THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1956 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE T EE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4,1955 THE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE THREE i 'IT SOUNDED LIKE A BIG .BOM1B' Construction Disaster Came Suddenly (Continued from Page 1 will be an investigation which will undoubtedly determine the cause." Workmen on the job, however, took issue with Herlihy and angrily blamed the disaster on faulty materials and hurried construc- tion. George Berry, jr., a foreman on the job, charged, "The forms were removed from the concrete when it was still wet, leaving 'green' soft concrete pillars to support the. entire fourth floor." Thought 'Unusual' Berry also thought "unusual" the use of 10 and % inches of concrete around steel joices and said it was "an excessive amountl for that type of job." Another construction 1 a b o r e r condemned the "speed-up" of op- erations, observing that "It is com- mon masonry practice to wait at least 28 days before pouring one floor on top of another that is still setting." Additional charges were made 4 by James Eley, a foreman injured in the collapse. Eley, whose fath- er, Gerald Eley, foreman of the cement gang, was crushed to death, revealed that two days be- fore the tragedy his father had "complained that work was going too fast and the cement was not ready for it." Herlihy claimed "There was no 'speed-up' in this job; we were never more than a week behind, if that." But when asked how long the company waited between pouring floors, he said only "Ten days." He intimated if the blame could be laid to poor construction judge- ment. "The architects, Black and Black, Inc., must accept the re- sponsibility. "We only, build to specifications! and if they are at fault we are not to blame," he said. An executive of Zack Metal, a subcontractor, disclosed, "Con-' struction on the building had been creeping for a year and one-half because of the discovery of quick- sand and the need of an unex- pected large number of pilings." The four dead are: Gerald Eley, Roy Gardner, and Ray Claugherty of Jackson, and William Bingham of St. Joseph. Known to be trapped in the hole are: George Barry Sr., William Rose, Gale Marble, Charles Am- ann, Claude Banschus, and FJoyd Baker., One hundred Jackson State Prison inmates worked side by side with State troopers and volunteers from Civil Defense, the Army, Navy and Marine National Guards, Red Cross, five construction com- panies, and men from five town- ship departments to excavate the collapsed area, ensure safety, and feed those who would work a round the clock vigil. Herlihy and a group of engineers had toured the structure only ten minutes before the cave-in. He noted that the inspection was "routine" and that they had no- ticed nothing wrong. Final casualties from the dis- aster will not be known until noon today, officials estimated. Then most of the rubble will have been removed from the cluttered pit, which caught four stories of steel and concrete. Donald Coppens, a foreman and spokesman for Herlihy Co., capsu- lized the tragedy, "It's one hell of a catastrophe." Corpse HAMILTON, Ont. UP)-Artist Egbert Oudendag testified in court he agreed to stay in Max Kaye's funeral parlor while he painted two portraits of thej undertaker.- "Many nights I shared my lodgings with one, sometimes two corpses," Oudendag com- plained. Judge J. McKenna ordered Kaye to pay. the $160 still due on the portraits. STARTS OCT. 28: Travel Lecture Series To Feature Color Films For the third season a unique film-lecture series will be present- The second program, Nov. 411, ed by The World Travel and Ad- features Curtis Nagel, who will venture Series of Ann Arbor. present a tour of Europe in "The The 1956-57 season will include Beautiful Blue Danube." an array of experts in the field Scandinavia will be the scene of travel, each of whom will nar- rate his own full length, color, of the December program. Russell motion picture. Wright will show a visit to Den- Admiral Donald B. MacMillan, mark for an intimate look into noted for Arctic exploration, will the lives of the Danes. open the series on Oct. 28 with his The series will be held in the film presentation "Beyond the new Ann Arbor High School audi- Northern Lights." torium. r f h I% _ I 4 __ -- -_ --_ - _ -- j 'i'. I ~G. jai l I GET YOUR VARSITY NIGH T BLOCK SEATS On sale until October 5 at 3519 Administra- tion Building. Individual seats will be sold in the Administration Building Lobby beginning ! October 8. "THE HOLE"-Rescue workers struggle to remove rubble in the basement of the building. Buried underneath the rubble was an undetermined number of construction workers. Limbs of some of the j men were removed in order to rescue them from the hole alive. Michigan Daily photographer Vern Soden took this shot from atop a section of floor which had not collapsed. Three Daily reporters and Soden covered the catastrophe, bringing back on the spot stories and exclusive photographs. Large Crowds Attracted To Scene After Jackson Building Collapses I' Tickets 75c, $1.00, $1.50 ALL SEATS RESERVED Gotchertickut? Getchertickut Now.! By DONNA HANSON "All persons around the east tower stand clear," the loudspeak- er blared to the many people mill- ing around the half-collapsed Con- sumer Power Office at Jackson. Derricks swung their..long necks carrying concrete rubble and acetylene troches tore into the bent steel beams in an attempt to uncover and dislodge trapped workers beneath the building's wreckage. At the scene of the collapse, Red ABOVE: CRUMBLING WALL-Photo shows a section of one wall of the building after its collapse, Visible portion of the wall was on the north side. BELOW: FOOD LINE-Emergency food lines were set up to aid rescue workers. In the backgrojind are derricks used to remove rubble and wall sections. Cross volunteers circulated among the crew workers, civil defense men, police, marine and naval re- servists and national guard pass- ing out sandwiches, coffee and cigarettes.1 "Boy, this ain't no laughing matter," remarked a dust-streaked worker who had emerged for a moment from the wreckage hole, ominously labeled "the pit" by the dislodging crew. As darkness set in, light bulbs and flood lights were focused on the stark shell of a building to1 facilitate later work in locating bodies. "There will be a ten minute period of complete silence so if anyone is still alive, they can shout their locations," the loud- speaker ordered. At "zero hour", 9:45 p.m. the noisy hubbub of machines and voices stopped sharply and almost complete silence reigned. The voice of Father Dodsman reciting "The Lord's Prayer" was carried by the loudspeaker to all parts of the area.~ Then, no one spoke. People just sat or stood with their eyes centered on the shell of the half-standing building and waited expectantly. At 9:55 the machines again swung into action and people began talking. The son and daughter-in-law of one of the trapped workers pre- sumed alive had stood together during the brief interval of silence and then looked resignedly at each other. No sound had been heard. HILL AUDITORIUM 8:15 P.M. ff VARSITY NIGHT, OCT.13 HAPPY-JOE-LUCKY presents. STICKLERS! is atird caf? hat s aWhat is a jobless horseman? What is a tired caat patch sa fYour pants?- STUCK FOR MONEY? DO A . 7- I 'I STICKLERS ARE TICKLERS and a mighty soft way to make money! Just write down a simple riddle and a two-word rhyming answer. For example: What's a ball player who gets a raise? (Answer: richer S pitcher.) Note: both words must have the same number of syllables -bleak freak, jolly dolly, vinery finery. Send your Sticklers, with your name, address, college, and class, to Happy-Joe-Lucky, Box 67A, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. Don't do drawings! We'll pay $25 for every Stickler we use in our advertising-and for hundreds that never see print. And remember-you're bound to Stickle better when you're enjoying a Lucky, because Luckies taste better. Luckies' mild, good- tasting tobacco is TOASTED to taste even better. Fact is, you'll say Luckies are the best-tasting cigarette you ever smoked! St~iE :;nn~w.-. *NMFG 4 TEND IT IN AND I 0 0 r_ .