Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1907 — JOE MILLER KILLED [ARTICLE]

JOE MILLER KILLED

Rensselaer Boy Meets Death at Hammond. IS CRUSHED BY A HUGE CRANE tn Standard Steel Car Co., Plant Where tie Was Employed.—Deceased a Son of Werner rtlller. Werner Miller, a well known farmer residing north of town a few miles, received the sad intelligence Monday night of his son Joe having been badly hurt in the Standard Steel Oar Company’s plant at Hammond, where be had been employed but a few weeks, the exact extent of the injuries not being told him at once. Mr. Miller took the first train to Hammond, but the boy had passed away before his arrival. Following is an account of the accident as published in a Hammond paper:

J. Miner, age 21, of Rensselaer, Ind , who has been employed at the Standa rd Steel Car company's plant for the last five or six weeks, was killed last evening by a traveling crane which either caught or struck him as he was climbing up a ladder to fix some windows and crushed his body so that he lived only a short time after the accident happened. In the building Tn which Miller was working there are a set of steel supports running through the center of the building and throughout the entire length. On rails that are supported by these central supports and those on the sides of the building two traveling cranes operate back and forth and are used for the purpose df htting the steel that is used in the construction of the cars. It is thought that Miller m climbing up the ladder which leads to the place where be was working, tailed to see the traveling crane as it approached him or perhaps he bad his clothes caught in some part of the machinery as it passed. At any rate be was caught by the crane and so badly crushed that there was no hope for his recovery. The officials o» the Standard Steel Car company look great pains to notify the parents of the injured young man as soon as the accident happened. The father took the first train to Hammond but failed to arrive in time to see his son before he died. The body was taken to the local undertaking establishment where it was prepared for burial and will be sent to Rensselaer today. Miller is a country boy and this whs his first experience as an employe in a big plant of this kind. The remains of the unfortunate young man were brought to Rene* selaer Tuesday evening and the funeral was held at the St. Augustine's Catholic church Thursday at 10 a. m., and interment made in Mt Calvary Catholic cemetery south of town. The funeral was very largely attended. Joseph Miller was the eldest son of Werner Miller. His mother died when he was about one year old, and he has no own brothers and sisters. He had been working in the car plant about four weeks, and intended to finish out his month and come home. IV is said that the boss had no business to send him up to attend to the window, and that the space where he had to go up was very small and the noise of the machinery was so great that he could not hear the crane coming. The craneman bad not been notified that Joe had gone aloft and supposed nothing was in the way of its operation. The crane crushed in his side and broke his jaw, he lived only about thirty or forty minutes. Deceased was a fine young man and had a host of friends who deeply deplore his untimely death and sympathize with the bereaved father and other relatives. David Zeigler, son of Noah Zeigler north of town, was working in the same plant with Joe, but not right beside him and did not learn that it was Joe that was crushed for some minutes after the accident.