The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-03-20
MANNED VICTIMS
IN FIERY FURNACE
Toilers Pinned Under oil-Soaked
Ti4bers, Crushed or Burned
to Death.
PRIEST Is A HERO OF
THE RESCUING PARTIES
One Operative, Trapped as Flames
Creep Up, Frees Girl Then
Perishes.

in the big shoe factory of R. B: Grover
4 Co. in the southern section of this
city exploded today, bringing ruin to
the factory and other nearby property,
and death to many operatives.
The city fire marshal, four hours after
the explosion, estimated the list of dead
at fifty, and it was believed by the
police and those at work at the ruins
that as many more had sustained in
! juries.
Eight buildings were burned, and the
loss is 100000.
The greatest difficulty was expert
enced in ascertaining accurately the
number of dead and injured. An ell of
the factory, in which 200 hands were
at work, was almost completely
wrecked and many Of the men and
| women had no chance to escape, being
structure, which Immediately caught
fire.
At $3.50 thirty-two bodies had been
removed from the ruins. None was
identified. The list of the injured at
this hour numbered upwards OF fifty.
One Hundred May Be Dead.
An official of the Grover company
| expressed the opinion that possibly
100 persons would be found to have
lost their lives. ~.
Mayor Keith said this afternoon that
he would not be surprised if the num-
Der killed reached 100 altho he said
such a speculation. From the figures
at hand 400. persons were at work at
| the time Of the fire. Of this number
200 have reported at the fire station.
Some Of the victims were crushed IN
the collapse Of the floors.
Plunged in Fiery Furnace.
| Nearly all of the victims had been
precipitated into fiery furnace and
had seemingly met death instantly.
1 The friends and relatives of persons
4 reported missing, many Of them in
ltears, attempted to Identity the charrea
remains, but, it was seldom that the
an Identification could be made.
Most of the employees in the. main
part Of the plant succeeded in escaping,
altho in the terrible panic which fol-
lowed the explosion many were injured.
The firemen experienced the greatest
difficulty in battling with the flames, as
the Grover factory was of an extremely
inhammable nature and nearly all the
floors were saturated with oil. The
heat was intense.
Driven Back by Fire.
!; In the early stages Of the fire several
} employees were extricated from the
, ruins. The flames, however, soon
stopped the rescue work. Tons of
water were poured on to the ell, but
the fire from the main structure be-
came too hot for effective work, and
, the entire plant, with those who failed
to escape, had to be abandoned. Mean
while news of the accident had reached
the homes Of the operatives and thru
the crowds already near the burning
, factory, men and women were strug-
Cling wildly toward the center to get
news of relatives.
! When the flames reached the tene-
ment block even the fremen were
obliged to retreat temporarily. The oc-
cupants of all the buildings had little
time to save their effects. Some barely
escaped themselves. Reinforced by tho
arrival Of other apparatus, however, the
department made a fresh attack and
after hard struggle succeeded in stop
ping the spread Of the flames, altho
the Dahlborg block and several smaller
buildings had become ruined.
Priest a Hero.
Few persons were near the factory
when the explosion occurred. Among
them was Rev. James A. Rourke, curate
of st. Margaret g Roman Catholic
church, who hurried to the factory. In
parts adjacent to the collapsed eli, win
doWs were thrown up and many en-
ployees climbed out on fire escapes or
hung half way out at the openings.
! Father Rourke procured ladder which
: :. he placed at window toward which
the flames already were rushing. Eight
: girls were taken out by the priest. On
:. the ninth effort the flames burst thru
q the window and Father Rourke was
driven back, in spite of his efforts to
y reach a young woman who fell into the
: fire.
q o. M. Goldman, special officer,
q raised ladder to the third story and
l. liberated several girls, but the flames
e reached that point while there were
k still three young women waiting, all Of
them were thrown back to perish.
!, a Released Girl. Then Died.
! One Of the girls tells of the heroism
e of fellow operative, John Smith.
Q Smith and the young woman were
' pinned under piece of wreckage which
lay in such position that only one of
!. the two could be extricated. Smith was
I able to use one arm and by his. as
s sistance the wreckage was moved suff-
a GENTLY to permit the girl to be released.
! Smith was unable to get out of the trap,
! and persisted.