Arizona republican., 1904-06-29
A Conspiracy of Crime.
 COwdrdiCe and Neglect
MADE SL0CUM HORROR
The Coroner's Jury Finds Against the Direc .ors of the Knickerbo cker Co.,, Its Employees and the Inspector. Warrants for Company Officials.

NeW forH June SS-The inquiry conducted by Coroner Berry and the jury into the General S.ocum disaster was concluded today. and after nearly four hours deliberation a verdict wa. rendered in which the directors of the Knickerbocker Steamboat company. Captain Van Schaick of the Slocum. Captain Pease, commodore of the com pany's fleet. and others were held criminally responsible. Warrants foc their arrest were issued. The mate of the Slocum.- according to the jury. acted in cowardls manner. and ths misconduct of Steamboat Inspector Lundberg, it was recommended, should be brought 10 the attention of the fed eral authorities. The charge in each | case was manslaughter in the second degree. Bail was fixed by the coroner in amounts varying from sl 1000 to s5,O0O.
 The mate, Edward Flanagan, was i, first arraigned. He pleaded not guilty ard his bail was fixed at sl,0OO. No boRdsmen being on hand, he was com mittsd to jail. Inspector ISundbsrg pleaded not guilty and was released on S1,O00 bonds. Bail was fixed at sa.OO0 each for President Barnaby and Secretary Atkinson, and their bonds were furnished at once
 Captain Van Schaick is a prisoner in the hospital Captain Pease may not
 be arrested until tomorrow, when 1t is expected the directors Of the company
 will also be taken into custody. AT
 the assistant district attorneys re-
 quest the coroner committed Assistanz
 Engineer Edwin Brandow and Deck
 Hands C0akley and Trembly as wit
 nesses, sending them to the house of { detention.
 After pointing out the duty of the
 different officers and persons named
 and their failure to perform their . duty, the jury finds: That President
 Frank A. Barnaby. Secretary ames K.
 Atkinson and the board of directors
 pr the KnickerbockerS Steamboat
 company, namely, Frank A. Barnaby, . Charles F. Hill. James K. Atkinson. C. Delacey Evans. Robert K. Story, Floyd S. Corbin and Frank G. Dexte-. . were guilty of criminal negligence in - the 12ilure to see to the proper equip 5 ment of the General Slocum in the matter of fire-fighting and life-saviug appliances on board of said boat. ] That Captain William H. Van 7 Schaick be held criminally responsible , for the accident; that Captain John A. , Pease. the acknowledged commodore = or the. fleet, be held cTiminalIy respon- 9 siblc for his failure to properly equip n the General Slocum with fire-fighting 9 and life-saving appliances. That EI-
 ward Flannagen, mate, acted in a
 cowardlv manner and We recommend
 that he be held crimnally responsible
 for failure to perform his duty on the e General Slocum on the day Of the dis |, aster.
 n That in the opinion of this jury Q the misconduct of Henry Lundberg. . government inspector, in failing 10 re- a port to his superiors the true facts ! concerning the vessels fire-extinguish- : ing and life-saving equipment. shouIi Il be brought to the notice of the United a States prosecuting officials and we fur n ther recommend that the said Henry
 Lurdberg be held for criminal negli-
 Eence Dy reason of his incompetenc2
 and his careless and indifferent in- ) spection of the General SlocUm's hull and life-saving appliances on the 5th
 day of May, 1904.
  . that the system of inspection which A prevails in the harbor of New York
 is very inefficient and does not prop
 crly demonstrate whether life-saving
 apparatus and fire-fighting applian, es if on vessels in this harbor are in proper a and suitable condition to prevent ,os g of life, and we recommend to the sec =. retary of commerce and labor that h \, issue such instructions to the supervs S. V, irg and local force of inspectors as
 will cause them to efficiently and hon
 estly examine steamboats plying ir
 and out of this harbor."
 Formal testimony was presented that
 905 hodes have been recovered. O l.. which all but forty met death by g drowning. Floyd s. Corbin. named }, as one of the directors of the Knicker- n, booker Steamboat company. tonigh F said that he is not director of tho |. company, having been replaced at thC d last meeting of the company's stock T. holders in February, and that he doe: 1: not own single share of stock H' n was much surprised by the verdict o
 the coroner's jury.