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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1922)
Medfoed Mail Tribune The Weather Prediction ". Fair Maximum yesterday 96'i Minimum today 46 Weather Year Ago Maximum 72 Minimum 54 Oailv Seventeenth Tear. eekiv Fifty-Second Tear. . MEDFOED, ORKGOX, TUKSlUY, SKTTE.M P.F.K' V.), li)2 . NO. 151 BODIES OF '49UNINER ALL DEAD '' FOUND, GREAT NOTES IEFI BY VICTIMS INDICATE DEATH WAS QUICK AND MERCIFUL California Mining Town Accepts Tragedy With Stoical Chris tian Fortitude Grim Work of Bringing Bodies to Surface : Is Started Red Cross Leads in Bringing Material Aid and . Heartfelt Sympathy to Bereaved Families Notes Penned By Dying Men Indicated Death Quickly Followed the Start ing of Fire On August 28th Families to Receive Insurance JACKSON, Calif., Sept. 19. .By the Associated Press.) Jaekson, mining town in the Mother Lode country, has paid the toll demanded of those who delve in the earth for gold, and stands unafraid but not dry-eyed today. . , Forty-seven of her men died in the Argonaut mine early oh the morning of August 28, she learned last night, and today she awaits the bringing of their bodies from the rock tunnel walled in with flimsy bulkheads of their own building that has been their tomb for three weeks. But her men showed they knew how to die. Moreover, those who did not meet that fate showed they know how to live, for they gave of themselves without stint in the effort to save their en tombed fellows. It was California's' worst inine disaster, in one of California's greatest gold producers. Story of the Disaster '' Three weeks ago last Sunday night men ripen In Din Arffonaut believed they smelled smoke. A shift boss took I two men and went to investigate. ! They found the shaft afire at the 3600 foot level, chanced death from gas and were carried through the fire to the top of the mine. Then began a work of fire fighting which presently merg ed into one of rescue for the men lie low, for the fire blocked the shaft and prevented the escape of the miners. Men came from all over the west to offer their services, the curious fellow ship of miners bringing hearty offers of service from all who could get to Jackson.; Mining companies in. distant states,' even In Mexico, telegraphed proffers of assistance. The Kennedy Mining company, operators of an ad joining shaft, sunk the bitterness of a lawsuit in its willingness to be of ser vice and loaned all its property and facilities to the work of rescue. For many weary days, disappointed sometimes by unexpected difficulties and heartened sometimes by equally unexpected bits of good luck, rescue crews drove through the choked tun nels which had once connected the two mines or battered at the rock sep arating one of the Kennedy's drifts . from the Argonaut's 4200 foot level. Early yesterday a drill was driven through the last barrier of rock into the Argonaut. Sweating shoulders and unbreakable wills .drove Bteel picks at the rock until this hole 'had been enlarged enough to permit a man to pass. ' Five men made a hasty unauthoriz ed exploration of part of the Argonaut, seeking survivors at the Imminent risk of their own lives. The opening was enlarged so that a rescue crew could pass and all day explorations went on without any result. The levels were clear, there was no sign of any miner left In them, either dead or alive. The rescue men, ham pered by their oxygen helmets and the heat of the. underground workings, turned their attention to exploring the cross cuts and drifts leading from the tunnelB already traversed. In one they found a bulkhead that had not been there when the minecs went below that fatal midnight three weeks ago. Hone Was Aroused Hope rose anew at this evidence that some, at least of the entomDen men had not died an Instant death from the gases thrown off by the fire in the shaft and the rescuers pressed on. ' i They found another bulkhead not built of clanks and timbers and stunea with torn clothing like the first, but nrwtori nf earth, rock and debris. It was a Ditiful structure, gaping In places so that the rescuers could see. through ,lt, hut it checked the air cur rents and the men In the oxygen hel mets halted before it, afraid to tear it oown while the air before It was poi sonous lest they thereby causa sudden death M any who might be alive beyond It. Bodies Are Found " " Hope stood at its highest peak when this second bulkhead was found, and from that height it made Its greatest BRITAIN plunge. Before those who waited above for news of their loved ones Irnour avan Hint tlio rnQllrii had hrn- ken through the bulkhead, word came that the bodies of 42 men had been found and counted. Not long after word came up that the other five also had been found dead. Jackson took the blow calmly and presently found comfort in the sure knowledge, gained from notes left by two