The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-08-29
RESULT OF RACING
Rumored That City Of Trenton
Was Going Too Fast.
Assistant Engineer Had Pre-
sentiment of Danger.

dead, nine missing and 30 injured Is the
record made by the explosion of the
boilers of the steamboat City of Tren-.
| ton on the Delaware river yesterday
All night long city firemen, policemen
and officials and employees of the viii
mington Steamboat company which
owned the illfated vessel. worked in
and around the burned and blaekened
huh, searching for bodies of victims of
the disaster. believed to be either in
the vessel or in the water.
Hundreds of men are dragging the
river bottom with graphing irons to-
day and they will continue to do so un-
til every person that was on the boat
is accounted for.
| Of the IL bodies that have been re-
/ covered. ten have been identified. The
identified dead are:
JOHN P. CHEW, of Camden, N J.,
assistant engineer of the City of Tren-
! ton.
MISS ELIZABETH GREEN. of Phil
adelphia. crushed to death.
VIM. DUNN. of Philadelphia, passen-
ger.
ARTHUR LANSING. Il years of age.
JAMES O'CoNNELL, fireman, Phila-
! delphia.
MOTT MABLE fireman. Philadel-
phia.
AUGUST MABLE. deck hand. Phila-
JAMES GRAHAM. engineer, Trenton.
N. Y
VIM Fl KEENE. passenger, Phila-
delphia-
JAMES MCCORMICK, Wilmington,
Del. passenger.
The unidentified body is so badly
burned that its sex can not be determ-
ined.
Among the missing are Miss Ethel
Stokes of Trenton sand Miss Helen
Briest. daughter of former Mayor OHM
Briest of Trenton.
According to the statement of the
widow of the dead assistant engineer,
John P. Chew, the man had a PRESENT.
ment of death. Mrs. Chew says that
before leaving home for work on Tues
day night her husband said:
Lizzie. / may never see you again. I
have a presentiment that there will be
an explosion on the boat. If there is
there will be no escape for me. They
are running at too high a steam pres
sure and if an accident should occur l
and many others will be killed"
OF the 80 injured persons taken to
the hospital attached to the Philadel-
phia House of Correction, all are re-
ported as doing well today and it is not
now believed that any of them will die.
Augustus Fteinhart. an expert ma
chinist employed by the Neaf1e & Levy
Ship Building company, builder of the
City of Trenton, recently overhauled
the boats boilers. He said today that
there is no doubt in his mind that the
explosion was due to the exhaustion of
the water in the boilers He gave it as
his opinion that the boat was being run
too fast and this exhausted the water
The boat was Is minutes late when
she left her wharf and it is stated that
much of this lost time had been made
up when the explosion occurred. The
captain and other officers of the boat
and the officials of the company deny
emphatically the statement that the
City of Trenton was racing with the
steamer Twilight of the opposition line
when the explosion occurred. The Twi- |
light and the City of Trenton were close
together at the moment Ofdhe explos- !
ion, the former in the lead. Those on |
board of the Twilight did not hear the |
explosion or know of the mishap to the |
rival boat until too late to be of assist |
ance.
Never In the history of the Delaware |
river has there been such keen rivalry {
between lines of river steamers as there I
is this season. On both the upper and /
lower parts Of the river races have been I
or daily occurrence. Only few weeks /
ago the crew of Trenton steamer POGO /
noI1et was censured by Coroner James I
for failing to go to the assistance of I
some persons who were drowning AT 1
the time the Poconoket was racing with I
the Twilight, the boat that led the City /
of Trenton yesterday when the explos
ion occurred.
superintendent of Police Ouirk de-
clared today that the matter will be /
thoroughly investigated by his depart
ment and if the charge of racing is SuS-
tanned. the officers and crew of the
wrecked steamer Will be arrested.
In response to a request the depart
ment of public safety today received
the following list of missing from per-
sons who had relatives and friends on
the Trenton:
Louisa Tillison. % years.
Irene Weld. 16.
Clara B. Weld. 13.
Dora Weld, g.
Mrs. Mathiida Cross, all of PhiladeI-
phia.
Marion Ashmead IL
Annie Herr. 16
Emma Eastburn, 49,
Miss Helen Ballentyne, 40. all of Ger
mantown.
In addition two or more Trenton peo-
pie are known to be missing
MAY BE Is DEAD.
Philadelphia. Aug. 29.-From the most
authentic reports received up to
O'Clock this afternon it is believed that
at least Is persons lost their lives in /.
the steamboat explosion on the Della
ware river yesterday. There are eight
bodies in the morgue, of which six have
missing numbers between 10 and Is, of
which at least half dozen are surely
dead. Nine injured victims still remain
in the hospital at the house of cOrrec-
ton. and % others have been dis
charged from the institution. Of the
Injured still in the hospital two prob
ably will die.
Graphing for the bodies supposed to
be in the river IS going on without in
The sea valves of the
burned steamer have been opened and
the water in the huh is now being
pumped out. It is believed by the po-
off7 !