The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-03-27

20 cent package OF Papes Cold Com
pound, which any druggist in the
world can supply.
the windows of the three upper floors
Of the building black with girls
to the stills. There were no
fire escapes. Don't jump don't
jump" yelled the crowd, But the
girls had no choice. The pressure of
the maddened hundreds behind them
and the urging OF their own fears
were too strong.
Four alarms were rung within Is
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 through the glass and iron
roofs OF the subcellars and crashed
through the very streets into the
vaults below. In an hour the fire
was out; in half an hour ii had done
its worst; probably the death list
was full in 20 minutes. The building
stands on corner with exposure on
two sides, but the only fire escape
was on the interior, opening on a
light and air shaft In all there were
seven eXts-the single fire escape,
two freight elevators at the rear, two
passenger elevators in front and
two stairways. 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 occupied by the
American book company adjoining
or fed in the first, rush for safety
before the crush and smoke grew too
thick
The building stands now with she'll
intact and barely SCARED, and it is
impossible for one who did not see
II to imagine how the flames in SO
short space could have wrought such
havoc. Seven hundred hands, 500 OF
them women, were employed by the
shirtwaist company. They sat in
rows at their whirring machines, the
tables before them piled up with
flmsy cloth. the floors Uttered with
lint, the air itself full of flying, in
ilammable dust The first rush oil
fame was almost an explosion Op
orators died in their chairs. theil
lungs scared by inhalng flame. 9th
ers were crowded into the elevator
shafts after the cars had made theil
last trip Sull others were pushed
of the inadequate interior fire es
cape.
In such horrible stream did tn,
bodies overflow from the window.
that the fire nets, stretched by tn,
first companies to arrive, were sooI
gorged beyond capacity. Twelve boo
les weighted one net to the BURSTING
point, bue the bodies kept on raining
to the pavement, through meshes tina
could no longer support them Whel
the first breath of flame curled owe
the edge OF a pile OF shifting on tn,
eighth floor. five minutes before quit
ting time, hundreds were in line be
fore the cashiers window. In tn
Office buildings across Washington
place scorec of men, detained beyon,
Office hours, worked at their desks
One OF them saw a girl rush to
window and throw up the sash. Be
hind her danced seething curtain @
yellow flame. She climbed to the si
, stood in the black outline against IN
light, hesitating, then with las
touch of futile thrift, slipped he
chatelaine bag over her wrist an
jumped. Her body went, whirlin
} downward through the woven wir
glass Of a canopy to the tagging b,
low. Her sisters who followed fan
ed through the air like rockets The
? path could be followed, but hardl
, heard. II was So feet from the eight
; floor to the ground, about 90 fe,
Z from the ninth floor, 1l5 feet from III
4 cornice OF the roof and the upwar
I rush of the draft and the crackle =,
e the flames drowned their cries.
l. Six girls fought their way over II
. bodies OF fallen fellow.workers to
window on the ninth floor and craw
8 ed out IN single file TO an eightinc
{ stone ledge, running the length Of Il
h building More than 100 feet aboN
3 the sidewalk. they crept along the
n perilous pathway TO a swinging ele
e trio feed wire spanning WashingtC
/. place. The leaders paused for the
= companions to catch up at the Ell
d OF the ledge, and The six grabbed Il
y wire simultaneously II snapped III
# rotton whlpcord and they crash,
a down to death. A 10 year old "a
e hung for three minutes by her hng
tips to the sill OF a 10Th lloor windo
- A tongue Of flame licked at her Fl
IL gers and she dropped into a lfon
A, held 10y nremen Two women fell
e TO the net at almost the same mo-
- emit The strands parted and the Il
h. were added to the death list 4 3
e threw her pockothook then her hi
lr then her lurg from a 10th floor VI
)t dow moment later her body car
" whirling after them to death
10 At q ninth floor window q man a
10 woman appeared. The man emh
Of ced the woman and kissed her Tn
G. he hurled her TO the street and jun
'p ed. Both were killed Five gi
III smashed a pane of glass. dropped
p a struggling iangle and were crush
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