Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-04

The Pittsburg gentlemen who Hattered
themselves with the hope that II was
not the breaking Of their dam that did
the damage in the Conemaugh valley
can hug this delusion no longer, since
4 their own committee of investigation
has found their dam broken and their
lake empty. II turns out that there
were q couple of civil engineers ut the
place at the time, engaged in some drain
age work for the summer settlement that
the Pittsburg club had established beside
their artificial lake. One of them, Mr..
John q. Parke, reports that he discovered
early on Friday morning that the water
was getting dangerously high and he
endeavored with the force of laborers he
had at band to give vent to the water,
but he was not able to keep 1t from rising.
He then mounted his horse and sent
word of the danger down the valley from
q telegraph station. Messengers were
also dispatched. Everyone in the valley
he declares had warning by noontime Of
the impending danger.
II IL not easy to believe that there was
such early and general warning given,
: in view of the nearly universal neglect
with which 1t appears to have been
treated, IL received. Yet there are 40
many seemingly incredible things that
happened to secure the great calamity,
that 1t Is possible even that the people
we're warned and fled not II may he
!. hat there was Providential paralysis
ii. put upon them to obtain their sacrifice
ide. But we prefer to believe that the peo-
- hoA No ,Nrn In, hot hn
rdial VT dam was about to pour all its
ID as hers upon the top of the raging food.
cief There is great responsibility for their
inaction upon the officials and the
leaders Of the people, who knew Of the
danger that constantly threatened the
town and who should have been on the
alert ut such time as this, to protect
y and warn the people. We hear Of no
action taken by them but on the con.
trary they and theirs are among the
victims. II seems wonderful apathy
and ignorance and when we think OF
the permission which the great interests
threatened by this immense water reser.
voir, gave to its existence, we are ap,
palled at the indifference and stupidity
which II discloses.
As the story is gradually unfoldcd we
find that this water was IA reservoir,
built by the state To feed the Pennsylva-
mia canal, many years ago. IL survived
this use /; and never found another, until
few years ago, club of Pittsburgers
secured 1t and enlarged Il TO lake OF
twelve square miles, establishing n
summer resort for, themselves on its
banks. We hear that they raised the
wall of the dam, to give them the greater
expanse of water they desired for fishify
and boating. The hecatombs OF. ~ it W
which are gathered in the 49,, ..si
valley, attest thetferp s&ls.a.. ., ii theil
s1helie There was no malignity In II
They would not have harmed "a hair o
the head of anyone of their victims I,
secure their pleasure upon this lake
They simply did not know. Their en-
gineers did not know. The Cambri,
Iron company's officers did not know
nor the Pennsylvania railroad com
pany's. Nobody knew that ought Il
have known though il was very
: simple thing that needed to have been
found out, to save the thousands of lives
and millions of property that have been
sacrificed to gigantic ignorance.
They say twas the providence of God
and that II was unavoidable. And ma,
be 50 but II was then the providence o
God, acting through the stupidity %
men +; for 1t takes little skill to enabl,
an engineer, when he has all the dat,
s given, to calculate the pressure upon q
dam, to tell whether il is safe and I,
know what the consequence will be o
the discharge OF its water upon con
4 fined valley Of calculable area. III,
neighborhood of this dam abounded in
engineers and men learned in scienc,
- Rsu mechanical art. And was there
ry farr greater satire upon education
than this result affords?