The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-06-16
l,s GENERAL sLocuM HORROR
GREW wsDURiEe THE. MIGHT.
tT<zIS SIMPLY AWFUL.
saHe VERY SERIOUS CHARGES
ARE MADE#RY SURVIVORS
AGAINST MANAGEMENT!
oF#THE BOAT.

Tcf the night,ncame GOV GOV 5g.iet Il z" - :
E=5.oad of dead to the morsue TINS t nioi ~ -
..I am satisfied that fully ,ooV
have lost their lives in this dlsastsr,
said Commissioner Darlington ms ms
estimate is being made after careIuils
going over the entire accident 1here
we're 1,5D0 persons on the boat only
200 of these were cared for at North
anofhers Island hospital. The ruins
ss.sf the boat are still choked with
sbodies.'
superintendent Richard, of Belle
e.ue hospital, said this morning:
ut viii take days and days to iden-
1rtify all the bodies In all my Is
YEARS of hospital experience, this is
sff1e most appalling accident 1 ever
heard of. L believe that 1000 people
ssare dead
NEw YORK. June 16.-Up to s:3o
o'clock this morning four hundred
and eighty bodies of victims OF the
disaster on the steamboat General
xSIocum had been recovered Eight
bodies, in one group were picked up
.a,H north Brothers Island. The divers
dawn resumed work in the sunken
sssluII of the Slocum- They have oy
their efforts added to the CHASTITY list.
The horror grew during the n1sht.
The total number of dead, 1t is now
ss;esrimated will reach at least eight
sEEhundred. Some estimates put 1t as
high as 1000.
Grief stricken crowds thronged the
snorgues the vicinity of ST MARKS
~ Church and the shores near the wreck
s,alI night looking for loved ones One
,4,rt4f1er who dentfffed the burned
BODY of her child at the morgue TINS
zrnorning r,1a tried to jump from the piers
on which the body lay.
she was restrained with difficulty
and led away by friends
The serious charge is made by sur
5eviYors that the steamboat was sup
zuIIed with rotten life preservers-
Tne authorities are investigating the
charges.
ABOUT two hundred feet from the
new York shore off the place known
Hunts Point, the uper part or
s5,a.dI,Je3 El,cx. two smoke stacks, ..
sscnrched Flagstaff and some twisted
and sf,ent iron work all sticking out OF
fbe water at an angle of As degrees,
syie the remains of the Inflated steam
snoat. General Slocum. 1t is tempo
and hideous monument of the
scene where nearly 1000 persons
she great bulk of whom were women "
s,nd children, lost their lives In hre
and water. To-day there are grave
nnurnuriHg and charges that thlS
terrible sacrifice of life was needless
that the officers of the boat thohsh
their bravery is admitted, erred wheh
they drove the burning Vessel iof
half a mile before beach1nS her, thaI
the life belts were rotten ana unser-
viceable and the construction OF the
55aIapper works of the boat was 1auity'
ina s1nuch as they we're all OF wooo
and gave a free sweep to the fames-
This latter complaint is true OF
ssteampoats all over the country.
There is no law providing that SUI
s4nerstrnctl1res should be built of steel.
3 YuE with the S1ocum horrors as
terrible loss, it will not be surprising
If such a steamboat regulation were
adopted:
Long Island Sound was covered
This morning with thick white mist
that settled around the wreck OF the
SIocum as if in an endeavor to cover
Ihe horror spot with huge white
mantle. All through the night rela-
fIyes of the dead were looking for
their loved ones. Half dozen divers
were at work this morning, led by
Iohn Rice, the hero of the Boonton
catastrophe. in which Diver Oleson-
xost his fife. Every now and then the
neopIe on shore would see a man In
weird looking. suit. slip over the
side of a tug and sink to the bottom
When he returned he would have a.
DIackened, dripping figure In MS
arms, asvictim of the disaster
The Captains Statement.
Half crazed after his terrible ex-
perIence Captain William Van IAN
lck Of the ill=fated General 3slo-5
sss.sII1l, lies IN Lebanon Hospitalsa pris-=
oner He was removed to the Hos.
s ,ita1 from the g A1exander venue p5 po75i