Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-09
A WIFE'S SAD VIGIL,
At the Ruins of Her Former Home
She Awaits the Coming of
HER HUSBAND, LOST IN THE FLOOD.
Rudolph Blankenburg Tells of What He
saw in the Oil Regions.
THE MAYOR CALLS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

| huuOlpn DldukeHDuTS auu hoDeTG .. NC
Wade, the subcommittee of the Philadel-
phia Relief Committee, returned to Pitts.
burg from Titusville and Oil City at 6
o'clock last night. At $40 they left for
Philadelphia Both the Philadelphia
gentlemen were greatly impressed with
what they had seen in the stricken districts.
Both had been to Johnstown in the calamity
of 1889, and both are familiar with the
wrecks of food and fire.
81 have seen enough misery and distress
| to-day to last me a life time" Rudolph
Blankenburg said. "Graphic as are the cor
respondents, their flowing words fairly afre
with correctness. leave the melancholy
| picture incomplete. The desolation at
Titusville is greater than at Oil City, al
though the Oil City wreck is complete.
The distress there is widespread. Hun
dreds of women and children are suffering
for the necessaries of life. Numbed
and dulled by their overwhelm-
ing misfortune, they seem unable to
tell the sad story of their
woes. The dead and dying seem to them as
interesting pictures and the unhappy liv-
ing, pricked to the marrow by their own
suffering. are oblivious to the misery of
their fellows and even yet they do not
appreciate the enormity of the calamity
that has overtaken them.
l. Women FaraIyzed With Grief
"At Oil City to-day, saw women wear
ing the weeds of widows wandering aim
lessly through the ruined section of that
city. They seemed to be going no.
where in particular. Their blanched
faces, expressionless as marble, told
in a mutely eloquent way the suffering
| that was consuming them. 1 attempted to
| talk with some of those unhappy women,
but could get from them no information.
Their eyes, from which no teafs had
drained, were burning in their sockets and
| all seemed paralyzed with grief
"One woman sat on the charred and black
ened ruins of her former home. Her hus-
band, in his efforts to save his family had
perished, and his remains have not yet been
found. With her little boy, probably
years old, this woman sat looking into
the ruins Upon her knee she held her
little son. When approached her she was
hummIng incoherently some childish
lullaby. She showed no evidence of weep
ing. She seemed to look longingly into
space like a frightened doe. While she
caressed her little one her little body
swayed back and forth in constant time with
her doleful song. had to speak to her
twice before she noticed me. Then she
said she was waiting for her husband. From
a workman nearby learned that her hus-
band had had been lost in the flood. The
expression of that poor woman's face seems
to be standing out before me now. 1t was
intensely painful 1t was distressingly
sad."
Conference at the Union Depot.
Before leaving for Philadelphia last night
the Philadelphia Committee met with the
Pittsburg Committee at Superintendent
Pitcairn's Office at the Union Station. 1t
was decided upon the suggestion of the Oil
City and Titusville Committees to distribute
the relief fund in tie proportion of s65 to
Titusville and S35 to Oil City. On this
basis Treasurer Thompson will, this morn
ing, send to the stricken cities $40, 900
which has already been placed in his hands
AT the meeting it was decided that the
delphia will at once issue calls for addi-
tional funds. In accordance with this ar
rangement, Mayor Gourley last night
issued the following to the citizens of Pitts
burg:
The Pittsburg Relief Committee visited
the Union station this evening for the pur-
pose OF meeting our subcommittee, Captain
J. j. Vandegrift, John Eaton and George
Hurd, who were accompanied by Mr.. Ru-
dolph Blankenberg and Mr.. Robert Nc Wade,
of Philadelphia. on their return of their
tour of inspection ut TitusviIle and vicinity.
I'm fhair rriy fhn SIr,rcr
and these gentlemen held a meeting in the |
office of Mr.. Robert Pitcairn. of the Pennsyl- !
vania Railroad, in order that we might re-
ceive from them report of the situation. |
These gentlemen reported that Titusville |
has Relief Committee composed of the best |
men of the city, as is the case in Oil City.
Agreed Upon the Division.
At a joint meeting of the committees of |
and Oil City. at which our sub |
and the Philadelphia committee |
were present, it was unanimously agreed |
that all money collected. or to be collected |
the two cities, IS per cent being paid to |
basis is entirely satisfactory to the commit
tee of each city. 1t was also unanimously |
agreed that the Oil City commit-
the 81. .fferers in the territory of Oil City and |
up and including Petroleum Center; that
the : itusville committee should take charge
point Our committee directed the treas
urer of our funds, William r. Thompson, to
forward tomorrow morning $l0.0 900, sending
s6 500 to the Relief Committee of Titusville |
and $500 to the Relief Committee OF Oil
City.
The subcommittee of our committee that
visited Titusville reports that in Oil City
and vicinity there are about $50 people who
must be cared Tor 1Or some time to come;
thew report that in Titusville and vicinity
there are not less than $50 or 500 persons
that are in similar condition.
In the judgment OF MIR. Rudolph Blanken-
berg and Mr.. McWade, of Philadelphia, and
Captain J. J. Vandergrift, MI. John Eaton
md Mr. George Hurd, of Pittsburg, a large
mount of money will be necessary to meet
The necessities of these stricken people. Our
committee therefore urge upon the good |
people of our own city the propriety of send
ng their contributions promptly ana liber-
lily. Up to this mornings report they have
eceived at Oil City $3S
Thompson, Treasurer, and sent to him at
Fourth avenue and Wood street.
Victim of Fire and Flood.
The body of an unknown man was found
n the Allegheny river at Natrona yester-
Law afternoon and from its appearance 1t is
imposed to be one of the victims of the oil
ountry flood. Both hands are burned and
but it does not look as if it had
,een in the water many days.
Coroner Mcdowell sent word to Squire
)rury to hold an inquest in the case and to
et a complete description of the body and
wearing apparel. Before burial, however,
t will be brought to the city for the pur-
rose of possible identification.
THE FUND is GROWING.
10 fo~ |