The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-06-18
MANY STILL IN THE SLOCUM
BODIES ENTASGLED UNDER
 TIMERS AND WHEEL.
Discovered by the Divers Who Declare That Hulk Must be Dynamited or Raised Before They Are Reached Marine and Insurance Companies Hold Conference and Disagree.

Marine and Insurance Companies
 Hold Conference and Disagree.
 New York, June 17.-Despite the un- tiring work of the divers and grapplers and the watchfulness of scores of men who have given themselves up to the task of searching for the missing, but few bodies of those who perished in the Slocum disaster were recovered to-day. It was stated by divers who went down into the wreck at dawn, that there are many bodies still under the entangle- ment of timbers an dpaddle wheels, and that it would be necessary to dyna- mite the hulk or raise it before they could be reached. To this end city off, cials communicated with a wrecking company, and an announcement was made that the company woud under take the work of bringing the wreck to the surface. Later, however. a confer ence between the marine insurance companies and the wrecking company ended in disagreement, with the result that for the present at least the matter is in abeyance.
 At this conference it was announced that the Knickerbocker Steamboat company, which owns the General Slo- cum, had resigned all claim to the boat on the agreement that it should receive $70,000, the amount for which the boat was insured. The insurance company and the wrecking company failed to agree on ters and if the boat is raised at all the cost probably will come out of the city treasury
 Secretary Cortelyou of the depart ment of commerce and labor will possi- bly, undertake the investigation of the disaster on behalf of the government. District Attorney Jerome's assistants are working energetically on. the case, and officials of the coroners office have made considerable progress in the way of gathering evidence which will be presented on Monday, when the coro- ner's inquiry will begin. There is in the coroner's possession standpipe taken at his direction by diver from the submerged wreck. The valve of the pipe is closed tight, showing that no use was made Of this pipe in fighting the flames on the Slocum.
 Statements were made to the coroner to-day by several of the steamboat employees. who will appear as witnesses at the inquest. that the captain of the Slocum sent his boat a distance of be- tween three and four miles before bleaching her. Several watches showed that more than half an hour had elapsed before the breaking out of the fire. until the boat was run ashore, all the watches which were taken from bodies of the drowned stopping between 10:10 and 10:20.
 Estimates as to the number of dead still vary greatly and this may be ac- counted for by reason of the failure to report to the proper authorities on the part of many who although officially registered as missing are in reality saved. Already 53s bodies have been re- covered, of which about 50 remain un- identified. These include 273 children and 23 men. Thirteen officers of the St. Marks church are among the dead, one of them being woman.
 The first funeral from among the vic- tims was held to-day: it was that of young girl who is believed to hay edied of heart disease from fright. No signs of death from burning or drowning were found. Her funeral was followed by score of others, which were at tended by thousands of persons from the East side community, where most of the dead had lived.
 Tomorrow there will be 300 or more funerals, and thirty-two unrecogniza- ble bodies which are now lying at the morgue. will be placed each in a sep arate coffin, and in a separate hearse and lid away in the Lutheran cemetery at Middle Village L. I. The city has arranged for their burial a plot large having been set aside in this cemetery.
 Many thousands of dollars have been subscribed to the relief fund, any money will continue to pour into the hands of the treasurer of the mayors relief com mittee, for the benefit of the widow and orphans. Within an hour or two after the subscription list was opened $12, ,000 had been collected.
 At midnight the authorities at the morgue made the official announcement that 559 bodies had been recovered Of these 517 had been identified, thirty two of those remaining were chairred beyond recognition.
 Late in the day four bodies were recovered at North Brother Island by rescuers at work in boats and taken ashore. They were removed to the morgue and are included in the total.
 The morgue officials only tonight discovered that they had failed to ac- count for the bodies of twenty-six men, women and children that had been identified at the Alexander avenue station on Wednesday, within two or three hours after the accident and re- moved by friends and relatives. These brought the list up to 559 recovered bodies.
 Although it marked the third day after the disaster and the first outburst of anguish had in many instances given place to despair, this was a black Fri day on the East side.
 All night lights burned in hundreds of windows, speaking of long death watches within. All day flags on school and business houses in little Germany flew at half mast, and black and white rosettes outlined the door posts. Pave ments, easements and lintels were alive