Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-16
MR. DEVORE'S SIDE.
What He Says About the Reports of Trouble
Amongthe Underwriters mt Johnstown-
Some AIIe1atiou. Denied.

What He Says About the Reports of Trouble
Amongthe Undertnkers mt Johnstown-
Some Allegations Denied.
In answer to the stories published about
the trouble between undertakers in Johns
tomn, Mr.. William H. Devore tells an un-
vanished tale as follows:
when we started to Johnstown there
were between 20 and 80 of us. We had a
car to ourselves in order to consult. was
made chairman, and we decided to form our
forces into squads. Before we reached
Nineyeh we intended to leave some of our
force, but we got a telegram stating that
there were enough undertakes there, and so
we all went to Johnstown.
-"When we got there we found men at
work doing as well as they knew how. They
relinquished the work, glad to get rid of it.
They had some bodies lying on a platform,
and two loads had been hauled away. /
suggested to the man in charge that his men
had better let the matter alone as they were
not working on system. He said All
right We went to work, and after some
time the inquiry was made as to who was in
charge. told the questioner there was no
one in particular, but all doing the best they
could. He asked me my name and wrote it
down, and then went to General Hastings
charge. General Hastings replied that 1t
would be all right and then DR.. Lee gave
me certificate of authority and requested
that there be no profanity in the undertakers'
department. Dictator Scott indorsed it and
gave me full charge of the morgue at the
Pennsylvania Railroad depot.
81 then appointed assistants, Mr.. Kittle,
burg, of Altoona, and William NJ. Daily
of Philadelphia. Passenger Agent Watt
furnished safes in which all the valuables
found on the bodies were placed. As soon
as the bodies were prepared they were sent
to Prospect Schoolhouse for Identification.
Everything seemed serene until some men
came from Pittsburg and said that they were
sent as assistants. Two-thirds of them
were under the influence of liquor. When
they asked for quarters referred them to a
freight car, as our own men were short of
accommodations. I went to see General
Hastings, and when returned found the
new men where mine shonld have been.
81 asked them to go; but it required the
Johnstown Chief of Police and Pittsburg
officers to expel them. The first trouble was
Just before Mr.. Flannery went away on
Friday evening. A man came to the morgue
and said that Mr. Flannery was taking some
of the men home with him. 1 asked Mr..
Flannery about it and he asked me for my
authority. 1 looked for the man, but could
not find him. 1 met the man soon after,
and he gave me paper signed j. L. Green,
K1ttanning. which said that Mr.: Flannery
had ordered some undertakers TO quit. DIR.
Jessup and others signed the notice.
''The conduct of some of the men who
claimed to be embalmers was simply hor-
rible, some being drunk and using pro-
family. 1 got $245 from a corpse. The
money was turned over to Mr.. Scott, and
have his receipt for it. When 1 found men
had been passing whisky bottles over
corpses 1 was enraged and put stop to it.
"The statement in The SUNDAY DIS
PATCH that leading undertakers of Pitts
burg were drunk was wrong. Though Mr..
Flannery used some harsh words he did not
offer to take off his coat or to fight. As to
the condition of the morgue had charge of,
1 reIer to Revs. Hicks and Beale, Mr..
Thomas Watt, agent for P. R. R. at Johns
town, Mr.. Moore, assistant agent, the chief
of police and all good citizens of Johnstown
who visited it.
1 left here last Sunday morning week
ago; was sick in the hospital on Sunday;
came down on Monday; went back and
stayed until last Friday night, and when L
left there put good man In my place, who
will remain in charge until 1 return"