Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-11-18

The gymnasium IN this addition was
TO be for the boys in the high school,
while the gymnasium in the old build
ing was to be for girls.
The auditorium IN the old building,
when the addition was completed, was
to be rebuilt into classrooms.
The new addition, winch was 1914 ~
% feet, was to work In with the build
Ing program by which the Manual Train
Ing High School WAS to have accommo-
dations for 1000 pupils
UNABLE TO DETERMINE
CAUSE OF ACCIDENT.
After surveying the ruins William P.
Jungclaus, general contractor in charge
of the work, said It is impossible for him
TO tell the cause OF the accident.
From statements of Jungclaus and
other contractors with men on the job 1t
was estimated that approximately forty
nve workers were in or about the strue-
turs when it collapsed.
9. Ittenbach & Co, contractors In
charge Of the stone work, reported that
a complete check has not been made of
their men.
w. Il. Hodgson. contractor In charge
Of brick work. who has offices In room
6OS. Chamber Of Commerce Building, re-
ported either seventeen or nineteen men
In the building, of whom eight were
or1cklayers and the remainder laborers
Hetherington & Berner, iron and steel
contractors. also were without exact In
formation as to the number Of their EN-
ployes in the wreck.
CITY AND COUNTY
OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE. :
Coroner Paul Robinson arrived soor
after the collapse and began a close in
vestigation. Walter B. Stern, city build
ing commissioner, also was notified and
was expected to take up the investigation
from a technical angle.
There were some reports, unsubstantiat
ed as yet, that there were no braces to
hold up the steel work which fell. bu;
other witnesses said the big derrick with
which materials were hoisted and dis
tributed became overbalanced and pressed
against part Of the steel work, causing Il
to fold up.
Frank Gary, 1121 Hiawatha street, and
Rule Mitchew, 424 North BIackford street
both negroes, described their miraculous
escape.
Gary was mixing mortar directly In tn
center OF the territory into which tn,
crumpled steel work crashed By som.
queer twist OF fate. the heaviest girder
missed him and he was merely knocked
down by lighter ones. His legs wer
slightly bruised.
Mitchew was on the third floor stee
work and fell with a girder he was work
Ing on without injury bis coat wa
left hanging on part of the iron wor.
that did not fall.
IRON FOREMAN TELLS
OF HIS EXPERIENCE.
George Zitcher, 81 West Morris street
an iron worker foreman, was on top o
the structural steel work when he felt
swaying.
Il looked around and the whole thin
was crumbling in and 1 jumped. alight
Ing on a pile of sand" he said. "As
looked up 1 saw the men flying in a.
directions, some of them jumping
safety and others being hurled off by th
breaking beams"
J. E. Budd, 620 South Meridian stree
said his wife, hearing the crash of tb
building, called him from his house
which is near the school
Il helped carry four of the men fror-
underneath the debris" he said ''Mos
of those injured, however, were scram
bling from the structure when 1 go,
there"
Rescuers made up of fremen and un
injured workmen tried vainly to extricat
Charles Fields, colored, from underneath
a huge BEAM Both of his legs wer,
pinned under the heavy iron and all at
tempts to pry it up were futile.
BEAM CUT IN TWO
TO FREE WORKER.
The Indiana Oxygen Company supple
hydrogen tank and the beam wa
burned in two, freeing the imprisone,
workman. Fields exhibited unusual forti
tuGe as the rescuers worked although
suffering intense pain from his injuries.
Glasses in the Manual High Schoo'
Building, just across the street, wert
thrown into confusion by the noise o.
the rending steel. Those on the ives.
side of the building looking out sale
they saw the. framework sway out into
Merrill street, separating the two build
ings and then plunge west and collapse
Students declared that the building
crashed with noise like thunder.
1t was with difficulty that the students
were kept in the building, and many of
them escaped to swell the huge crowd
that had gathered at the scene of the ac-
cident
IF it develops that there were any
violations of law we will investigate at
once" Prosecuting Attorney Claris
Adams, stated when asked If his office
would go into the accident.