.
Bewildered, the Waterman sat down
-on brick pile and listened. Pretty
| soon there came from the darkness
above a light, which, like a dropping
star, fell at his feet and the sparks
| flew up like a pinwheel. Then it died
down and the strong scent of a cigar
cite fioated UP to his nostrils.
Directing his glance up to the dark
ness above. the Waterman saw far up
in the air little CLEAN. Then it fell
and followed the first comet to the
ground.
| I'm clear out of makin's. kid
let's go down." came voice from the
| clouds above.
! Stealing over to the foot of the big
stack, the Waterman waited and two
small boys, barefooted and barehead-
ed. came climbing down the big iron
| ladder which runs up the side of the
big brick stack.
| Story No. 2.
When the workmen started to con-
struct the brick chimney they used as
their power to haul material TO the
| top of the structure stationary en-
CINE This engine was relic of the
days of Isaac Watts. But as long as
| it would do the work the men de-
pended upon it's power.
| One day when the chimney had
been constructed to point about LIB
| feet in the air and the bricklayers
were busily engaged laying the big
/ burned clay squares up there far
| above the buildings and trees of the
surrounding territory, yell came
from the engineer below.
| Watch out men, my God. watch
| out!'' came the cry.
| But it was too late.
With a crash that could be heard
| by people within five blocks of the
plant about ten layers of brick came
crashing down 125 feet to the ground
| below.
1t was a miracle that the workmen
on the scaffolding up there more
than one hundred feet in the air had
not been taken down with the mass of
brick.
The old engine had failed to re
| spond to the touch of the brakes and
| the throttle and it had pulled up
| through the trestling and the Chin
ney a load of brick and mortar.
The workmen above climbed eau
| tiously down to the ground with every
paralyzed 1t was more than a half
hour before the bricklayers had re-
covered sufficiently to climb back to
the dizzy heights again and make the
repairs.
After this an old broken down
/
brick from the top of the stack was
used to pull up the loads The engine
| hasn't been used since.
Story No. 3.
| One day while the bricklayers were
| working on the last layer of brick
which would complete the stack to
| the 10O-foot mark they were surprised
to see crawling slowly over the top
| of the chimney a man. Laughing and
| grinning with blood shot eyes and a
red face he suffered
! Hi, fellersEpretty nice-hic-
weather up here, amt it?'
To their surprise, and horror the
workmen saw that the mysterious
stranger was as drunk as a lord and
with his daredevil spirit he had
climbed the hundred feet of iron lad
| der and no one had seen him.
| I'm a good Teller, guys he STAN
| mered. Don't make me go down. I
used to lay brick for George Wash
| ington in the fall of SO. Come on
hic-let me try it,
And climbing to the top of the mar
row layer of brick he started to grab
| the trowel out of the workman's
hand. When the workman snatched
the trowel away the drunken man fell
forward and was caught in the nick
| of time by the workman.
| 1t was seen at a glance that he
would never be able to go down the
stack on the iron ladder. The brick
layers called to the laborers below to
send up the material bucket and pill
ing him into this bucket they lowered
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