Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1915-10-20
MANY LIVES LOST
IN TUBE BUILDING
More Killed In Construction
Work Than Passengers.
EIGHT PERISH IN CAvE.lN.

Record ef Subway Bulldlns In New
York Rsplsts With Disaster. While
For Years Mllllens Have Travslsd In
Completed Tubes With Compare.
lively !, tie Loss Of Lie.
subway construction In New York
has been fraught with more accidents
In which fatalities were recorded than
the actual operation OF trains In tho
completed tubes. exclusive OF persons
run down by trains. Disasters were
frequent In the building OF the Inter
borough until It was opened eleven
years ago, since that time there has
been only one accident Of Importance
that OF Jan, q In which 800 persons
CROPPED their way In the tunnel through
gases. aud In which one life was lost
This caused several hearings before
the public service commission. at which
testimony was given regarding the con.
nection between the accident at Broad.
way and Fifty.third street and the
piercing Of cable by a drill eleven
blocks downtown. where work for the
new Seventh Avenue subway was 70.
Ing on,
Two accidents marked the building
OF the lnterborvugh. The frst was In
January. 1902. when six persons were
killed by an explosion at Forv.flrst
street and Park avenue and the Grand
Union and Murray Inn hotels were
damaged Two months later two houses
on Park avenue at Thirty.afth street
caved In.
On Dec. IS. 1911, two laborers los,
their lives In cave-in In Fourth ave
nue. Brooklyn
Fourteen More Killed.
Eight accidents have occurred In con,
struction work In New York within the
last three and one-half years, In which
fourteen lives were lost. The irst was
ON March IL. 1912. when four men
were buried In Fifty.seyenth street.
west OF Lexington avenue. One OF these
lost his life, \ small landslide occur
red In the excavation where the men
were at work aud the four fell twenty.
six feet.
Two weeks later Lexington avenue.
between Eighty.seventh and Eighty.
eighth streets, collapsed from curb 20
curb. and the street surface dropped
forty feet This followed an extra
heavy blast. and street car-the rails
being supported by large beams mar.
rowly escaped the fate OF the Seventh
avenue trolley which fell into the exca
vation.
The most serious accident occurred
ON June IL. 1913 when ten persons
were killed by tons OF earth aud bow,
ders hurled upon them In cave.in a,
Lexington avenue and Fifty.sixth
street Another explosion NJ One Hun.
dred and Twentieth street and I.cxing,
ton avenue followed few minutes
later.
Perishes In a Cavern.
One laborer died In cave-in on Jan.
3. 1914. at Lexington avenue and Sixty
first street. and two others were hurt.
Similar to the manner In which II was
contended that the January. 1914, ac
cident was caused. drill mishap
blocked the subway last March n.
Times square. Clouds Of smoke came
from the excavation. but no one was
hurt. In the same month blast shook
the windows OF Broadway stores n,
Thirty eighth street. which caused
women, thinking there had been an
explosion. to run shrieking through the
streets.
Two weeks later faulty undcrpinning
caused the sidewalk at Broadway and
Twenty eighth street to sink four feet.
The police reserves were called and
found that no one had been killed. al.
though several persons were shocked
by their fall In June water main
break flooded the new Seventh avenue
excavation at Forty-third street.
Eight persons were killed and scores
injured when an entire block caved In
recently at Seventh avenue and Tween.