The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-01-21
Awful Scene in Morgue Whers
the Fire Victims Still Lie
Unrecognized
OFFICIALS SEEKING TO DODGE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CALAMITY
Some Men May Yet be Alive in thu
Shaft Beneath the Crib-Fire Started
by Miner Dropping Torch on Stick
of Dynamite.

chicago, Jan. 2l.-The thick grey
mist hanging over the city today lent
the last touch necessary to complete
the gloom Of the scene in the vicinity
OF Murphey's morgue where rest the
bodies of the victims of yesterdays
crib accident. Inside the undertaking
rooms like the granary of some ter
rible Blue Beard" rested forty-seven
sacks, each containing the unrecog-
nlzed body, in many cases only a
torso, of those who met death in the
charnel house in the lake. In the
street a quiet, grief stricken crowd
stood talking softly in groups or
plodding up and down the slippery
walks.
ANY news" was the query always
answered in the negative, as some
wife or mother sought to learn if hus-
band or son had been recognized or
otherwise identified. Unless very per-
sistent, Inquiries were not allowed
within the morgue. The bodies have
no human semblance. all look alike.
and where possible it was desired to
spare friends and relatives the shock
OF gazing on the awful spectacle.
There is no hope of knowing father.
son or brother" said Coroner Hoffman
as he began the work of securing a
jury to visit the scene of the holo-
caust. The lake tug sMorford con.
ttnues its search among the foes for
I the bodies of any who may have been
drowned.
Efforts were resumed at daybreak
today to ascertain whether or not any
Workmen were still living in the shaft,
Shortly after the fire which burned
the temporary crib structure and COM
PEELED the workmen who were not
entrapped in the flames, to jump into
the lake, 1t was discovered that smoke
had descended into the shaft and had
sufocated several men. All the air
pumps were kept working all night
and it was believed that some of the
men would be found in the shaft still
alive. George w. Jackson of the con-
struction company which built the
crib, today informed the coroner it
would be impossible for several days
to give a complete list of the dead.
as it will be impossible to identify
more than few of them.
Officials Dodging.
The responsibility for the accident
is being shifted rapidly from one de-
partment of the public service to an
other.
"The United States engineers office
issued the permit for the erection of
h,St vr,a - -
the building of this kind does not OBJ
struct navigation" said the chief clerk
OF the United States engineers office.
"My department supervised the
work done at the crib to see that it
was carried out in compliance with
the terms of the citys contract. That
was the extent of our Inspection
was the statement Of the city engineer.
''The public works department of
the city is responsible for such struc-
tures," said the deputy building COM
missioner. 1t was specified. in the
contract with the George w. Jackson
company that precautions should be
taken against fire. There was no
specification that the structure be of
STEEL"
1T would be absolutely impossible
for me to erect steel crib for tenn
porary purposes unless it were paid
for by the city," said George w. Jack-
son OF the construction company.
Cause Of the Fire. |
Criminal prosecution of those re-
sponsible for the condition at the crib
is threatened. One theory of the cause
Of the fire disaster is that the fire
started near the west door, where the
dynamite is kept. One man said that
torch fell from the cap of a miner
as he got out of the bucket and
dropped on stick of dynamite lying
on the floor, which frightened the
men so that they became panic strick-
en-. This theory may be the true one,
as not man escaped by the west door
which was cut off by a sheet of fame.
In One Grave.
A meeting of the South Chicago
undertakers was held and it was
agreed to hold single funeral for all
the victims and to bury them in one
big lot with single monument, re-
counting the nature of their fate. A
meeting of the friends and relatives
of the victims was held this afternoon.
Next Friday morning special mass
will be read in all the South Chicago
Catholic churches by order of Arch,
bishop Quigley.
nuUry vx-u, rruNn