The Detroit times., 1912-10-23

WeHog no. ooo HiopeIIc-
ct, Detroit.
Three men were instantly killed al
noon, Tuesday. In the new building
being erected for Peter Smith & Sons
at State and Griswold-sts., when the
cable OF freight elevator in which
they were riding broke and dropped
with Its human cargo from between
the sixth and seventh floors into the
basement OF the building.
Tho victims OF the accident were
James Burns and Henry Corson, OF
Chicago, and Paul Merlo, No. $50 Rio
peile-st, Detroit. They were the only
passengers on the elevator at the
time OF the accident.
Corson and Burns were employed
Dy the Webber Chimney Co., OF Chi
cago. and were erecting the chimney
IN the new building. Merlo was EN-
Eloyod by +. H. Goddard, who has
the masonry contract for the build
Ing. He was the bellman for the ele-
vator. He leaves his wife and three
ehildren..
There were few eye-witnesses of
tue accident, the men being engaged
In eating their noon lunch. The vic
tins, according to those who saw the
accident. were descending In the ele-
vator from the seventh floor. The
elevator had no sooner started than
the single steel cable, which Is be
tween half-inch and three-quarters of
an inch In diameter suddenly snapped
near the elevator, and the car went
crashing down the shaft.
The elevator was stoutly construct
ed OF timbers and metal and ran In
two well-greased grooves.
Only few seconds elapsed between
the time wnen the elevator cable
parted and the car struck the hard
cement floor of the basement. Other
workmen in the building heard
screams and then a crash and look
| ing down the shaft, saw the bodies or
the men lying on the floor OF the ele-
| vator. They were dead when the
| workmen got into the basement, lying
| In pools Of blood.
The accident occurred when the
streets in the vicinity Of the building
were crowded with office employees
| out for their noon lunch. Policemen
had difficulty In keeping the crowd in
| check as the bodies were removed TO
the county morgue.
Hoist Used Only at Noon.
John Harden, foreman in charge
| Of the chimney construction gang.
| says that his men used the fatal hoist
only during the noon hour, when the
| other workmen were at lunch. Ii was
| during their brief use OF it, Tuesday,
that the cable, the weakness Of which
was not suspected snapped, and sent
the three men to their deaths, seven
stories below, at the bottom OF the
basement.
JohE Calcaterra, Of No. 397 Wilkins
ST., this city, was In charge OF the
hoist, and was standing near the
drum on which the cable, taut with
its weight of human freight, was run
uing. He said that there was no
WARNING OF anything wrong until the
snap of the cable was followed by
the meteoric drop OF the elevator car,
with the three men, and an iron bug.
gy" used for hauling water. The
heavy iron wheels on the buggy were
shattered and twisted by the impact
when the car struck the ground.
Calcaterra says that the cable.
which was five-eights OF an inch thick,
was new when work on the building
was commenced.
Every noon, when the workmen de-
scend to eat their lunch, the same
car had carried as many men as could
crowd on the small platform, the num-
Der running from 10 to IL, according
TO Calcaterra.
The overstrain on the cable, from
previous heavy loads Of that sort,
probably weakened II to the extent
that II snapped, when least expected,
while carrying a lighter load than
usual
Coroner Burgess and Coroners'
Clerks Allmand and DeLaurier were
all on the scene within few min
utes after the accident, the two clerks
returning to the morgue with the
bodies, while Coroner Burgess re-
NAMED to make a thorough investiga-
tion. He has retained Engineers
Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. to aid In
the technical part OF the inquiry.
Patrolman Mark Baker, In charge
OF the police department OF buildings.
wae also on the scene early and Is
pursuing an investigation.
The accident was the FIRST bad one
of the sort since the new department,
under Baker, was created, and he In
tends to leave no stone unturned to
place the responsibility.