6
TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY 2., 1015.
CATASTROPHE LAID
I TO CARELESSNESS
: Insufficient Ballast With Old
; List and Method of Han
I dling Crowds Blamed.
PASSENGER LIMIT DOUBTED
Immense Weight on Superstructure
; 'With Vessel High in "Water
r - Leaves Little Stability Below.
Crew of 75 Carried by Craft.
Carelessness was responsible for the
i sinking of the speedy lake steamer
J Eastland at Chicago yesterday, with its
' appalling loss of life, in the opinion of
i Portlanders familiar with that type. of
vessel and in handling such a, crowd
of passengers.
It is argued that, as the Eastland
1 was admittedly "tender," having listed
badly eight years ago in South Haven
harbor when crowded, at a time when
, her ballast tanks were being filled,
m every precaution should have been
I taken yesterday wnen, so it was re
x ported, the water ballast tanks were
" empty, as it was intended to All them
' and trim ship after fine had steamed
- into deep water.
' Lacking sufficient ballast, the vessel
- was topheavy when so many travelers
were assembled on one side, say steuro
. boatmen, who aver that always, when
'there is a large crowd going aboard a
steamer, the inclination of a big ma
' jority is to crowd along the rails on
the dock or land side, watching for
- friends to arrive or through curiosity,
so a. tremendous weight is added that
a would not be the case when she is
' under way, unless some attraction such
'"a a a vessel passing, an accident or
-other incident out of the ordinary
might prompt most of the passengers
so race to one side.
v' ' Danger Leas With Ballast.
With ballast tanks filled, it is in
sisted, there would be . less danger in
the latter case than with a vessel lying
at her berth not having sufficient bal
last and subject to the strain of many,
crowding one side and the added weight
and motion of others moving aboard
from the dock.
As to the Eastland having been over-
crowded, there is a division of opinion.
teamshtpmen say that there are virtu-
ally no uniform regulations governing
the number of passengers a vessel
shall be allowed. On ocean-going
steamers the limit is fixed as a gen
eral rule by the number of berths
:the boatage in the way of lifeboats and
Jiferafts and the allotment of a life
preserver to each passenger and mem
ber, of the crew. On lake, bay and
sound vessels a different system is fol
lowed, also in the case of rivers.
Special excursion steamers having
several decks, especially promenade
' decks, draw numerous passengers above
" to get away from the crowded condi-
- tions below and to "see the sights."
With a vessel high out of water and
tier superstructure carrying Immense
'weight of that character, marlnemen
-say that there is really little stability
"remaining below, so that should a ship
' take a heavy list the only thing to
be done is try and distribute the pas-
sengers more evenly to overcome it.
'-That Is possible when a vessel has
enough draft to assist In overcoming
There are no steamers here of the
same type as the Eastland, but her di
mensions being 265 feet long, 38.2 feet
.beam and 18.5 feet depth of hold, it is
reasoned along the waterfront that she
;would have sufficient draft, and Chi
.cago advices place that at 23 feet,
"which is more than vessels of the
Beaver and Bear model draw and about
Jhe draft of the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific when loaded.
. Passenger Allowance 25O0.
The Eastland was of 1S61 tone gross
and 1218 tons net register. Her to tat
passenger allowance, say Chicago ex
.perta. was 2500 persons. S.ie carried
crew of 75. The same vessel, operat
ing on an ocean run, would have had
ihe number allowed to be carried cut
down to those who could be accom
modated in berths, which would mean
in staterooms and steerage or outside
, sections. . If operated in the Willam
. stte and Columbia alone, under the
; system in vogue here, she would fhave
i carried not more than 196t passen
! gers. The Bear and the Beaver of
the "Big Three" fleet, when used for
I short excursion runs to St. Helens at
I night, as was done with the latter
a short time ago, are allowed only
, 1000 passengers.
' The steamer Bailey Gatert, operating
, on a daylight schedule, has an excur-
slon permit for 642 passengers, as she
5 is of (42 tons gross, and her permit on
a night run would be little more than
half of that.
