The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-06-06
CREAM OF THE PRESS.
YESTERDAYS PAPERS
CLIPPED CAREFULLY
Opinions or the FLOOD where tue We
>pon>fssiity ss-utat club WI" '"'
Dam. and Dam tho club Carnage
wa. fn IA
special 10 the Timcs.l

NEW Nhh. 'bht - 't'NN ~
morning journals editoriA lize on the
lesson Of the Johnstown disaster ana
the responsibility for it.
The Tribune says: When the iIst
shock Of an awful calamity like mat III
the Conemaugh valley has passed. the
public mind turns II the consideration
Of the cause that led TO II and the qucs-
ton Of responsibility. This Is neces-
sary: If no. with view to enforcing
legal ueualties. should II be found prac-
ticable. at least in order that the Lesson
of this appalling mass acre may De
fully learned for the benefit OF otherS'
It is represented that the dam had been
examined by engineers and
pronounced safe. This j. no
doubt tue. but there IS convluc-
ing evidence that liz condition
had long been a source of uneasiness TO
persons, and that the attention OF the
officers of the Fishing Club. for whose
pleasure this huge ARTIFICIAL lake was
kept hanging like a continual menace
over the heads of population OF more
than 1000 souls. had been repeatedly
called 10 IL. The practical question D.
as 10 the prevention Of similar catoslro-
pbies elsewhere in the future. we can
not call back to life any OF the thou
sands who have been sacrificed. We
cannot expunge from the tablets of the
memory the. countless tragedies That
have axtinguished hundreds or iami-
hesfpd left thousands Of hearts bleed
ing. but it ought 10 be possible to trans
late this bittcrexperience into measures
Tor the protection of life and property
under like circumstances.
The star says: "N0w that communi-
cation has been opened with Jamestown
again. and that the work Of relieving
the sufferers there has been organized
and is being pushed forward as rapidly
as is possible with human resources,
The question of the responsibility Tor
the disaster will be- discussed. 1t Isl
clear from what has been already
learned. that the people no the Cone
rrauph Valley had had ample notice
that the dam was unsafe. Their disre-
card OF their danger was due TO the
fact that they had been warned 50
many times that they bad become care
less. But in placing the responsibility /
for the disaster the question as tot
whether the unfortunate people below
the dam had had any warning ls imma- /
icriai. Did the officers Of the South FORK +
Club have any reason % suspect that
the dam was unsafe. and if so. who /
was responsible for permitting 10 10 re-
main in its dangerous condition That
some of them had notice Of the fact ln a
general way is hardly disputed. but the
latest ness states that an CmplOye OF
the club gave the officers repeated
warning until he was threatened with
discharge unless he ceased his croak-
i,g-. fl this story is subatantiated. il /
oupht not to be- difficult for The proper
go iX the responsibility
where il belongs. The terrible ca
lamitv has brought out. asl
might be expected. an unreas-
oning outcry from large part
of the press One Of our evening con
in this city even goes so far
as 10 call attention 10 The proposed
Quaker bridge dam. and To ask if New
York Is not t8bing great iisk in hav-
ing il constructed. although lt admit
that the ablest engineers in the country
the projocl as the best solution
of the problem for water supply lDr
New York. Dams arc like railroad
bridges on any other great engineering
works. II they are well constructed
they are safe, but If they are built with
imperfect materials OF are designed by
engineer, they are pretty
sure e. cause Disaster
The World under lie caption, Take
care of the living. says. Sentiment
should give way TO sense-the living
should be- considered before the dead
hi clearing the polluted river in the
Couemaugh Valley. TO the hapless
victims of The great disaster, crushed
under and wedged into the enormous
mass of dciris below JOhnstoWn. it can
matter nothing hat the wreck becomes
their funeral pyre. IA holocaust is bet
ter than pestilcnca. To ihe relatives
or friends of the persisted = discovery T
of the bodies. even If they should be +
recognizable. would bui add horror 90
grief. The immortal part can no more
be consumed by fire than 10 can De con-
fined I'M the earth. The first work TO
be done in the path of the Hood Is the
same that follows great battle. toprO- /
tect the living by buying tho dead. I
There is no time for ceremony or delay.
The air and water il poisoned, fatal .
ity might follow greater than that
which attended the Cata-irOVe. Ige
authorities in the stricken section viii
be justified in adopting any measures
which will most swiftly and certainly
remove the danger which now
threatens the region from Johnstown
To- Pttsburg. Their duty is TO the
living.
The Times. commenting on the pro- +
posed quaker bridge dam. 21O feet
high. al New York and COnemaugh. 7
SAYS: III the Croton river bad its out +
let i'm Madison Square. as an esteemed .
morning contemporary seems 10 sup
pose. tho engineers might well hesitate .
aboat constructing above the great
capitos OF the new would an eXparl-
mental structure of this kind. And if
the CrOt0n Valley. from the proposed
dam 90 tideWater was dotted with viii
lagos and was The home of industry
and happy thousa&s we might well
ask. with am able but scared evening
what assurance have
We that this construction when
completed. Will not burst and
sweep from the face of the
earth every living thing between 1t and
the Hudson river. A little reflection.
with q slight admiXture OF geography
will dIspcl these giim forebodiugs. Tie
great Quaker Bridge dam is to be OF
masonry. Tie Conemaugh dam was OF
earth. Tne Quaker Bridge dam. as
planned. will have factor of safety Of
two-tbat is TO say. that il could do
twice the work that can ever be re-
quired of it. 1t is 10 have a sluice-
way for the escape of SURPLUS water
/ 900 feet long. or SIX times the length
If the present CrOton dam sluiceway.
Its strength has been calculated with
reference 10 pressure from water. ice.
winds. and waves. Masonry dams of
similar construction have been standing
for scores of years. But o.. course the
engineers knew nothing about dams or
pressure. Therefore. with view To- es-
cape the worst consequences of their
ignorance, they have arranged that the
Quaker Bridge dam shall stand at The
,u.n,. md ,f in. ffroton N4lieN From /