Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-24
CAN PLACE THE BLAME
SLOCUM CoRoNER'S JURY HEARD
SUFFICIENT TESTIMONY.
Hulk Of Steamer Raised by wreckers
TO Be Examined Today
Latest Loss Figures.

Bodles recovered. .......................... 9l2
Number identified. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 79t
Buried unidentified. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 10
Missing (approximate). 70
Probable total loss of life. 0S6
A dispatch from New York last night
says:
Important disclosures were made yester-
day during the coroner's inquest regarding
the conduct of the crew of the General Slo.
cum at the time of the fire and the meas-
ures taken by those In control of the vessel
to save passengers
Wreckers yesterday raised the hulk OF
the Slocum. towed 1t to flats. where it was
beached. and II will be pumped out this
morning
Several bodies were recovered during the
day, and the work of Identification pro.
ceeded slowly. Nothing was reported to
change materially the estimate OF the total
loss OF life that appeared yesterday. 0S6
Mr. Jacob II. Schiff in announcing that
the relief fund was now about S9o.oV0. gavo
ms opinion that sufficient money had been
contributed to carry out the purposes OF
the fund
Evidence to Fix Responsibility.
Members of the Jury selected by Coroner
Joseph l. Berry of the Bronx to investigate
the Slocum disaster declared yesterday that
the evidence already before them would en-
able them to determine the responsibility
for the accident. After many witnesses
were examined the inquest was adjourned
until Monday morning. when the final evi-
dence will be presented.
A verdict will then be rendered placine
blame for the loss of lives of women and
children upon those persons or conditions
held to be responsible The United States
district attorney for this district will take
immediate action after the verdict
Many of the witnesses called yesterday
were wanted only to have their testimony
on record before action is taken in the feds
eral court. as they had little to offer out-
side of the facts already on record.
Slocum Was Poorly Equipped.
Men who worked the boat and who
escaped with their lives when most of the
women and children aboard persisted were
compelled to place on record the outline Of
their versions of the disaster for use in
proceedings growing out of the preliminary
hearing. Most of the survivors who have
had any unusual facts to offer were cues.
toned in public. and the universal testis
mony was that the Slocum had been poorly
equipped for an emergency
Life Preservers Worthless.
James Collins. policeman attached to
the Morrisiania district testified that he
had seen the S1ocum afire off the foot Of
122d street. The boat was then blazing
hercely. and he called up police headqudr.
tiers and asked to have a freboat sent as
once He found rowboat and followed
the Slocum to rescue the women and chill
dren. When he reached the excursion
steamer she was ablaze from stem to stern
On all three decks.
DID you see any life preservers?" asked
Mr.. G3rvan.
Yes. SIR was the reply. Almost als of
them were torn and cork was dropping out
of them
Collins said he thought the Socum should
have been beached on the west side of the
river. some distance below North Brother
Island
Then the captain beached her in tho
wrong place on purpose?" suggested Ter
renee j. McManus. counsel for the Knicker-
booker Steamship Company.
Il don't say that" replied the witness,
but he may have lost his head"
Policeman Herbert G. Farrell who ac-
cOmpanied Collins. agreed that a mistake
had been made in not Bleaching the Slocuin
earlier There was a good mud bank to
run into al 1E9th street. he said. with mud
fats extending fully fifty sixty feet from
shore.
The depth made that location specially
desirable. and Farrell insisted that If he
had been the captain. that would have been
the place that he would have landed. Far
rell has had experience in sailing small
boats in the East river for twenty years.
Expert Testifies
Capt John Van Glider of No 675 East
Ij6th street was called as an expert. He Is
in the employ of the New York, New
Haven and Hartford Railroad Company,
and had been a pilot for the last twenty
seven years, having had charge of several
of the big excursion boats in New York
harbor. After the disaster he went over
the route taken by the Slocum with Z. ".
Weaver. pilot of the wrecked steamer lie
was informed by Weaver that the first
alarm of fire had come when the Slocum
was about three lengths north OF the Black
Spar buoy. on the sunken meadows.
Weaver had told him that there was a
strong flood tide and that there was a high
wind.
What course would you have taken IL
you had commanded the Slocum?' inquired
Mr.. Caravan.
Il should have gone from two TO two and
half points west" replied Capt. Glider,
and | should have landed at Port Morris,
about the foot of both street, either with
the port or the Starboard side ashore"
Capt. Van elders conclusion was that II
the Slocum had been beached at that point,
with the port side the bank the fro
would have been driven by the wind for
ward and ashore and the steamer would
not have been consumed so quickly.