, Inspectors of the Steamboat Inspec-
tion Service take the stand that they
, can insist on rules of the department
being carried out and all masters are
informed of even the most inconse-
quential. also they are on hand when
r excursions are run officially to check
, the number of passengers going aboard
t and when the limit Is on, others are
, stopped, but as to there being suf
; ficient water ballast and such safe-
guards they cannot be aboard all ves
j eels to insist on them and must hold
masters and engineers responsible.
5 Passenger steamers, besides , being
given their annual Inspection, are In
J vestlgated during the season three
, times when carrying excursionists, the
Federal officers being bound to ascer
, Tu paiJj-BO S jusuidinba jra i uiti
.in, place, boat and fire drills are car-
ried out efficiently and similar re
i sponslbllltles attended to.
" The steamer General Slocum. which
. caught. -fire and sank In New York har.
ior June 15, 1904, carried between 2000
find 2500 persons, though she was -not
, much larger In general dimensions
vthan the steamer T. J. Potter, now
"operated between Portland and Megler
which Is allowed an excursion license
cf tit, her gross tonnage. On Puget
.Sound and at San Francisco, where
.different models are ' operated, more
'passengers are allotted and It Is gen-
erally a custom to- fix the capacity on
-conditions of different waters, as well
as taking Into consideration llfesavlng
Equipment and accommodations.
r.BAY CITY J30Y DROWNED
'.Attack of Heart Trouble Fatal .to
vr Ralph McCIew at Ocean Lake.
OCEAN LAKE. Or, July 24. fSpe-
rClal.) Ralph, aged 14,. only son of Will
J'lam A. McCIew. of Bay City, was
'-drowned here today while swimming in
i the lake. He was overcome by an at-
tack of heart failure and after calling
for help sank. ,
" Kenneth Rountree and Milton Boz
lorth dived 20 times in a vain effort
t to give assistance.
Mrs. P. K. Egbert drove to Bar View
'for Coast Guards, making' the dis
- tanca of six miles In eight minutes.
.The body was recovered . promptly, but
fan hour's - effort to restore resplra-
. tlon was unavailing.
The parents and three sisters inr
" yivo. -
VESSELS
Us .- - '
'. --- 1 1 -"
n.itttu, Httk: T
tfT-: , ' ' B : -- I
ZA?J-4lsr , -v 1 jSI
TP ' Steamer Theodore Roosevelt. Which Was at Scene When Kantland Turned Otrr and VhL!i AkaUted In Itearue Work. (Klchtt Scetluaal Street
Map, Showing Portion of Uke Front and Chicago Hirer. Arrow Points Exact Scene of Disaster. Where Clark Street laicrscrts Chlcaau Hlvcr. .11 Id
die Llfesavlnsr Station on Lake Front, Which Sent Men to Reocae. Below (Left! Scene on Chlcaso Waterfront Hkowlit Tiro Eninlu Sluuni ol
Type Similar to Kaatland.. (Hlaht Haacnlo Brldse at tccne of Ulaaater, Showlac Uravr Open to Admit I'ouogt of i:xcnraion Steamers.
SPEED PERIL SHOWN
Sacrifice of Safety in Craft
' Suspected by Workman.
ROYALTY OFFER RECALLED
Lee Scarth, in tngiiu-ci-ing Depart
ment of Shipbuilding Company at
Time Katland's Construction,.
Thinks Strain Too Heavy.
WhenVthe steamship Eastland made
her mafden trip in July. 1SJ2. Just 13
years ago, she was the speediest ex
cursion boat on the Great Lakes, and
the element of safety was probably
sacrificed In some degree to speed, ac
cording to Lee Kcarth, of 447 Cast
Twelfth street North, who was In the
engineering department of the Jenks
Shipbuilding Company at Fort Huron.
Mich., when the ICastland was built.
A heavy royalty was offered by the
ship 'company at the time, remembers
Mr. Scarth, for every mile more than
21 an hour that the boat would be able
to make. Upon completion the steam,
ship easily made 23 miles.
That the strain of fast speed could
be withstood, the ship was equipped
with the heaviest boiler plate of any
boat known at that time, said Mr.
Scarth last night. It had twin screws.
a compound engine and worked under
forced draft. When completed, the
Eastland ws considered a fine boat.
