The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-12-10
Disaster Bereft of Fathers,
Five Score Unborn Babes
Whom Death Threatens at
Any Moment.
DECOMPOSED BODIES
DELAY THE RESCUE.
PitifuI Scenes Are Daily Being
Enacted About Mouth of the
Mine-Lives of Small Boys
Taken by Awful Explosion.

Monongah. Dec. 1o.-The wrecked
mines are rapidly assuming a normal
condition. The relief work is being
carried on rapidly and ninety-one bod
les have been recovered so far. All
but eight have been identified. E.
cry day since the explosion. hands,
legs and arms have been removed. The
stencil from decomposed bodies in the
mines is becoming almost unbearable.
This is one of the greatest difficulties
which the rescuers have To overcome.
A canvass by women workers cf
Fairmont, completed today. deyelopes
the fact that practically 100 women
who were made widows by the disaster
at the Monongah mines are soon to be
mothers.
AS consequence of the fearful
strain of the past few days, at least
20 of these women are seriously i'll.
Ten of the babes are said to have died
unborn. and into - or 10 of the little
cottages physicians have been called
within the last ~ hours. Four of the
afflicted widows are at the point Of
death today.
A count by the women has said TO
have developed nearly 900 fatherless
children. Forty-eight of the men
killed were widowers with small chill
dren. There are 10 brides of three
months
This feature of the disaster appealed
to the women of Fairmont, who organ
fraI do, fpy- ynF ta8
it the Mothers Work" and enlisted
the sympathies of woman friends and
relatives in Fairmont and nearby
towns. Some of the prominent socie-
ty women. known throughout this sec
ton of the state. volunteered to as
sst financially at least, personally II
possible.
Women were found today. weak from
pain. who are also suffering from lack
of proper nourishment Some of the
Fairmont women have depleted their
own stores of winter supply of food in
relieving the distress
Rescue Becoming Dangerous.
The work of rescue is daily becoming
more difficult and dangerous. To the
dangers of fire damp and explosive
gases generated by the fire in mine No.
3 are now added the odors peculiar TO
decomposing bodies. The health of
the rescue parties is endangered. and j..
is with the utmost difficulty that they
are able TO face the new terrors of the
mines.
The coal company officials. annoyed
by newspaper reports of the fire ill
mine No. =. have adopted a scheme
of news suppression. The men in the
rescue shifts were given explicit orders
to not talk TO any outsiders, and the
policemen around the temporary
morgue. were told to allow no newspa-
per men to enter.
Removal of Bodies Delayed.
Il don't know why they should de-
ny the fire. said one of the miners
| today. 1T does not do any harm.
and We have it under control now
! Neither do l understand why they will
not allow us to take the bodies out as
fast as we find them
Yesterday we found and dug out -
bodies. We placed them all in row,
according TO the companys orders.
| Then the fire drove us out and the
bodies are there yet.
After the company's announcement
| that the fire had been extinguished the
various shifts went back TO work
again. At ; O'Clock this morning four
bodies were brought out of No. and
taken to the morgue. At about the
same time three badly mutilated vic
tins were taken from No. g. Up To
| tnis evening none Of them had been
identified
! The mud about the opening Of the
mines is several inches deep and has
| been trodden by the great crowds fnIo
a perfect quagmire. through which the
men with the stretchers have to carry
the dead In conveying one of the re-
covered bodies down TO the railroad
tracks this morning d stretcher bearer
slipped and the inanImate burden,
which was wrapped in a blanket, was
| thrown into the mud The sight Of It
gave the crowd d convulsion.
The Corpse of Child.
| Early in the morning searchers took
the body Of small boy, aged about II,
! grimed little face a look of peace and
happiness that doubtless never marked
. it in life There are many other little
. tTapper toys. they say. in the hideous
catacomb back under the hills-boys
. that have never known the delight OF
] tops and marbles and whose best COM
rades were the slaw patient mules that
hauled the black cars down the drifts.
/ The little body they took out was
| that of weakling, a mere child, who