The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-09-23
TEMPORARY ROADWAY

jIWI UtInllI uUnUVht
Continued From First Page.)
they would wait until they had all the
facts before them before they ven
tured an opinion or sought to fix re-
sponsibility.
Praise For First Aidcrs.
Police and firemen and others who
were early on the ground united in
giving praise to the officers of the In
ternational Cloak and Suit Company
for the manner in which they gave
first aid to the injured. The company
maintains a hospital for its own EN-
ployes, and this and other sections OF
the big plant were given over to car
ing for those who were brought up by
the rescuers.
Quick work on the part of all con-
cerned probably prevented a disaster
of appalling proportions. represen-
tative of the Consolidated Gas Com
pany was on the spot and he had sent
in an emergency call for help. The
flow of gas through the eight-inch
mains on the street level. which were
broken off when the roadway caved
in, was stopped within short time.
The flow of water In the high pressure
fire mains was also stopped quickly.
The police were still looking late
today for August Midnight. as he was
known the man who gave directions
for firing the blast that caused all
the trouble. According to his helper,
Joe Syron, il was 1856 o'clock when
Midnight gave him the signal to press
down the plunger that was to detonate
the charge that idnight had prepared
in the rocks at the north end of the
section.
At that moment a surface car was
standing a bout 100 feet south of Tween
ty-fifth Street. Motorman Frank May
me says he. had received a signal to
stop from fagman stationed at the
intersection of Seventh Avenue and
Twenty fifth street The car rounded
into Seventh Avenue with heavy load,
many of the passengers being girls
employed by the National Cloak and
Suit Company and the employees were
getting ready to leave IT.
Along the curb on the east side Of
Seventh Avenue were dozen push
cart men Farther down the avenue.
backed up to saloon was big
motor truck of a brewing company.
There was not horse. within the block
at the moment. Many persons were on
the sidewalks and others were crossing
the avenue at various points. Down
, under the network of rafters and
girders there were perhaps 100 men
at work.
Blast Docs the Work.
J When Syron fred the blast he saw
I the planking to the south of him
culver Those who stood upon it felt
the boards move beneath them. Then
the bottom of the roadway dropped
out under the gigantic tremor that ran
along from Twenty fifth to Twenty
fourth Street
( Wherever subway construction work
! is going on the big gas mains usually
carried under the surface have been
disconnected and the eight inch mains
have been laid on the surface. running
along the curb. These mains snapped
like clay pipe stems and the gas poured
down into the pit The high pressure
| 24-inch water mains few feet below
the street level snapped off too as did
the s-inch smaller water mains and
1.-The water gushed down into the clutter
OF timbers with their human prisoners
! The surface car---there were more
than fifty persons In it--fell straight
down. To observers on the street
level II appeared that the trucks had
not left the tracks. At either end of
{ the chasm the tracks had bent down
ward. and then snapped off under the
strain The surface car fell over to
the east The fremen found a girl
caught under the front steps
Passengers Terribly Hurt.
! Those inside were terribly hurt. Az
the hremen and police ran toward
1t they heard cries and groans Girls
shrieked that their arms and legs were
broken
William Thompson chief engineer
for the National Cloak and Suit Com
pany, was in his engine room when
irving Hall. his assistant. called to
MN that there had been an accident
In the subway They got fifteen men
together and gathering up ladders
ropes and coils of wire. they hurried
out, Men who were in the excavation
and who had not been hurt fastened
the ropes and wires around women and
girls, some of them badly injured and
| they We're hauled up to the street level
by Thompson and his men.
Fire Chief Kenton had come to the
first alarm and Immediately turned In
a second alarm The hose corr N ,y.s
arriving first found that the high pres
sure was gone and call for steamers
was sent out. 1t brought nineteen
OF them. 1t got water from the stand
pipes. Then Kenton signalled for ad :
ditional help
The hremen put down their ladders
into the excavation and after that
the work Of getting the injured and
dead to the surface proceeded rapidly.
Amhulances had been summoned from
several hospitals. Before their ar
rival great many persons had been
carried into the cloak company's build
Ing. Theodore +. Marseiles. the vice.
president and general manager who
arrived at his once At $50 o'clock or
dered the place TO be thrown open to
the injured