The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1904-06-21
CITY TO- RAISE S[OCUM WRECK
Both Owners and Underwriters Refuse to Move It.
Stories of the Tragedy Continue to Be
H0peIessy Divergent

OIvOiOO'tts
among straw and glass packing before
the doomed vessel reached seth street, |
and that while the fire hose was being
unrolled, 1t burst in half dozen places.
First Officer Flanagan Of the Slo-
cum, told the coroner that the hose
was aot rotten but became uncoupled,
and that the panic Of women and chill
dren swept all before it before the
coupling could be made again. Frank
B. Conlin. the chief engineer, who has
been found at Catskill N. Y, says the
fire was not discovered until the Slo-
cum reached a point opposite 13Sth
street A dozen watermen stand
ready to testify that the Slocum
MIGHT HAVE BEEN BEACHED
at six different landings below North
Brother Island and hundreds thereby
saved.
In the meanwhile hundreds of be-
reaved homes on the east side of the
city wear crepe upon the doors, while
many who went upon the illfated trip
rode to the grave today, fanked by
sorrowing relatives or by curious
thousands, and other thousands who,
waiting patiently for an entrance to
mat chamber of tragedy which still
shelters many unknown dead, did not
grow less.
400 STILL MISSING.
Late tonight the police lists showed
that of those who went to their death,
53S bodies had been found; that OF
those in the morgue there remained
unidentified forty-three while the
most conservative estimate of those
still missing was still above 400. OF
the missing, divers told tonight that
many still remained in the burned and
sunken hold of the Slocum; others
strew the bottom OF Long Island
Sound for ten miles! many will never
be found.
To place the blame for the disaster,
II blame upon her owners, captain,
crew or the inspectors should be fixed,
, the city of New York is going to
RAISE THE WRECK
, at its own expense, that experts may
J CLEAN therefrom what mute evidence
J of negligence or crlminality may still
remain. Diver John Rice brought up
from the Sound this afternoon the
, standpipe of the sunken vessel, the
valve showed that 1t had never been
turned and expert engineers are of the
opinion that the pipe placed in the
, boat thirteen years ago for fire protec-
: ton had in all that time held not one
, drop of water.
ENGINEERS STORY.
Frank B. Conklin, chief engineer OF
the illfated boat, who has been found
at the home of friends at Catskill, N
Y, is mental wreck. Suffering from q
dozen burns and a shock from which
physicians say he may never recover
he told story of the horror tonight
which differs from Captain Van
Schaick's version of the catastrophe
only in uncircumstantial points, the
most important of which is that he
. and his assistant engineer, were the
> last to leave the burning boat. Conk'
lin says that the fire hose would have
spreading so rapidly. but to the panic
of the women and children aboard ht
lays the greatest loss of life. ConkliI
;. declares that even had the fire beer
subdued there would have been many
= deaths. He is anxious for the fullest
I, investigation which. he declares. car
!. only result in clearing the owners, cap
:, tain and crew from any blame.
n IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION.
r Secretary of Commerce and Labor
v Cortelyou has announced his intention
4 of instituting an immediate investiga
8 ton into the cause of the disaster ant
: he, will incidentally examine thorough
e ly all other craft that ply the waters
d about New York. To this same ent
d Coroner Berry has drafted an inquisi
: torial jury composed of some Of th
: best known public men in the uppe
g end of New York and from all side
IS there Is promised the fullest investi
: cation.
! CORONER HEARS TESTIMONY.
8 Coroner Joseph l. Berry, of thu
II Bronx, opened his investigation by ex
, amining a number of the employees
q on the boat who were brought to hi
: court by Terence ]. McManus, of thu
q law firm Of Black, Olcott, Gruber
i I,onynge who represent the Knicker
;, booker Steamboat company.
Henry Lundberg, one of the tw'
government steamboat inspectors whit
in May last made an examination o
the General Slocum, was on the stand
being represented in the court by
lawyr He said the boat was II
1 proper condition. Many question: