THE BROOKLYN DISASTER.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1112, 24 August 1883, Page 3

THE BROOKLYN DISASTER.

The New York correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, w-iting on June 23, thus reiera to the oenibie disaster which occurred at Brooklyn on May 31 : When I closed my last letter, the great 1 ridge b;tween the cities of New York and Brooklyn ha i just been opened to the public with ceremonies of that vague and smnewh t awkwark dignity which characterise .American efforts in that direction. Oi the Wednesday following. May 31. occurred “ Decoraiion May,” a day set apart at the close of the month of May throughout the States which remained i -yal to Che Government, during tlie .ivil War for decorating w th flowers the graves of the men woo fell m tua. war on the Union side Eich of these states has ma le the holiday legal, and all puolic and corporate nuaiiiess, with most private business, is suspended, I i New York and Brooklyn th re is gener ally a process on of the militia, and sometimes of the nre department, and there are gatherings and speeches more or less appropriate to the oceassion Bit with the pissaga of time and the disappearance of very many wi hj whom the H e at soldiers were intimately related, the sentiment which gave rise to the observances, and which at first was very fervent and general, has failed on-, and the diy h.s become a common holiday, given over to eic eursions, promenades, and the rest of the limited devices by which out busy people manage to HU out a few hours of unaccus to ned leisure. As the day was Hoe. there were of com se, great crowds in the streets, an I many honsmds of both sexes and all ages flocke I tosei the latest curiosity, the bri L’i . On two previous occi io is the num bers on the footw iy of ihe bridge ha I proved ton grmt, an t “ j mis” had occurs I, which were relieve I by permitting the pe lestrialli to invala the ctrriage wav, To .voids eve-mg, about quarter post 5 p.m . there was a large orowil m the footway. To over* come a change in the grade made necessary by some stonework that was about tue towers, the briiga engineers had placed half Way between each tower and the tenninu. a couple of flights of a half-dozen s ep , with an interval of some loft, of floo mg. These steps, wi hj mexcusabte laundering, were mule only 8 n. by 7m. hiiii, so that tne section of ea-h would he that of a small cube. At tho brink of one of these flights of steps to- ! wauls the New York si le, a young woman j slipped, lost her footing, and wi hj a wild t scream fell iitoth- crowd below. In an, instant the moss of Unman hemes imme- 1 iPately a >out the spot we e smitten with p mic, and in .heir frantic efforts to gat free from the press, men woman, aid children were thrown down and trampled upon. The policemen on the bridge were few ; there se an to have been only eight or leu along ,he mile or more of the footway. Those near the scene of the accinent were power- ] less, and it was only when the first terror had passed aw iv, and the crowd hal thinned out by cl unbaring over the bar: lers upon the inlj icing railway tracks, that anything like oner was rectors I, Then it was found that 14 persons had been either killed outright or morca'y injured, while others were badly crushed. Several mne Have since die 1 , an I there are doubtless others who were priva ely care I for, an I of whom no record was m v le. Two personsone man and one woman—have become hopelessly insane fro m the moments’ experience. It is a terrible beginning for the career of a structure which lia I he m greeted with such pride and r j icing. There is no room tor doubt as to tne blame ataohing to the managers, Tue placing of snon narrow steps at such a point was cleuly inexcusable. an I the defective organs vion of the police was still more so. A half d zen experienced officers at th se points of peril would have kept the crowd thinned out, and made a panic impossible. The supers inten lent ami trust es, howevei, express . heir nnshak- n laith in their own competence, an 1 dec! ue that the occurrence was a clear visitation of Divine provi lence. On any such theory Omnipotence itself w mid lie taxed to bear the burden of responsibility for the complacent blunders of stupid men.