of the men and from the reuorts of rescuers regarding the men's work before they died, that a quick, merci ful death had come to them instead of the agonies of starvation. There, was no lingering In darkness 3000 feet be low sea level. The gas came, then lethargy, then oblivion. Death Was Merciful . ,; Uncords scrawled on naoer by one mnn finrl Romtoherl on a timber by another showed they had lived but a little more than three hours arter avaniini thoii- nttlfiil barricades. Sad dest of all was the mute record of the bare beginning of a third ouiKnean when gas had driven them from the scene of the second. THant IfifuHnn will he difficult. The length of time since they died, the temperature of their casual tomb, the lack of the clothing they had torn off to stuff In the cracks in their nrgt hnikhpflrl combined to remove from most of the bodies any distinguishing characteristics. $4200 to Each Family Tim ftori Prosit has received a fund of $8000 for the miners' dependents and It 18 esumaiea tnai wnera luiuei left a widow or chiW the' California state compensation Insurance fund will pay an average of approximately $4200 to dependents. The Argonaut Mining company naa naiiril (in emnloves in the state fund. There Is some need among relatives of some of the victims, however. Red Cross Aids Families Red Cross officials said $10,000 was hv tlm Argonaut company for temporary relief. The California chap ter of the Red Cross has spent much of that sum in maintaining three tem porary hospitals, Insupplying tne needs of miners' families and in pro viding food and comforts for rescue crews. .A feature or the Red CroBS merciful mission was the assigning of its mem k. t ho rnnxolntlnn of bereaved families. Last night and early today each of the families or tne eigmeeu married minerB among the 47 victims had with it a woman visitor to speak words of sympathy and encourage ment. A vavtefnn In California mining safe- ty laws will be urged In the next legis lature, according to Fietcner naiuu- .ioi mlnprnlneist. He said he c thought it would be feasible to have . i BV d onrt to nave unuci- ground safety stations with a separate source of air and supplied with food and water. SALEM. Ore.. Sept.1 19. Ernest Miller, a former resident -of Salem, " "(Continued on page eight) THREATENS Rescue Tile phot'oKi'npli nlmvo wns taken at the entrance of the .Argonaut mine, throe days after the fire broke out. Some of the valiant' rescuers' are Nlioun, with their helmets and oxy gen tanks ready to enter the mine shaft, while wives of tlio c-ntoinhwl E E ON KMISSUE Executive Committee Reiter ates Its Position As Con structive One of Cleaning Both Big Parties of Klan In cubus Still Loyal. To the voters of Jackson and Josephine counties: The self-styled leaders of the Re publican and Democratic parties in Jackson county, through published resolutions, have attempted to rebuke the action of life-long, active nml honored members -of - both parties who have condemned the influence of Ku Kluxism in politics. To assure the honest' and Intelli gent voters of all parties of our In tegrity of purpose, we make the fol lowing brief statement: We are loynl to the principles of the great political parties with which we have neon affiliated, most of us, from our first votes. We have never given cause for doubt of our honest loyalty to and interest in these par ties. Hut, we ' have declined to be "kluxed." Ah loynl American citizens, wc must uphold constitutional govern ment and the orderly execution of law. We 'denounce tho efCort of the leaders of the Ku KIux Klan to over throw the fprmer or to interfere with the latter. Wo decline to vote for nny candi date nt tho fall election In Jackson county, or the stato of Oregon, who will avow or practise greater alle giance to .the "Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan" thnn to the con stitution of the state of Oregon or of the United States of America, no mat tcr upon what ticket his name may appear. We shall likewise endeavor to de feat the election to office In Jackson county or the state of Oregon, of any candidate, who Is affiliated or in (sympathy' with, or apologetic for. such an .organization. , Wc have organized for this pur pose, and this purpose mono. In so doing- we best : serve the great parties to which ' we are and (Continued on page eight) ' ' ' t PRESIDENT HARDING EP NENTS MAIN STAND Scene; at Argonaut miners nro standlnjj near anxiously nunitiiiK word from their loved ones. In no tragedy In tlio history of min ing disasters was hoo and disnair ever so mingled as i this California tragedy. All hope was abandoned innumerable times only to Is revived VETOES THE MAIN PLEA Chief Executive Declares He Is in Accord With Purposes of Measure, But Fails to See Where Money Will Come From Ailing Vete rans Should Come First. WASHINGTON, Sept. 10. The soldiers' bonus bill was vetoed