"There was not enough beam to the
vessel, with all the excursionists
crowded on one side of the top deck,"
aid Mr. Scarth. speaking of the acci
dent. "As I understand there was an
other boat coming to take off some of
the crowd, and the men and women
were naturally on the lake side of
the boat, watching for Its arrival. Be
ins long and narrow, with not enough
ballast below to stand the strain of its
overcrowded condition, the boat, cap
sized, lor with one side ol the upper
deck so. overloaded, there was .much
danger.
"For its -purpose, the boat was ex
cellent and stood up well for 13 years.
but it was not built to stand the heavy
strain placed upon it today."
The Eastland was constructed In the
shipbuilding yards on the Black River
at Fort Huron and made her trial trip
on Lake Huron.
BERLIN MAY MODIFY VIEW
" (Continued From First Pre.)
cumstances. and in effect demanded
by the President. Germany merely will
have to give official notice that it
has adopted as permanent the policy
now in practice.
There is reason to believe that
Count von Bernstorff during his re
cent "conversation" with Secretary
of .State Lansing gave the latter to
understand ' that It was the purpose
of Germany to persist in its policy, but
at the vame time to exercise the dis
cretion demanded by the United States
in conducting its marine campaign
against England.
It Is generally accepted that there
already exists a tacit understanding
between the United States and the
Kaiser's diplomatic representative
speaking with the authority of his
government, that Instructions have
been given by the German Admiralty
to commanders of its warships and sub
marine flotillas to observe the prin
ciples of international warfare offi
cially sunseribed , to by the German
Foreign Minister and demanded by the
United States.
The knowledge that such an under
standing has been reached, while not
publicly proclaimed by the German
government, furnishes justification for
the belief that an announcement to this
effect will be forthcoming shortly
from Berlin.
XOTE EXPECTED TO SATISFY
Reference to Attacks on Escaping
Vessels Regarded as Concession.
WASHINGTON. July 24. Count von
Bernstorff, the German Ambassador,
left Washington today to remain away
from the capital until Instructions from
his government . or new developments
make it necessary for him to confer
again with officials here.
It was learned In. German circles
here tonight that the German interpre
tation of the statement in the last
American note, that the lives of non
combatants may sot be out in Jeopardy
AND PLACES FIGURING. ITSTEAMS
. 7U!1"..V
'
unless a vessel resists or seeks to escape,-
was expected to satisfy the Ger
man military authorities of the fact
that the United States has not insisted
on a complete abandonment of, subma
rine warfare as such.
It is believed that this point would
be considered as a concession and
would add weight to that element of
official and public opinion In Germany
which is urging a more Conciliatory
attitude toward the United states.
Conflicting reports reachei'. the Ger
man embassy today as to what occurred
in the Orduna case. According to
statements made by some of the pas
senRers of the ship no torpedo was f I red
by the German submarine from which
the liner escaped. They'saw only the
shell tire at the ship. I.ackins any offi
cial statement from Berlin, embassy
officials would not discuss the Orduna
incident.
RESCUE WORK IS PROMPT
(Continued "From First rir.
of the dead, injured and rescued, the
divers in the heart of the sunken vessel
sent up an almost constant stream of
corpses from the submerged d'ks.
First It was a (tally dressed girl in
her teens .who had been caught be
tween a pile of chairs and the cabin
wall. Next it was a boy, gathered
from the lifeless arms of his father.
Then followed an old woman, who hard
gone aboard the ship to watch her
grandchildren, or a little arlrl with bare
legs and boots, with gay ribbons sodden
against the lace of her holiday gown.
One thrill passed through the crowd
as word came from the steamer that a
girl baby had been found alive among
the hundreds of dead in the ship. The
child was discovered In a starboard
stateroom, where she bad bt :a held
from the water by a chair that jammed
against the berth. . The baby only half
awakened as It was carried to land. Its
mother could not be found.
Two women were found alive in an
other stateroom on the protruding side
of the Eastland, but that -nded the
hopes that any number had escaped
death in the death trap itself. There
were still at least U0 persons In the
bold when these three persons were
taken out alive, and lae explorers of
the hulk said that all were dead. Yet
amid all the horror and heartache, offi
cials of various departments attended
to pressing duties of disposition of the
dead and injured, tracing of the miss
ing, inquiry into the cause of the dis
aster and precautions against disease
from sunken bodies and the drifting of
corpses through the city towards canal
locks.
