The Portland daily press., 1889-06-07
CLEANING FIRES
Which Will be the the Funeral Pyres
Of Hundreds.
Tonight the Torch Will be Applied
to The Ruins.
Stern Necessity 0VereOmes the Plead.
ings Of Sentiment.
Work EnOngh for Ten Thousand Men
for Sixty Days
To Put JOhnstoWn in Proper Shape
for Rebuilding.
A Labor Which will Cost Five Mil.
lions Of Dollars.
Reports Of Widespread Sickness in the
Valley Denied.
Insanity The Disease Which Threatens
the Survivors.
Haggard Faces Which Give an Omi.
nous Warning.
A Labor Which Will Cost Five Mil.
lions Of Dollars.
Insanity The Disease Which Threatens
the Survivors.
haggard Faces Which Give an Omi.
nous Warning.

JoHNsTowN, Pa, June GA wall has
been thro wn around Johnstown and nobody
can enteru less it is shown that be has bus
mess. Thel unsylvania railroad has been
making every q fort to keep out the crowds
The Baltimore & Ohio was opened yesterday
and brought in flood of people from the
Somerset Valley. This morning General
Hastings heard of it and decided to send
Company + of the 14th Regiment to Somer
set for the purpose of preventing a further
rush of people this way. A committee of
citizens accompanied the militia. They will
stop off at all stations along the road and re-
monstrate with the people against coming to
Johnstown. Crowds of the curious ones are
constantly growing, much to the hindrance
OF the work of removing the bodies and
clearing away the debris.
The State Beard of Health and the Penn
sylvania railroad today co-operated in the
work of removing the bodies from the debris
above the stone bridge. DR.. Gross of the
Health Board says that there will be 1000
men atwork here tomorrow morning The
sanitary question is paramount and the
State Board of Health is looked up to as a
more potent factor than the militia and civic
forces combined. This afternoon the work
of the board was distributed. DR.. Lee taking
relay to Pittsburg with the intention of es-
tablishing headquarters at the City Hall.
There force of sanitary inspectors will be
established, half to go up the river by boat
and the remainder to take contraction
crew up the railroad. The latter have
adopted cremation as their cry and tomor-
row night the desolate valley will be lit up
by bonfrss. The wreckage will be
THE PYRE OF HUNDREDS
OF dead bodies. DIR. Morrell, deputy chief
of the State Board of Health, said today:
"The point has come when sentiment should
be laid aside. To endanger the lives of the
living that the dead may be identified, is no
longer justfiable. Besides, the bodies are
all past being embalmed, and friends can
scarcely recognize their features any longer.
Identification is possible only by the cloth
ing or jewelry on the persons"
DIR. g. G. Gross, in charge of the Johns
town bureau Of the State Board of Health
and sanitary inspectors, assured your cor
respondent this afternoon that there was no
immediate danger of an epidemic iu Pitts
burg. The danger" said he, sis that peo-
pie win be scared into being sick. We need
thousands of men to work on the debris and
clear it Of carcasses / hear great deal of
complaint against the harboring of such
large body Of militia here in comparative
idleness think one company of militia can
keep order and guard the supplies. The
others should be put to work as sanitary
fc hn oe
hour and delay increases the danger a
hundred fold"
An inspector who has just arrived from
the Woodvale district, reports great destitu-
tion. There is nothing in the town but -four
and bacon and very little of that.
Eight Thousand men are now at work
clearing away the debris on the island
Gangs came this morning from Hallidays-
burg. Sand Patch and half a dozen other
places and reported for duty. They were
put to work at once, most of them without
anysbreakfast. The feeding of the workers is
ONE OF THE GREATEST DIFFICULTIES
at present. The supplies are plentiful
enough, but there is no way of cooking and
serving to such an army Of people, A gang
of several hundred men struck this morning
and refused to work until given something
to eat They had been fasting for "a honrs.
They were given bread and cheese and
promised more substantial aid as soon as
stores and cooking utensils now on the cars
were unloaded. Superintendent Finn esti-
mates that it will take 10000 men, sixty days
to clear away the wreck. At this rate. it
will require $1.OOO,oOO to pay for the work.
This does not include the other expenses
Five million Of dollars will not be enough to
put Johnstown In shape for rebuilding.
Early this morning four hoisting engines
were started at the east end of the stone
bridge and the work of clearing away the
debris at that place begun with several
hundred men at work on it. A channel is
gradually being cleared, but progress is very
slow.
1t was reported this morning that late yes
terday afternoon little boy was taken from
the ruins alive, and after considerable
trouble was resuscitated and given over to
the charge of his father. Since then it has
been learned that his name is Eddie Schoef-
iier.
Superintendent Bradinger, of the Grand
v tSU OcAASsNAJt soy mo uiou ub6Q NUU DdlIo
of rubber gloves. The bodies brought there
for interment are
SO BADLY DECoMPosED
that it is becoming exceedingly dangerous to
handle them without rubber gloves.
The officers of the Gautier Steel COMPANY
have decided to commence building at once.
This morning at 9 o'clock several hundred of
the old employees reported for duty on the
outside Of the mill. Commercial Agent
Smith put them to work clearing away the
land preparatory to relaying the foundations.
All the old men found will be emplyed, and
several hundred new ones brought in as soon
as possible. There will be no inquest held
on the bodies of the thousands of residents
of Conemaugh valley who lost their lives in
the catastrophe. The law of the State does
not require such an inyestiga-
tion, and the responsibility of the