Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-03


only news in the journals, the
h0ught Of the people, is of the
|pUd Of 1889, which i'm it's destruc-
HE and property stands une-
y In the annals Of this country, or
other i'm its modern history.
hls dark distinction 1t Is indebted
massing Of waters i'm the Cone
4 valley, where nearly all the loss
occurred. The cause Of this il
fhr believed to he the bursting of the
reservoir, eighteen miles from
etown, which Allied the narrow val
with its torrent. II has not
been positively ascertained that
wnter did the damage, and its
burg owners suggest that dam at
t's station, four miles from Cresson,
have been the one that broke.
|Ie seems to be little reason for this
estion, which comes naturally from
horror stricken at the thought of
lsastcr charged to their property.
= is to he said for them that, If their
did break, they can hardly I've
Ued with disaster that was unfore-
NV the engineers the Pennsylvania
nd company and Of the Cambria
company. To every one who
of the immense less caused by the
ting of this dam, the reflection must
why was IL not foreseen by the
EBVf the great companies that had
nCh st stake? That il was not for
must be assumed; for surely a
dcion Of the result that has
e about would have caused
prompt abatement of 40 terrible a
pr. There are stories afloat that
dam was suspected to Inc weak but
N all such tales may he rejected in
Of the interests involved I'm its
u. II they are true, we can only
Ose great carelessness In the Off
of these corporations, or n lack Of
lligeht appreciation of the loss that
I'D follow the breaking Of the dam,
~ time of freshet, when II would he
0t likely to give way. Wcprcfcr to
eve, for the present, that if the dam
- way, its weakness was not sus-
ted seriously as this reflects upon
capacity of the inspecting engineers.
y less painful to think of this great
oter rs an unavoidable providential
elis0tiou than to regard II rs the
equence OF human fault. There Is
ness enough in it as il is. II is mn
Eampled horror to us all, as we
her the tale through the voluminous,
not particularly well prepared re-
y Of the correspondents who have
ened to the scene. We see how the
tly falling rain had swollen the
mt Of the Conemaugh on Friday
moon, until the water covered tn,
~ several feet deep, az il had often
before. But the people felt no fear
Ing the tio9sd.ie.;; .;;qbside, as.Bcore
=, thejA rvlses the familie
hered ~ from the falling rain out
II is said they were warned bu
view of the number lost, an,
the intelligence and prominenc
many of them, 1t is no
dible that they had a warning whicl
lrly prudent men would take. Thei
M fair warning came when the wal
Water was seen engulfing them, ant
feen u was too late To flee through tn,
Ter Of the valley to the hillsides.
me disaster is one which shows tn
ortness Of human foresight; II was on
easily avoidable and yet which tn
ocity of man was not equal to. Al
~ WAS needed for safety wa
repair to the adjacent hills
that which was needed TO promp
- flight was the knowlcdg
1he depth Of water that would ill tn
Hey, when the greatest possibl
Dunt was let into it. Ii was a simpl
pwledge one largely of mathemat
calculation the width Of tn
ley being known and the po.
water being matter &
- IN "a npt, with the knowledge
hdps those who were lost still hav
Dcn the chance Of surviving would Tn
niger rather than go out upon the hill
the storm with their aged ones an
ze ones to perish from exposure.
~ hard choice and IT was "a har
18th they met. We who have bee
Med from such fate, should fet
dipped for life of thankfulness
3 he tragedy is brought home To us b.
y fact that Lancastrians are said to b
DQng the victims. One, the Episcopg
1QtOr of .Johnstown, the Reveren
<tnzo p. Diller, was born among III
Shcse his father and his brothers sti
The great sympathy of the con
toes out to them in their b,
gaa. He fell beside his church
troLl chapel went down in I'll
prs ISd doubtless the mo'
1iSffsn i'sfatn ew,orii ,vent with then
Ire is consolation 10 the fSstor' 'sfriend
9 this picture Of his dcatlr- amid hi