New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-09
Six Women Die In
WarehouseCa In;
Manager Arrested
Three Floors of Brooklyn
Building, Loaded With
Beans, Fall on Workers

Overlooking the upper floors OF a
rour-story brick warehouse near the
foot Of Atlantic Avenue. Brooklyn, Is
believed 70 have caused the cavern of
the building and the death Of SIX
women yesterday morning. Charged
with culpable negligence, Frederick
Babcock. Of Hampstead. Long Islan0,
manager Of the Delcalda Mercantile
Company, which rented the three upper
floors for the storage Of beans, was ar
rested and later released on $4,000 bail.
Five independent Investigations Of
the collapse were conducted yesterday
afternoon. and all tended 70 show that
more weight had been placed on The
upper floors than the capacity Of the
building permitted. Coroner Ernest {.
Wagner who ordered the arrest OF
Babcock, will hold an inques: Gerry
next week
The three upper floors of the build
ing. which is said to have been erected
more than forty years ago. were used
Tor the storage cleaning and packing
Of beans. In the building, according 20
Police Captain Frank J, Rohrig. there
we're more than $500 bags, weighing
10 pounds each. 4 large part Of the
consignment, it is said, was &c 50 10
the United States government.
At fifteen minutes after , o'clock
yesterday morning the beams Of the
top floor broke loose, and the collapse
forced the two floors below TO give way.
Tons Of beams and beans buried i've
women who were asserting beans on
the second floor and another who was
m the office Of the Johanns Steamship
Provision Company, which occupies the
ground floor of the building. The force
Of the falling weight, according TO Mar
sfal Brophy, started fire in the base
ment by breaking the ILLUMINATING gas
pipes Flames burst forth after gas
escaped and was pocketed.
Firemen dug into the debris for
more than two hours before they
reached the bodies Of five Of the vic
Tins, which had fallen TO the level
of the street. Mrs. Josephine JO-
hams. bookkeeper and cashier of the
Johanns Company and sister-in-law of
the owner. fell from the first floor 70
the basement. il is believed, and she
was buried so deeply that efforts to
recover her body proved futile. The
nrcmen then lost hope of recovering
her body until to-day, as il was feared
the walls Of the building might fall
on the rescuers If they did not wait
until the she'll of the storage house
is shored up.
Besides Mrs. Johanns. a widow. the
dead are: Mrs. Lizzie Roland. forty
six. Of SOS Van Brunt Street; Mrs.
Helen Kennedy, thirty-fve, of 81 Con-
gress Street; Miss Nellie Jensen, thir-
ty-three, of Coo Baltic Street; Miss
Lolo Bana. colored, thirty-fve, Of 1876
Bridge Street. and Miss Viola Babora,
coored, Of l65 Bridge Street. The
recovered bodies were removed TO the
l4Sth Precinct Police Station. The
cave-in occurred within block Of the
place where the 100000 grain fire
in the Dow Stores took place several
weeks ago.
Loss 100000
F. L. Johanns. treasurer Of the Jo-
hams Steamship Provision Company,
placed the loss in money at 100000.
lie said his company rented the upper
three stories to the Delcalda Company.
Eight men, he said, were in the build
ing when the crash resounded. but
all escaped Only the front of the
structure caved in.
p. ]. Carlin, Superintendent Of
Buildings in Brooklyn. said that the
building was last inspected in April,
1915. and at that time the capacity
Of the upper three floors was fixed
at seyenty-fve pounds per square foot.