New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-03-27

not seem To realize that they were 80 near
TO where had been death and destruction
a SCant twcnty-four hours before. lh'Y
had the appearance and the air Of SiSht-
secrs vending their way through "a country
fair. The very ringing Of the conductor
bell heightened the general effect of hilar-
ity and freedom from care. The entire
park. surrounded as it was with the gray
old houses of New York's earlier ariStoc-
racy seemed TO have been created from the
pages Of a Thackeray or a Dickens.
This was the lighter side Of the picture,
The angle on which the fooding sunshine
radiated. There was another ton" 900 the
backs;round-thc somhrc one-aud ue APP
peal If this quality was the more powerful
of the two Long after the gayer sid" has
been forgotten that darkencd area will lin
ger in the memory of all who were there
10 see it,
Most Of those who had real cause 20 he
thcrc-those who had lost relative or ircno
in those few mad minutes of Saturday
coneregatea on the Wavclcy Place side
or the building 81 afforded Them "a closer
Jew Those vhU had lost in mat ere coh-d
t. easily DISTINGUISHED from lie others. i"d
hy idle curiosity The, walked Sio"l>--aS
,loNly. that u.s. a. Oh, police would ailo"
them with curious hating step. Many OF
them kept their hands folded acr"~- 'I"'
L,ea,ts-tl.c wonderland there was pite"uS
appeal TN their eyes.
As they reached the crossing o. O''''"'
street and WaNcrlcH Place. rom ""i'h "'N
could see that corner q the building ""''"
fine f,e had started. they halted moment
irving 10 focus the last spot where 'HcH
oead had stood poised a moment before i"e
downward leap on the cruelty narrow ledS"
They would pass across the narrow pas
g &c formed by Greene street and no lost
- view behind the walls Of the next nuud-
ing.
/ The same peopl, would make their APP
ipearance a few minutes later at the Broad
va side % the SQUARE e humanity Here
asair they would 20 throuel-the same per
fol nance. seeing the building from another
ancle and that corner rom when siN slrl'
plunged 10 their death at one time.
Preceding i'm the links OF the endless
chain of humanity which revoiyed about
the building the bereaved would then come
slowly into view on the Mercer street side.
/ From there they cCulG catch heeting
glimpse Of the Washington Place side Of
the factory building. At the foot of the
gray mass OF brick they -dW the Jagged
glass port.co through which Oh, Of the an
fortuuatcs IN Saturdays calamity rad
crashed 90 sudden death.
In the centre of this square of sorrowiug
humanity rising srimiv. like a giant t0Uh.
the blackoned and SCARED building reared
its head.
Those VINO were in charge OF the crowds.
besides the two hundred pairoiinrn. l'l-
cIuCed FRS; DEPUTY Commissioner Drls-
coll. Inspector Max SCnm.tt. erEer. iu-
spector Daly, Captain DOninlck Henry II
me Mercer street station and score of
lieuteuants and sereeauts. Whenever the
people would grow too InsStent-and this
usually happened on the Washington
Square side Of the square C Ommissit uer
DriscOn would give short. half audible
command to lieutenant. Then the pa
trOImen would push the crowds back. cle.u
across the street. and the sloW-movins pro
CeSsiOn would continue.
II was well after . O'Clock before the last
straggler left the rcghbOrAOod # the
burned building. ~ 10 O'Clock only tho fire
men stationed in the building and q hand
full Of police remained.