New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-24

Fifty-fourth Street. Pareti persuaded
lin, ~ rtvo himself up and got Monroe
N Goldstein as his counsel.
He told the District Attorney that ne
did moi want TO have anything more TO
do with blasting.
Mr. Perkins announced that he had
signed an order jointly with supreme
COM, Justice. as provided by law, for
the appointment by the Coroner OF an
expert engineer to investigate the aeei,
dent. II. de b. Parsons was appointed
70 make the inquiry into the cause and
TO advise the District Attorney as 10
where the blame apparently rests. On
his report will depend action by the
District Attorney before the grand jury.
Mr.. Parsons began his investigation
yesterday.
Chairman Edward +. Mccall of the
Public Service Commission visited the
ruins yesterday. He said II he could
get the consent Of the business men
on the block he would allow the con
tractors TO finish the work OF building
the permanent subway structure IN the
open cut, making Snoring and decking
the street unnecessary. expecting the
completion of the work.
Public Service Statement.
IN statement lSSutG ~ N't N~'''
mission discussing subway construc-
ton, Il was said that the cut and
cover" method of work was devised by
the engineers Of the commission 10
make il possible for traffic TO continue
over the wooden deck without interrup..
ton. Generally speaking, 1t SAID all
the work in Manhattan is being done IN
this way in the congested parts OF the
city where the traffic is heavy
The Lexington Avenue subway has
been constructed entirely under the cut
and cover method. but II is now pracu-
cally completed from Fifty-third street
10 the Harlem River. From Fifty-thlrd
Street down TO. Fortyth!rd street the
decking is still in place, as this con
tract will not be completed until l9l''
The Broadway subway is partly com
pleted. the part from Park Place up 70
Blocker Street being practically done.
From BECKER Street up 20 thirty
eighth Street is under decking, al
though in some spots the subway
underneath is nearly done. From Thirty
eighth Street TO Forty-second Street, on
Broadway. and under Seventh Avenue
from Fiftv-frst to Fifty-ninth Street
the decking is just being placed or
about 10 be. No section OF the Seventh
Avenue line u VVhipIC1tN' anu ''N''
it is still decked.
The commission also gave out, with
ont comment, extracts from the report
Of John II. Myers. division engineer as
10 the progress for August of the work
on the Seventh Avenue contracts held
by the United States Realty and I'm
provement Company, which - building
the Inflated section.
Describes Snoring Work.
The existing street surface is
broken up and the excavation carried
20 a sufficient depth 70 allow for the
placing of longitudinal wooden string
ers upon which are placed the road
way decking" Mr. Myers's report says
in the portion describing the under
pinning that gave way. After TINS
decking has been put in place, all fur
Their excavation is carried on under
meath the decking, the decking beng
posted up from below as the excava-
ZION is carried 10 subgrade.
Further description of the drilling
and blasting shows that the commits
sion. or at least its subordinate Off
GERS. was thoroughly conversant with
the methods employed which resulted
in the smash-up. Detailed figures also
are given. showing in percentages just
how much steel. wood and concrete
have been put in place.
A miniature duplication Of the acct
dent occurred yesterday in The Bronx,
when six feet of planking in 138th
Street, between Willis and Alexander
avenues, gave way under the weight
cf three-ton truck loaded with
cement. The wheels sank two and
half feet, coming to rest on the con-
crete roof Of the subway. Streetcar
traffic was tied up for an hour. John
Porriana, of 285 East 15lst Street. a
workman, was injured by planklng
while helping extricate the truck. No
damage was done to the subway struct-
ure.
Clearing Away Wreckage.
Hundreds of workmen were busy all
Yesterday and last night clearing the
chaem in Seventh Avenue Of debris.
Cranes lifted huge girders, pipes and
beams from the tangled mass like jack
straws and deposited them on wagons.
Beer kegs scattered about the fallen
brewery truck were handled with the
utmost tenderness, and every dry
mouth in ard along the pit watered as
these barrels swung tantalizingly In
the air.
When the first one was about to be
hoisted foreman called to his sta
tionary engineer:
Go easy now; this is beer"
carefully, and willing hands quickly
rolled il under derrick.
The trolley car was cut into three
sections and lifted out. but the beer
truck still remained. The excavation
will be completely cleared to-day.
Four workmen were still unaccounted
for They should have gone to work
Wednesday and could not be located.
However, they were not supposed to
work Tuesday, and, according TO Of
ficials of the company, men frequently
fail TO return after a day off, obtaining
other jobs and sometimes failing to
appear even for their pay checks. The
laborers are known TO the contractors
only by numbers 50 II was impossible
to trace them. But it is not expected
that more dead Will be found
One more accident was reported. Jo-
seph Brinuldo, thirty-four, Of 295 Eliz-
abeth Street, had one of his legs
crushed when section Of the sunken
trolley track fell upon It. He was
taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Photographs as Evidence.
The work of clearing away the
wreckage progressed so rapidly that
there was little left for experts to
base their opinions on as to just what
happened. They will be largely de-
pendent on photographs made by the
Police Department and drawings by
engineers, as well as the specifications
Of the work and maps filed with the
Public Service Commission and APP
proved by its engineers.