More Boys Arrested for Rioting.
'Two more boys were arrested "last
night for alleged participation In the
riot at Lincoln playgrounds Thursday
night. Those arrested were William
Kaylor. 16. and Will Hahn. 15. This
makes a total of 11 arrests on account
of the riot. All the boys will be tried
in the Juvenile Court.
t tMwsmiiniiwiiii iiiiiiissiiaBisiriiPiiMhsasMissr c ; II 1 I t- t , i . j I , 1 1 i.i - J ,.n i B ni 1 k. ' I I r i
LAKE EXCURSION STEAMER WHOSE CAPSIZING CAUSED
J.V '-e ' . . .
4S .r. -4.--:
ij4i L Sr . ' '
, i
HIP DISASTER ON CHICAGO WATERFRONT1.
H DRIVEN ID
Girl Fights Attendants in Hos
pital While They Aid Her.'
DIVER IS MADE INSANE
Man Who Is Rescued With W iTe nnd
Daughter and Taken to Hospital
Reads Son's Name at Top
of List of Dead.
K.tSTLAXn ONE OP" FASTKST
K.ClHSIII HO ATS 0.
LAKE.
CHICAGO. July 24. The East
land, which was one of the
fastest excursion boats on the
Great Lakes, narrowly escaped
capsizing eight years ago at
South liaven, Mich. She was
saved by the action of the offi
cers In driving the passengers to
the other side of the vessel.
The Eastland was built In 1903
and was owned by the Eaxtland
Navigation Company, of Cleve
land. She was 26S feet lontr. 38
feet wide and had a draft of 23
feet, with a net tonnage of 1218.
She was brought to Chicago in
190 4 and was used in the ex
cursion business to South Haven,
Mich., for several years.
Later she was taken to Cleve
land and placed in the excursion
service there. This. Spring the
boat was remodeled. She was
then brought to Chicago and put
on the run to St. Joseph. Mich.
She had a speed, of 21 miles
an hour.
CHICAGO. July 34. fSpeclaL)
Shrieking and sobbing women, mothers
who called in anguish for their babies,
and strong men driven mad by the
sights they had seen, filled the Iro
quois Memorial Hospital today, 10
minutes after the steamer Eastland
overturned In the river.
A young girl, hysterical, fought with
the attendants who tried to care for
her.
"My sister! My sister, poor little
sister!" she crlad. "She is dead. Oh.
is dead, my poor little sister."
Nearby stood a sad-faced woman
with folded hands.
" "My husband I left him in the
r.;
KASTLAM) LAKE MICHIGAN.
'.-t - t--
water." she said as la a daxe. "My
little girl: I thought she would be
here: she "Isn't. May God hav mercy
on them.
She said her name was Mrs. Jose
phine Bchnke.
Haaband and Dugktet Do ot Cone,
Mrs, Anna Parmlnter peered eagerly
at each new arrival for tus face of her
hurband and daughter. In each case
she turned away sorro wtully too
Bri"t-strlcken even for tears.
Mrs. Anna Peterson turned to leave
the hospital, partly dressed, and go In
search of her son. Charles K.. n years
Old. She was restrained by her daugh
ter. Anna r Petersen.
Men engaged In the rescue work
collapsed under the strain. Sora.
weeping and hysterical, were brought
to shore.' Others, working In a dale.
continued to roll up the sad scroll of
the city's list of dead.
diver who had been at work all
day at me grewsome ihsk or recover
Ins; bodies Iron the Eastland, sud
denly went insane. Four policemen
were necMn- to subdue htm. He
was removed to the Detention Hot
pltnL
Son's Name Klrst on List.
There are Individual tragedies that
stnnd out In bold relief even In a ca
tastrophe where hundreds die. Here
is one of them:
Chester" Lallne. wlt'i his wife and
daughter, Anna, were rescued whe
tne .asuand capsized. Thry were
taken to the Eye, Ear and Nova Hos
pital for treatment. A son. Chester.
years old. was unaccounted for. A
reporter rushec into the hospital with
a copy of the first "extra" In his
pocket. Lallne grasped for the paper.
"My boy, my boy."x he cried. "What
or him?" ,
His eye caught a meager list of
Identified victims. The first name
was that of his son.
"I die with him." Lallne shouted.
The father beat off the Internes who
rushed to restrain him and bolted
from the bulldinv. disappearing In the
throng which llnd the riverfront.
Policemen followed and restrained
him.
10CO DROWN ON VESSEL
(Contlnud Krom First Pte.l
their blinding glare while hundreds of
men searched for more bodies.
Under the glare of searchlights to
night scores of men worked in the huTl
of "the vessel to roach the bodies. The
steamer lay on the bottom of the river.
one half of its side protruding from
the water.
The cause of the capsizing had not
been determined tonight, but Federal,
city and state officers were con
ducting investigations to determine
whether the ship was top-heavy from
faulty designing, was improperly bal
LOSS OF 1000 LIVES.
i :
A-
i i
lasted, or wrs poorly handled in warp
ing from the wharf.- Marine archi
tects asserted that the. Eastland was
faulty in design, that the top deck
had been removed because of the'
tendency of the vessel to list and also
pointed to the possibility that the
vessel had been unevenly or insuf
ficiently ballasted.
Water Ballast Perhaps Lacking.
The Eastland used water ballast, so
that it could pump out some on enter
ing shallow lake harbors, and investi
gators are working on a theory that
the ballast tnks were not filled, and
the rushing of passengers to one side
of the decks caused it to roll over.
The Second Regiment Armory, situ
ated in a thickly settled part of the
West Side.was surrounded early to
night by a great throng. Most of the
victims were residents of the Vet
Side, and nearly everyelevated train
bound for the residence v portions of
that section carried its group of weep
ing men and women. Many formed in
line hours before the great doors were
opened, eagerly awaiting a chance to
seek the bodies of kin and friends
they believed lost. .
Under misty skies 7000 woirtn, men
and children had wended their way to
the wharf to fill five large steamers
with holiday mirth In a trip to Mich
igan City. The Eastland, brought to
Chtcngo from Lake Erie after an un
satisfactory career there, was the first
to be loaded.
Rain began to fall as the wharf su
perintendents lifted the gangplank
from the. Eastland, declaring that the
Government limit of -500 passengers
had been reached. hit dresses
peeped from raincoats along the shore
rails as those aboard waved good-bye
to friends on shore waiting to board
the other vessels.
Then the passengers swarmed to the
lrrt side of the ship as the other
steamers drew up the river toward the
wharf. A tug was hitched to the
Eastland, ropes were ordered cast off
and the engine began to pump. The
Eastland had not budged, however.
Rosea Si as Vessel Lnrrb.es.
Instead the heavily-laden vessel wa
vered sldewise. leaning first toward
the river bank. The lurch was so
startling til at many passengers joined
the large concourse already on the
other side of the decks.
The ship then heeled back. It turned
slowly but steadily toward its left side.
Children clutched the skirts of mothers
ami sisters to keep from falling. The
whole cargo was Impelled toward the
falling aide-of the ship. Water besan
to enter lower port holes and the ropes
snapped off the piles to which the ves
sel was tied.
Screams from - passengers attracted
the attention of fellow excursionists
on the wharf awaiting the next steamer.
Wharfmen and picnickers soon lined
the edge of the embankment, reaching
out helplessly toward the wavering
vessel.
For nearly five minutes the steamer
turned before It finally dived under the
swift current of the river. 'which, owing
to the drainage nl system, tlows
from the lake. During the mlghty
turning of the ship with Its cargo of
humanity lifeboats, chairs and other
loose appurtenances on the decks
slipped down the i-loping floors, crush
ing the passengers toward the rising
waters
Many Us ! .r to Illse.
Then there was a plunge, with a sigh
of air escaping from the hold, mingled
with the t-ryiog of children and abrleks
of women, and ths vessel was on the
bottom of ilio river, casting hundreds
of lis raanrngers into the water. Many
mnk, entanicled with clothing and bun
dles, and did not rise, but scores came
to the surface, glvlna the river the
appearance of a crowded bathing beach.
Many aelzed floating chairs snd other
objects. Thoss on shore threw out
ropes and dragged in those who could
hold their lifelines.
Employes of commission firms along
ths river threw crst. chicken coops
and other floatable things into the cur
rent, but moat of then were swept
away by the stream.
