The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1889-06-15
shreveport Tines.l

II inc following ACCOUNT N lne OflEl
of the South Fork ilpnd, its accompa
nyiDg incidents and comments thereon
was written by Alien o. Meyer:
(Pickaway), managing editor OF In
Cincinnati Enquirer. The Enquirer |
a sensational paper, hut Mr.. Meyer
ia too clever aud honest u journalist I
take advantage of the disaster at Gone
maugh TO fabricaie sensational an,
fictitious correspondence for has pros
porous journal.
The fatal lake stood near the top
where taif II Il, z,n little streaIns con
verge To form the Conemsush river
Rainfall in this narrow valley was al
severe as any on the east side. Ii Wa.
the severest that has ever been known
and the mud dam bnilt at first to sup
ply water to The old Psnnsy!vauia
canal, and raised after ward "a Increase
tho supply aud minister to the pleas,
ures Of the rich members of the S ,ut h
Fork Fish club, was not equal to the
terrible pressure and 1t Ravu away, ns
| everybody know it would, before the
day was over, when they saw the wa.
ters Ieapiug down in torrents from
cvery side. This beautiful lake was
A PICTURE,
perfect in all its details and outlines.
The soft and poetic language Of Claude
Melnotie in describing 10 his expsctani
bride the loveliness of his home by the
Italian lake could not excel in lowell.
ness the beautiful scene presented to
the eye by the placid mirror Of the
Conenaugh lake, which reflected the
sky aud the rugged hills about it.
A club house and thirteen beautiful
cottages stand on the right, on the
verge OF where the water once stood,
No one could come here without
permit.
This was holy ground consecratcl to
pleasure by capital. No one wants to
come here now except to gaze a mo-
ment at the desolate monument to the
of man, and then turn away
to cogiiale on a thousand problems of
mans duty to man, which have never
been answered aud which will never
be answered until man has been re-
constructed. All is mud, and silence,
wreck and ruin, and the crows and
bozzards flying swiftly overhead cav u
music that makes melody
In keeping with the awful surround
iDgs. The souls Of fifteen thousand
dead sought the spirit world and the
hereaftar by this valley aud over this
empty pleasure lake.
THE TERRIBLE YAWNING BREAK
in the embank ment tells the story Of
security, neglect, careless
ness and theft disaster. No man
btundered while many were careless.
nd SheN
might pass few fleeing hours in
gayety and pleasure.
Iii Is not new story. It is as old as
the world, and 1t is a part OF Pennsyl.
vania civiliz nion aud society. There
is no other State in this new gigantic
empire OF tho West where such abso-
tute extremes of atfl nence and poverty
dwell side by side as in PENNSYLVANIA.
For half century corporate capital
has been doing out bread TO lDiling
and fortunes TO favored
few. There is hardly a stream in the
State that has not been polluted and
and often destroyed by the
refuse from a Thousand mills. The
ctnder and Stag and refuse from a
thousand mills and furnaces, at n thous-
and towns in ten thousand placea, have
been dumped for years until
MANY TOWNS: ARE UNSAFE
and many streams arc driven from
their natural and God given channels.
The bursting of this pleasure lake can
not alone be blamed for The loss of all
1f these lives.
The artificial barriers erected by cor
poratc capital are accessories after the
[act. When Legislature can be found |
in this State that will learn that human
life is more precious than money, or
then may something be done
for man, but rs Pennsylvania society is
'ow organic d l fear that Time will
never come. Meanwhile, men can
,niy he taught to think by calamity.
md disaster must follow all attempts to
IN barrnss nature, until she has com
'elled respect, which she will always
10 in her own way and at her own
pleasure and time.
A VENERABLE son or IRELAND,
With an hundred Others, digging and
umbiing dirt down the mountain side
q replace the washed, out railroad bed,
IL stood locking at them said: "Bs
abers, livery man belonging ,u that
'lnb ought Ia be habged.n
"Td', Pat" said "A man who swung
pick next to him, "5ay nothing until
hey have buried the dead. Besides,
hey are taking care Of The living"
es, be jabers, they are; bu. they