today by President 'Harding. In returning the measure to con gress without his approval, the execu tive, In a message to the house, de clared that he was in accord with the avowed purposes of the bill, but that he could not subscribe to Its provis ions.. . ' Outlining his reasons for the veto the president said the congress had failed, first of ' all to provide the revenue from which the bestowal was to be paid. He added fhat the ulti mate C03t could not be estimated def initely, but that the treasury figured the total at $750,000,000 for the first four years with a final charge In ex cess of $4,000,000,000. Mr. Harding told congress the pro posed service certificates, substituted for tho original cash payment would constitute borrowing "on the nation's credit Just as truly as though the loans were made by direct govern ment borrowing." He added that this involves a "dangerous abuse of public credit." The executive declared that it was escsntlal "to remember that a more than $4,000,000,000 pledge to able service men would not diminish the later obligation" which the veterans contributed to the "rolls of the aged, Indigent and dependent." This ohli atlon, he said, "would cost more bil lions than I venture to suggest." WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 9. Prcsl- (Continued on pag eight) NO REVENUE PROVIDED IS TO BREAK Mine again when encouraging reports wore received rami the rescuers. Tlio one bright spot ill the sit nation when the bodies were finally found, was that apparently none of the men suffered but met n quiet and merciful death n few hours after the flm started. BONUS MEASURE STRIKE TANGLE IS CLEARING UP SOU THAND EAST Southern Railway, Mobile and Ohio and Monon Fall in Line With Roads Accepting Bal timore Plan Men Are Returning to Work. CHICAGO, Sopt. 10. Adjust nient of misunderstandings and dif ferences which delayed the expected settlement of tho railway shopmen's strike on some of the roads .favor able to tho Baltimore peace arrange ments was apparent today. There were rising hopes that Hert M. Jewell, the shop crufts leader, would Iron out with officials of the New York Central IIuch, differences which prevented an agreement be tween striking shopmen and the roads which form the New York Cen tral systciu. These hopes were strengthened when the Southern Hallway, the Mo bile and t(hlo, controlled by the Southern, and the Monon, fell In line with roads ucceptlng the Baltimore plan and siened the agreement. Many strikers on these ronds were expect ed back at work today- Reports of a general return to. work by shopmen on roads which agreed to the Baltimore plan brought predictions by union leaders that the estimated number of 50.000 returned strikers on various roads would bo doubled within a few days. Shop forces generally, were esti mated In railroad circles today at about 85 per cent of normal. Corvallis Klansmen Offer Officials Aid COnVAM.IS. Sept. 19 Five mem bers of the Ku Klux Klan appeared at the Christlnn church here Sunday night, and, following addresses on law and order by Sheriff 8. N. War field and Chief of I'ollce Hobinson. requested permission to present their kleaglo in a 10-mlnutc talk. With permission granted. Klcaglc It. it. HammerHley offered the services "of 100 to 500 Klansmen to Wnrfleld and linblnson, as deputies, to aid In en forcing law and order, nt any time, to be called Out within 20 minutes," WITH BRITISH CABINET WILL TIE MILITARY ACTION ! IF Lloyd George's Cabinet Decides to Fight Turks Alone if France and Italy Withdraw Troops French Cabinet Supports Poincare's Policy of Hands Off and Troops Are Ordered Out of Asia Minor Lord Curzon Dispatched to Paris to Attempt Agreement With France Serious Breach Between England and Allies Threatened British Fleet Ready. LONDON, Sept. 1!). .liy the Associated Press.) Tim British enh inet takes the attitude Hint (ireat. Britain will undertake military action alone if necessary, independent of Prance and Italy, to protect the freedom of the Dardanelles, it was authoritatively stated after this forenoon's prot ranted cabinet meeting. - . An official communique issued from Downing street this afternoon declares in substance that the government stands by its pronounce mento of the policy issued to the press Saturday notwithstanding newspaper reports to the contrary. ... PARIS, Sept. 19. (By the Associated Press.) The' French cab inet toduy -unanimously approved what is characterized ns the "Pa cific " policy of Premier roinenre in the Near East and the with drawal of French troops from Asia Minor to I ho French side-. of the straits of the Dardanelles.' , The cabinet went firmly on record ns being opposed to nny form of military action ns a means of settlement in the Turko-Greck situa tion. It emphasized the necessity of reaching nji agreement through diplomatic channels and eventually by a pcaco conference. Hope