Boats were put out. tugs rushed to
the scene with shrieking whistles, and
many nun snatched oft their coats and
sprang Into the rlvero aid the drown
ing. With thousands.- of spectators
ready to aid and the wharf within
grasp, hundreds went :o death, despite
every effort at rescue.
FESTIVAL CULLED OFF
ILLINOIS HAY AT SAX FRAM'ICU
IIM1 UK MOIRMXU.
t'hlcaa-o Oay, et for xt Tueaday.
lie Devoted to Holding of Memorial
Sen Ices for Dead.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 2i. Thou
sands of present and former lllinollana
who had gathered at the l'snama-Fa-ciflc
International Exposition today to
celebrate "Illinois day" remained to
mourn the Eastland tragedy. Thou
sands who had gathered at the Illinois
state building to participate In cere
monies commemorating the greatnegs
of the state stood instead with bared
heads while the band of the First Reg
iment of the Illinois National uard
played "Nearer. My Uod. to Thee."
With every arrangement made for a
'festival oi-canlon. the. receipt of the
newa or ths r;asiana disaster piunsea
the Oovernor snd other high officials
of the state and fltv who are In this
city In sorrow. - Notices were at once
sent but that the dinner, reception and
ball for tonight were canceled. "Chi
cago day." which was set for next Tues
day at the exposition, will be devoted
to -the holdlns; of memorial services
instead of festivity.
The afternoon's programme was en
tirely cut out, with the exception of the
presentation of the commemorative
Jewels by the expoxttion to the (lev.
frnor. Acknowledging their receipt,
th Uovernor saide
"In view of the awful calamity that
has r.falien the Ftate of Illinois and
the City of Chicago, it would be un
becoming of me. and I cannot find it
In my heart to make a neecii."
MOTHER AND'THREE DEAD
Husband ami Is-lher Kescued to
Find Wliole Family Gone.,
CHICAGO. July J4. (Special.) Mrs.
Paulina Vantak. 44 years old. was
among those who perished. Hr three
ihildren ere also believed to have
ben lost.
,Hnry Vantak. her husband, was
rescued snd later Identified the body
of his wife, i He paced Uis floor, crying-
thst ho had lost all..
' "My wife is gone snd my three chil
dren are gone." he repeated, tears
streaming down hla cheeks. "We
were standing on the deck together.
Suddenly the boat went over. All of
us were slifhaed Into the water. I did
not see my wife and little ones after
that. Some one grabbed me around
my neck and kept pulling me. I'retty
soon I found myself In a boat.
."The police told me my wife's body
would be taken here. I know my chil
dren are gone, too,"
nnnirn mirii niiT
Duuito mm uui
IN STEADY STREAM
Work Goes On in Drizzling
Rain, Pausing Only to Wait
for More Stretchers.
TERROR SHOWN IN FACES
Rod ios F-ntwiiicd in Lat ljnbrace
of Fear Are TuLen From AVatcr.
Overloaded Maiden Vo.vaf-e
of Ve?.cl Itcvallcd.
BY ARTHl'R M. SV.ASJ.
(Jl.cl.il Writer on iha staff of the Ctln
Htralil.)
CHICAGO. July 14. (Special.) After
two hours of wedging through a crowd
of humanity which thronged the vicin
ity of the Eastland disaster. I reached
the river bank. Immediately In front
of me loomed what a short hour before
had been a boat loaded with people
on pleasure bent. Up the slirPry wet
side canvas was spread, that those car
rying out the bodies might bring out
their irtviomc freight at a dog trot
and thus empty t:ie overturned boat
full of human beings the more quickly.
The only time the procession stopped
was when the stretchers save out. and
we had to sit by and wait for the string
of empties to be returned from ths
shore line.
Many t'allsre,, Amsasr Nuaaber.
I wondered why they waited for
stretchers at all. All the bodies car
ried ptv.-t were so rinid that poles to
csrry them by seemed superfluous. The
pitiful shortness of most of them and
the wet clinging curls that swept ths
deck punctured the line so frequently
that even the helpers grosned. Chil
dren and yet more children, and when
it was not a child It was a young girt
of IS or so.
