The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-03-30

tdh'ie anu were CTuSileu luto shape
less mass.
Misses Net; Breaks Back.
A girl on the eighth floor leaped for
to the sixth floor. She missed. struck
the edge OF the life net and was picked
up with her back broken.
From one window girl about 10
years old. woman, q man and two
women with their arms about one an
other. threw themselves to the ground
in rapid succession.
The little girl was hurried to the New
York hospital In an automobile. She
screamed as the driver and policeman
lifted her in the hallway. a surgeon
came out, gave one look at her face and
touched her wrist. 'She is dead" ne
said.
One girl jumped into a horse blanket
held by firemen and policeman. The
blanket ripped like cheesecloth and her
body was mangled almost beyond
Another dropped into tarpaulin held
by three men. Her weight tore 1t from
their grasp and she struck the street.
breaking almost every bone In, her
body.
Almost at the same time q man
somersaulted down upon the shoulder
of policeman holding the tarpaulin.
was picked up dead.
Many Saved by Elevator.
Within the building on the eighth
floor a man stationed himself at the
door Of one of the elevators and with
club kept back the girls who had
stampeded to the wire cage. Thirty,
were taken down as fast as possible
The call for ambulances was fol-
lowed by successive appeals for police
until 500 patrolemsn arrived to cope
with the crowd, numbering tens Of
thousands--a mixture Of the morbidly
curious and Of half craZed relatives
and friends Of the victims. A hundred
mounted policemen had to charge the
crowd repdeately to keep it back
Led by Fire Chief Croker, a crowd
of firemen stormed the stirways and
gained access to the building at 7
o'clock. Two searchlights from the
the fire fighters as they assembled to
the top floors.
Fifty charred bodies were found on
the ninth floor. They lay in every pos
sible posture. some so burned that
recognition was impossible A half
dozen were nude, with flesh hanging
in shreds to the bones. Women with
their hair burned away with here and
there limb burned entirely off, and the
chacred stump visible, were lifted ten
derby from the debris wrapped in OIL
cloths and lowered by pulleys to the
street.
Across tho street there rested on the
sidewalk 100 pine collins into which
were placed the bodies. AS fast as this
was done the collins were carried away
in any kind Of vehicle that could be
prassed into service to the morgue at
Bellevue hospital and to the Charities
pier morgue, opened for the first time
since the Slocum horror.
Means Of Exit Cut OF.
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 today with shell
intact and barely SCARED. rather only
smudged, the partitions of architectural
thing between floor and floor are
sound and it is impossible for one
who did not see 1t to imagine how
the flames in so short a space Of time
could have wrought such havoc.
Seven hundred hands, 500 Of them
women, were employed by the shirt
waist company. They sat in rows at
their whirring machines, the tables be-
fore them piled with f'imsy cloth. the
floor Uttered with lint. the air itself
full Of flying, infiammable dust.
Cigaret Probable Cause.
It is now definitely known that the
fire started on the eighth floor of the
building, under cutting table In a
scrap heap and is thought to have been
started by a cigarer.
Crowds began to assemble early to-
day at the morgue to view the bodies.
At least half of the corpses were un-
recognizable and only a small trinket
or shred Of clothing will help to show
who the unfortunates were. Some Of
these bodies probably will never be
claimed
Managers Of the Triangle Waist com
pany, which occupied the burned floors
deny today that the iron doors lead
| ing to the elevators and stairs were
| locked The fact that there was only
one fire escape on the building will
come in for careful investigation to
| determine what city official is to
| blame
Progress has been made by public
and civic organizations toward offer
ing relief to those who have suffered
as result of the fire. The first con-
tribution was made by Mayor Gaynor
| who headed the list with 500. Indus
trial organizations, theaters and civic
bodies have also set In motion plans
| for experimenting the funds.
Danger a Common Ono.
Fire Chief Croker said today:
II do not hesitate to say that a more
appalling loss of life in office build
ings and big stores is likely to come
upon New York at any moment be-
cause Of the lack of safeguards
In statement to the press issued
| yesterday, Borough President McAneny
| said that 500 firemen, recently detailed
| by Fire Commission Waldo for the
| purpose, reported $500 buildings lack
| ing adequate fire escapes. The build
! ing department has already investi-
gated 700 of these $500 cases and re-
| ported that only IL ne- cent of them
were in violation OF he building code
| The Asch building, AZ wi.!ch Saturdays
J disaster occurred, had not been reached
! among the cases "eported by the fire
| department.
There are 1000 other buildings In
! this city in the tmg condition as the
| scene of Saturdays disaster The
| buildings are passed as loft buildings
| and then converted into factories
Nine-tenths OF the employees cannot
read English, yet in the examination
have made / could not find sign
| in the Yiddish or Italian tongues
which most of the employees spoke
| pointing out fire exits"
: