Faulty wires blamed in tragic death Providing some cheer in time of war
Accidentsin the workplace continue to be an unfortunate reality for today’s workers.
Statistics for accidents, including those that lead to death, indicate that workers under the age of 25 are especially at risk and that this risk is at its highest in the first few months of employment.
Construction work on the Welland Ship Canal nearly a century ago reflected a similar reality. Of the 137 men who died in building the canal, 58 were under the age of 30 and many had only been working on the canal for days, weeks or months before their deaths.
Antonio Montemurro was one of these men.
Born in Italy, Montemurro was one of 14 children. In 1913, he emigrated to Canada with a younger brother, Michele, and his uncle, Antonio Salfi. In July 1915 they left for Chicago before coming to Niagara to work on the canal.
Montemurro, employed by Confederation Construction Co. as a drill runner, had been on the job for only two weeks when he had his unfortunate accident. The details of the accident were only reported second-hand because there were no direct witnesses to the accident. Those who spoke as witnesses at the coroner’s inquest were only able to report finding Montemurro lying on the ground next to the drilling machine. He had no obvious injuries and the cause of his death was not readily apparent to Dr. Vanderburg, the coroner on the scene. Of special note in this case: while the coroner’s jury released Montemurro’s body for burial after having viewed it soon after the accident, Montemurro’s friends — including his brother and uncle — were apparently not satisfied and hired another physician to carry out an autopsy to be more accurate about the cause of death.
At the coroner’s inquest, details of the accident focused on the electrical wires that ran about 450 metres from a transformer at the stone-crushing plant to a switch box and then to the drilling machine. The lines carried 550 volts of electricity and hung about four feet off the ground. It was reported that electrical wires were hung at such a low height since they needed to be moved daily and this would make higher poles impractical. The head electrician on this section of the works, C.R. Dodge, testified that these wires were not dangerous as they were covered in rubber and the men were warned to keep away. Regardless of this assertion, evidence showed that the wires lying close to Montemurro’s body were cut cleanly in two places and further witnesses testified to the poor quality of the wire thereby making them hazardous to those working nearby.
The final finding of the jury was that Montemurro came to his death by electrocution due to faulty construction of the wires. The jury recommended that in future “the wires be so constructed as to safeguard the workmen; and, further, that the Crown attorney report to the proper department to ascertain if a proper inspection cannot be had of all electrical wiring, as by the evidence given live wires are allowed to lie on the ground.”
Montemurro’s funeral was attended by his fellow countrymen as well as the Thorold Band who accompanied his cortege to Lakeview Cemetery for burial.
As for his brother, Michele wanted to return to Italy until persuaded by his uncle to stay. However, two months after Antonio’s death, Michele left Canada for good. He moved to Kenosha, Wisc., where he raised a family — he named his first son for his father and his second son after his deceased brother. Some of the Salfi family remained in Thorold-Niagara while others also moved to Kenosha.
Fora significant number of Niagara Falls residents a century ago, Christmas was not especially merry. Instead, a haunting sense of anxiety or sorrow hung like a dark shadow over many homes as people worried about the terrible human toll the Great War in Europe — now known as the First World War — was creating.
Some local families had already received that dreaded telegram from the minister of militia announcing that their overseas soldier has been wounded. Or, far worse, he would not be coming home. For those families who had a son, brother or father in service and had not received such a notice, every day was filled with tension as they wondered if their man would be one of the war’s next victim.
In spite of this emotional turmoil, however, civilian support for the troops, especially at Christmas, was not neglected. The local branch of the Women’s Patriotic League was one of the groups attempting to provide for the social and physical welfare of Canadian soldiers.
During December 1915, The Review published a letter that had been sent to Kate Durdan, a longtime teacher and principal here, who was with the Niagara Falls branch of the Women’s Patriotic League. The letter had come from Lieut. Joan Arnoldi, the Canadian field comfort commissioner, based at Camp Shorncliffe in Folkestone, Kent, England — a camp where many Canadian soldiers underwent training before being sent to the front lines.
Written in response to a funding donation the local league had forwarded, the letter provides some interesting details about the Christmas gifts that were being distributed. Dated Dec. 4, 1915, this is part of that letter:
“Your letter with the enclosed draft has been received and we will spend the money for you. We will have the things ready and are very anxiously waiting for the cards which you promised to send on. I hope they will be in time for Christmas.
“We are making a general distribution to every Canadian soldier and the gifts sent out include books, games, cards, stationery, mouth organs and handkerchiefs. Every gift is tied up with either sweets or smokes. This gives the men a good choice. Your cards will be an additional gift. The Niagara Falls men will certainly have much to cheer them this Christmas and we are delighted to be able to do it for you.”
To all Niagara Note readers, thank you for your support during this past year. Have a wonderful holiday season and a healthy, happy 2016.