There were some boys and men. but
mostly they were girls. Often the
tarpaulin covering would slip aside and
reveal has it over been your unhapp
lot as a youngster to drown a batch
of particularly unwelcome kittens? Or
have you ever plunged a wire rat trap
in water? Imagine that expression of
trapped-anlmal terror transferred to
tlie face of a human beinK. and then
so firmly stamped by death that tho
pattern has set. snd the tarpaulin
sheets they were the travesty that put
the final keen edee on this ghastllncss.
B(tle Locke Tasrtker.
After all U poor bodies had been
trampled on and then drowned, or
drowned and then trampled on. they
covered them up with tarpaulin to keep
this poor wet earth from getting any
wetter.
Sometimes they had to put two bod
ies on the same strstcher. death had
so tightened that cllnalng embrace In
dulged In as the Kray river water
leaped up to meet those who had left
home early, and exclaimed In light
hearted satisfaction when they fuunl
they were still in time to artier a
seat on the shady side of the boat
the side that lies burled in the river
oose.
I stepped aside to lot a heavily-laden
stretcher pass. and. as I heard the wall
th.il greeted it from ths shoreline, I
thought of the Eastland s maiden voy
aare, when tho laden upper deoks mads
ths boat so top-heavy that the cre-v
turned the fire hose on the crowd and
forced them below to stifle under bat-tened-down
hatches until port was
reached; that was several years ago.
Line of Bodies Moves Ob.
The line of bodies stemed to bs
thinning, and with a prayer of thanks
1 stepped over the bow of the tug
onto the slippery canvss to mount ths
side of the Eastland. How could t
know that they were merely waiting
for more stretchers? Had I known
what I would see I doubt If I could
have been driven over thu low railing
of the tug.
"You can't get through!" The in
formation was volunteered from all
sides. But 1 did. When I saw the
canvas-covered side of the overturned
boat up which I was supposed to climb
I was intensely sorry I had given such
a good bumun imitation of an angle
worm. Five times, as I was walking uphill
to the gangway that now stared up
at the sky a big black hole I was
forced to slip aside at a perilous angle
to let the human freight that had ths
right of way today safely by. I longed
for the moment when I should be able
to reach forward and grab that hatch
way. It w-as at least stationary.
Xanea and Doctors There.
Nurses were there and bodies and
respiration machines and doctors. Ths
few that were resuscitated, were des
perately nxuseated. of course. Ths
hold was frightfully close and tho
stream of bodies went slipping by
without a break In the line save the
time we had to stop and wait fur the
stretchers to be emptied and returned.
Everything oozed moisture. The bodies
drtpped. The policemen and other
men carry in-r the stretchers had no
free hands to r-ach up and wipe .y
the ' perspiration that streamed down
their crimson facet. The rain dripped
into the hold and down the rubber
coats of the rescuers.
At times It was so still that the
men walking over ths boat's sidt above
our heads sounded ss 1f w-s were on
the Inside of a big- bass drum.
When you were a child havo you
ever wished you had feet like a fly and
walk on the celling? I never expected
to realise that ambition, but as I was
walking down what had been the floor
proper and stood uprisht on the former
side wall and saw ths other living; or
cupanta of the doomed boat doing- the
same, I kept thinking;. "We're just lika
a loi. of flies." As I duly counted ths
bodies it seemed that human being:
were killed as easily a flies, after all.
INCENDIARY FIRES IGNORED
State ForeMer Sajs No Money Will
He SMit to JlRht Brnatt Blaze.
HAL, EM. Or.. July Zi. (Special.)
Following receipt today of a telegram
from Josephine County by State For
ester Elliott, saying that several for
est fires had started in that county,
the Forester announced that his forces
would spend little money in fighting
fires which, do not affect thone sec
tions of timber coming under the pro
iflon.i of the state firs patrol laws.
Forester Elliott explained that tht
rule applied . only to brush fires In
agricultural ronununit lets though In
rases of emergency tho rule would be
disregarded.
"Every year fires are et In certain
localities by persona deslrlT.g to rt
John fighting ftrefc." Jild the official.
"This j ear w e ! not propone to spend
a lot of money on lruh fires and
people who menace their own homes by
setting fires In the timbered sections."
Assistant KoreMer beely said that
last year $3&00 of the. fiMtO s.nl In
Josephine County for fire fighting was
expendeil In combstlng the work of
"firebugs-"