The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-08-24
Ely |. Warren Was Twisted
to Death in Spiral Augur
in Stock Bin.
SAW SCREW DRAW OWN
BODY TO HIS DEATH
Lived Till He Was Extricated-
Funeral Today at New
Bethel.

! q NOiNl = jul lIiett lCI'l dII iiiuueSI
yesterday afternoon over the body of
Ely }. Warren, who was twisted to
death yesterday morning in an augur
convcyOr at the cement plant two miles
south of the Cape.
Warren's mangled body will be tax
en- to Neely's Landing this afternoon
whence a funeral cortege will go to
the New Bethel Church for the funeral
services and burial in the churchyard.
Warren's old home formerly was on a
farm in that community.
Testimony at the inquest yesterday
afternoon revealed the probable cause
of Waren's death and also disclosed
the tortuOus character of the accident
Since last Friday Warren had been
employed in one of the bins Of the
stock house at the cement plant The
plant is shipping out cement at so rap
id rate that the surplus stocks which
are kept in large storage bins have
been opened and conducted to the pack
ing rooms for sacking and transpOrta-
zion to the cars.
The manner of conveying the loose
cement from the stock bin to the pack
ing room is over one of the augur con-
veyors and an elevator. Across one
end of the bins and sunk into the floor
is the augur cOnveyor. This is a giant
augur that is operated in the same
manner as the augur of a sausage mill
or a common brace-and-bit.
1t is about ten inches in diameter
and is operated in trough that runs
across the end of the stock bin. Ar
engagements are made for the insertion
of steel or cast iron CRATES over this
augur so as to cover it up and protect
wOrhmen from getting caught in the
machine. The loose cement is raked
over the CRATES with a large e-shap-
ed instrument and it falls through be-
tween the bars of the CRATES into the
trough and ispushed along by the
steady twisting of the augur.
The bars of the CRATES are made in
sections so that when the machine be
comes disordered, a section of CRATE
may be removed in order to have it
fixed. However, workmen constantly
are warned Of the danger of the augur
and commanded to have the CRATES re-
placed while on duty.
Yesterday morning shortly after s
o'clock John TnornbrOugh, stock house
foreman, passed through the bins
where Warren was at work with Char
les Scherrer as his working COM
panion.
He instructed Warren to clean out
cement in a corner and proceed with
his work. He then departed from that
part of the plant. Shortly before $50
o'clock, Scherrer went to another part
of the place to get drink of water.
The CRATES were in place at the time
that Thornbrough passed through, he
/ testified.
While Scherrer was away, ne heard
d cry for help that resOunded through
out that part of the plant. The cries
were redoubled and he ran towrd War
ren's bin.
John Frazier, who works in the
blacksmith shop on the opposite side
of the plant, heard the first cry, bat
was unable to locate what part of the
plant it came from. When the second
shrek sounded he started running for
the stock house on the other side of the
plant.
Scherrer and Frazier reached War
ren's bin and found his body being
slowly and steadily drawn into the
augur conveyor. His left foot was the
first part of his body that the machine
had taken hold of and the spiral twist
ing machinery proceeded to drag the
rest of his body along in the same
manner as it moves cement.
As Warren cried for help he watch
ed the machine relentlessly take his
own feet and legs, draw them along the
trough, snap the bones like toothpicks
and wrap the twisted and mangled
limbs about the augur.
Eventually when the machinery had
drawn in his body as high up as his
ribs on the left side and to the right
hip, the machinery was stopped. War
rem had become unconscious, and by
that time Andrew Bowling as well as
arrived at the bin.
One of the CRATES where Warren had !
become caught had been moved and Ii