The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-03-05
OHIO AUTHORITIES ARE
MAKING |NVEST|GAT ION
tsOME DOUBT EXISTS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE
COLLINWOoD SCHOOL WAS BUILT IN CONFORMITY
TO STATE LAWS, AND OFFICIALS GO TO THE SCENE
+. OF THE TRAGEDY.
fire gained such headway. Herter
said he was on his way to the base
nent. where he was told of the fire by
three girls. Herter is dazed over the
loss of his own children.
Taking Out the Bodies.

lOSS OF MS own GTiiCFcn
Taking Out the Bodies.
The gTewsome task Of taking out
the blackened corpses and bits of hui
man remains was one of horror \
line of rescuers is formed, backed
by half a dozen ambulances. As the
bodies are untangled from the debris
they are passed along to the
and thence loaded in the
Mercifully covered With
blankets, the pitiful sights are Seiled
from the crowd of curious that street
ches about the entrance to the struc-
ture. AS fast as load IS obtained
it is driven away to the improvised
to be succeeded by another
within short time.
The sights of the human charncl
house causes the men delving into the
mass of burned flesh to hesitate, but
work has TO be done and done quickly
and their feelings have to be smothered
handle all that was mortal of the lit
tie tots.
Sad Scene at Morgue.
At the temporary morgue in the
Lake Shore shop, the scenes became
four-fold in the intensity of human
suffering as fathers, mothers. broth
ers and sisters passed up and down
the lines formed of 100 corpses' To
facilitate Identification, the bodies
were numbered as they were received
ar the Tho fipSt ihnn+jfioD-
ton was made by the mother of Nels
and Tommy Thompson. aged six and
nine years respectively. The heads
and arms had been burned from both
bodies, but the mother recognized the
shoes on their feet and so the dis
work went on, accentuated d
now and then by a piercing Shrek or
recognized by clothing or token. such
as ring or necklace.
Mother Reached Child.
About the burned school house there
are but few residences. In one of
those Mrs. Clark Sprung lived When
the fire started, the mother ran over
to the school and arrived when the
first floor was a mass of flames. At
a window on that floor she saw the
face of her boy. He recognized her
and pleaded for help. Rushing across
the street Mrs. Sprung secured a step
ladder and placed it against the win
dow. Climbing up she reached for
her boy. She caught him by the hair
1t burned off in her hands and the
lad fell back into the flames.
Desolation unspeakable hangs over
the vicinity of the school and the
whole village of Collinwood. The
school board met in special session at
the temporary morgue late yesterday
afternoon to discuss the calamity,
while the coroner prepared to hold an
inquest to determine the cause and
place the responsibility for the fire.
Back Door Was Locked.
The statement that the back door of
the building was locked is made bv
Walter c. Kelley, the editor of the
sporting department of the Cleveland
Leader, two of whose children were
killed.
AS soon as the alarm was given Mrs.
Kelley ran from her home, which is
not far from the school-house, to the
burning building. The front portion of
the structure was a mass of flames
and frenzied by the screams Of the
lighting and dying children which
reached them from the death tran at
the foot of the first flight of stairs
ana behind that closed door. Mrs. Kel-
ley ran to the rear. hoping to effect an
entrance there and save her children
She was Joined by man whose name
Is not known, and the two of them
tugged and pulled franucallv at the
door. They were unable to move if in
the slightest and there was nothing
at mana by which they could hone to
oreak 1t down. In utter despair of
saving any of the children they turned
their attention to the windows and bv
smashing some of these they managed
to save a few of the pupils.
They could have saved MANY
more, said Mr.. Kelley last night. "if
the door had not been locked. Nobody
knows how many of the children
might have made their wsv out he.
fore my wife had reached there If the
door had not been locked If half a
dozen men had been there when nv
Wife and her companion arrived ar the
school house perhaps they might have
broken down the door, but the two
could do nothing and the flames
spread so rapidly that it was all over
in few minutes"
As to CoIIinwood.
The suburb OF Collinwood contains
about 5000 people and within a half
an hour after the outbreak of the fire
nearly every one of them was gather.
ed around the blazing ruins of the
school house. hundreds of parents
fighting frantically with the policemen n
and firemen. who We're busily engaged
In saving the lives of the children
caught i'll the burning building. and
doing their best TO extinguish the fire
Fought to Rescue His Child.
Among these latter was Wallace Tn.
ton. who reached the building shortly
Continued on Page Eight.1