Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-03-27

On the ninth floor nifty bodies were
found; sixty-threo or more persons
were crushed to death by jumping. and
more than thirty clogged the elevator
shafts. The loss to property will not
exceed 100000.
Pedestrians going home thru Wash
ington place to Washington square. at
ten minutes to Ave. were scattered by
the whiz Of something rushing thru
the air before them; there was tor
rible thud on the pavement and body
hattened on the nags. Wayfarers on
the opposite side OF the street shaded
their eyes against the setting sun and
saw the windows OF the three upper
floors Of the building black with girls
crowding to the sills.
Forced TO Jump.
Don't jump" Don't jump" yelled
the crowd. But the girls had no alter
native. The pressure OF the maddened
hundreds behind them and the urging
Of their own fears We're too strong.
They began to fall to the sidewalk.
Four alarms were rung within flf-
teen minutes. Before the engines could
respond. before the nets could be
stretched or the ladders raised. five
girls had fallen from the eighth and
ninth floors so heavily that they broke
thru the glass and iron roofs Of the
subcellars and crashed thru the very
streets into the vault below. In an
hour the fire was out. in half hour
1t had done its worst: probably the
death list was complete in twenty min
utes.
The building stands on a corner with
exposure on two sides, but the only fire
escape was interior, opening onto a
light air shaft. In ali there were seven
eAits--the single fire escape. two
freight elevators at the rear, two pas
senger elevators in front and two
stairways.
Means Of Exit Useless.
All of them proved almost useless
and practically all who escaped either
climbed to the roof and scrambled
thence to the roof OF the building oc-
cupied by the American Book Company
adjoining, or fled in the first rush for
safety before the crush and the smoke
grew too thick.
The building stands with shell in
tact and barely scared, rather only
amudged, the partitions Of architectural
thing between floor and floor are
sound, and 1t Is impossible for one who
did not see it to imagine how the
flames in so short space of time could
nave wrought such havoc.
Seven hundred hancs, 500 Of them
women. We're employed by the shirt
waist company. They sat in rows at
heir whirring machi..es. the tables be-
fore them piled with f.imsy cloth. the
floor Uttered with lint. the air itself
full Of flying, inflammable dust.
Como Die in Thsir chairs.
The first rush OF flame was almost
an explosion. Operators died in their
chairs, their lungs scared by inhaiing
flames. Other were crowded into the
elevator shafts after the cars had made
their last trip. Still others were pushed
Oft the inadequate interior fire escape.
In such q horrible stream did the
bodies overflow from the windows that
the fire nets. stretched by the first
company that arrived. were soon
ExosEed beyond capacity. Twelve bod.ee,
weighted one net to the bursting potnt,
but the bodies kept on tumblinE to the
pavement. thru meshes that could no
longer support them.
When the first breath of flames curl
ed over the edge Of a pile Of shirtins on
me eighth floor. five minutes before
quitting time, hundreds were in line
before the cashiers window.
Fall to Their Dsath.
IN the Office buildings across Wash
inston place scores Of men detained
beyond office hours worked at their
desks. One of them saw a girl rush IN
a window and throw up a sash. Re-
hind her danced seething curtain of
yellow fame. She climbed to the sill.
stood In black outline against the
light, hesitatins. then with last
touch OF futile thrift, slipped her chat
elaine bag over her wrist and Jumped.
Her body went whirling downward thru
the woven wire glass of canopy to the
tagging below. Her sisters who fol-
lowed flashed thru the air hike rockets.
1t was eighty-flve feet from the
eighth floor to the ground, about nine
ty-five feet from the ninth floor. IFS
feet from the cornice of the roof, and
the upward rush OF the draught and
the craclSle Of the flames drowned their
cries.
Six girls fought their way to a win
dow on the ninth floor over the bodies
OF fallen fellow workers ad crawled out
in single file to an eight inch stone
ledge. running the length OF the build
ing. More than a hundred feet above
the sidewalk they crept along their
perilous pathway to a swinging e,cc-
trio feed wire. spanning Washington
place.
Wire Breaks; Six Drop.
The leaders paused for their COM
paniors to catch up at the end of the
ledge and the six grabbed the wire
simultaneously. 1t snapped like rot
ten whipccrd and they crashed down to
death.
A 13-year-old girl hung for three
minutes by her finger tips to the sill
of q tenth floor window. A tongue OF
flames kicked at her fingers and che
dropped into n life net held by firemen.
Two women fell into the net at almost
the same moment.
The strands parted and the two were
added to the death list. A girl threw
her pocketbook. then her hat then her
furs from a tenth floor window. A mo-
ment later her body came whirling at
ter them to. death
At ninth floor window a man and a
woman appeared. The man embraced
the woman and then kissed her. Then
he hurled her to the street and jumped
Both were l1illed. Five girls smashed q
pane Of glass, dropped in q struggling
tallgle and were crushed into shape