The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-09-22
SUBWAY BLOWN UP


IContinued from Page One.l
Mahon of St. Vincent de PauF5
rites to three young girls who were
dying.
Among the numerous injured re-
moved to St. Vincent's hospital was an
unidentified woman, whose condition
was so serious surgeons SAID she
could not recover.
Many Workmen Tv;ere.
Dr. Wolfe of the U. S. Realty ~om-
pany, which had charge of eXcaVa-
tor, told the police that there were
about 70 or so workmen III the eA-
cavation at the time Ct the caveln.
Mostly Women and GIFTS.
The accident occurred shortly be-
fore o'clock and more than half OF
the injured were women and girls on
their way to business.
There were seventy eight passen,
gers on the trolley car which droppeu
fifteen feet into the subway eXcaVa-
ton when the entire block on Seventh
avenue between TWenty-fourth ana
Twenty-fifth streets collapsed. Al
though the car remained upright, 1t
was partly buried under an avalanche
of concrete, rails, timbers ana earth'
and many of the passengers were
severely crushed.
Great Roar, Then Cries.
Persons who were in large office
building close to where the car went
down said there was a great roar as
the pavement and portions of the side
walks sank. This was followed mo-
ment later by the cries of the passen-
gers and of pedestrians who were
either thrown into the excavation or
knocked down.
Men and women smashed the car
windows with their hands in an effort
to escape, witnesses said, While pedes-
trains who had been thrown into the
hole, struggled to avoid the falling
debris and regain the street level.
Turn in Fire Alarms.
Police reserves were called out, two
fire alarms were turuned in and fifteen
ambulancS with thirty surgeons were
rushed to the scene. The hospital
corps of a large cloak and suit house
directly opposite the cave-in turned
out.
The cave-in broke water and gas
mains and within a rev minutes after
the accident heavy flows of gas and
water threatened the lives of the one
hundred or more persons in the eX-
plOyees in shutting off the flow of
water and gas in the broken mains put
an end to this danger.
Fire ladders and ropes were low
cred into the great hole and police and
firemen began carrying out the dead
and injured, while contractors en-
pIoyees and others worked furiously
clearing away the timberS, rails and
debris that imprisoned many persons.
Within an hour more than fifty
ReScuers found numerous sticks of
dynamite scattered about in the sub
way excavation and a foreman for the
L. S. Realty & Improvement COM
pany, contractors on the section, said
much blasting ha6fs-been done this
morning betweena=fTSxenty-t and
Tweptyfifth streets under Seventh
avenue.
Street Props Gave Way.
Z. A. Little, general superintend-
ent for the contractors. said:
"The disaster was due to a small
e.:E 4c sion of dynamite which caused
a humber of street props in this sec
ton to give way. The charge which
actually caused the accident was a
regulation dynamite charge and the
cave-in was not due to any carelessness
OF the part of our employees. Rath-
er, it was due to the crude, loose for
nation of the dirt which we unex-
pectedly came across
Mayor Hurried to Scene.
Mayor Mitchell drove to the scene
of the accident early.
He added that it was too early to
suggest criminal responsibility, but
thai all subway construction work in
the city would be inspected at once.
The dynamite blast which resulted
in the cave-in was set off almost di
rectly under Seventh avenue and
Twenty fifth street according to Chief
Engineer Jones, of the construction
company.
He told the fire commissioner the
blast had hurled a large rock against
portions of the underpinning, knock
ing this away and allowing the pave
ment overhead and portions of the
dirt side walls to collapse.
There were between seventy and
eighty 1abOrers in the excavation at
the time, although most of them had
withdrawn some distance from where
hn. IN ler CT ksof off