for Agreement ROME, Sopt. 19. Foreign Minister Schanzer's attitude regarding the Near Eastern problem is approved by the cabinet, it Is announced. Italy, it is stated, is in agreement with her allies, insisting upon the freedom of the Btralts of Dardanelles, and hopes that the questions outside the Greco Turk conflict 'and having a larger scope will be settled at a conference. PARIS, Sept. 19. (By Associated Press). The center of the allied delib erations on the Near Eastern problem shifted to this city today with the Journey here of Lord Curzon, British foreign secretary, and the Jugo-Slav premier, M. Ninchitch. " Lord Curzon's task, press dispatches Indicate, Is to convince Premier Poin care that England does not Intend to make another Gibraltar of the straits of the Dardanelles but that bigger Is sues are at stake. The Balkan states are expected to foIlow.France's lead and thus Britain hopes, by swinging the latter to her point of view to present a solid front to the Turks. Premier Ninchitch is quoted In a dispatch from London as declaring "I nm Inclined to think after my interview with the British minis ters that England and France can yet agree on this thorny question." Receipt of further assurances that MtiBtapha Kemal Pasha has no Inten tion of attacking the neutral zones of the Dardanelles or crossing Thrace has Berved to strengthen the French attitude and It is said that Ixird Cur zon, farfrom converting Premier Poln care, Ib' more likely to be converted hlmBolf. Indeed, the French government Is bo confident that there Is no fear of trouble from tho Kemallsts that two French battalions have been or shortly will be withdrawn from Chanak, the key position on the southern Bhore of the straits. The Italian detachment also has been withdrawn and competent opin ion here is that the British may leave also as, according to the Paris morn ing newspapers, signs are not wanting that the government of rather Prime Minister Lloyd George Is already back ing water and that such semi-official statement of policy no longer repre sents the British view. ' The British cabinet now is under stood to be largely concerned with political preparation for proposed gen eral conferences for Be.'Mement of the entire question. V. S. A. to Feed liefugees At this morning's cabinet meeting, Lord Curzon, secretary for foreign affairs, received final Instructions for his coming conference with Premier Poincare. The report that the French would withdraw from tho Asiatic neutral zone was not taken as raising a serious Issue, since the French FRANCE 1 never had muny troops there and the district is in the hands of the Brit ish. The refugee problem at Smyrna wob discussed. The question of how the thousands of homeless and hun gry people can foe removed Is admit tedly a large one. Plenty of Greek ships are available for their trans portation, but Kemallst authorities will not allow these ships to dock. It Is believed, however, that arrange ments can he made with the national ists to permit these ships to land. It waB reported that the American re lief organizations would continuo to feed some l.",000 refugees., Smyrna Situation Serious The situation In Smyrna Is still one of the gravest character. The reign of terror continues among the Chris tian population and French troops lo lCluuou LU .,D lllcu UJUII lUtA' Ish Irregulars -whom they caught kill ing and pillaging. 4 Armenians ana ureeits are dying uy the score from exposure, fright and exhaustion. Ten thousand Italians and twelve thousand French were evacuated from the city yesterday. The food stocks have become exhaust ed and the people are eating horse flesh. American relief workers dis tribute flour, which the famished ref ugees devour raw. MiiBtupha Kemal has requested the allies to permit his army to occupy Thrace, insisting that the Dardanelles question can be discussed later with all the Black Sea countries partici pating. He declares It is vital that the nationalists occupy the territory, In order to liberate the Moslem popu lation, which he says Is oppressed by the Greeks. The nationalist representative here has Informed the British high com missioner that the Angora govern ment, by virtue of treaties concluded with soviet Russia and the Ukraine, cannot accept the Invitation of the powers for a conference confined nnlv to fltapllaatnn of tho rtnrrinnpllan question unless delegates from Rus sia and the Ukraine are allowed to participate. GENEVA, Sept. 19. (By the Asso ciated Tress) A request that tho League of Nations send a neutrnl commission to Investigate the alleged atrocities by the Turkish nationalists in Asia Minor was presented to tho league assembly today by the Per sian delegation on behalf of the Turkish national parliament. Pear Market News SAN FRANCISCO (Special wire to Mall Tribune) Bartlett pears, per' box. New York. $2.25 9 3.10; Chi cago ?2.40 2.73.