Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-16

treasurer of the United Mine Workers
of America: e. p. Bicknell of Wash
ington, d. c., director of the National
Red Cross and Prof. Graham Taylor
of the state mining investigating COM
mittee.
Late tonight no definite list of the
number of widows and orphans was
obtained.
DR.. Howe, in charge of the relief
work, said that need of food, clothing
and money is great.
Before everything else we will need
food and lots of it. These poor wom-
en- and children will begin to face hun
ger before long and then the situation
will be terrible. Even now there is but
little food in town. The only hotel
here has run short and the stores have
been sold out" said DR.. How. Then
the question Of clothes for women and
children may turn out to be big one.
When you realize that there are 1000
orphans in the town. then the magni-
tude of the situation can be seen. They
will need clothes and need them
badly"
The Knights of Pythias lodge, the
most important organization in Cherry,
had a membership of seventy-five last
week. Today there are only six mem
bers: the rest are in the ill-fated mine,
ellned ueau OF uylnS.
Acts of Heroism
From the miners who were rescued
Saturday II was learned that another
act of heroism was performed by one
Of the men in the shaft below-a man
who is in all probability dead at the
present time. He was Walter Waite.
an assistant foreman in the second
vein.
when 7 got in the elevator the first
time" said Isaac Remulti, one of the
men who was fortunate enough to
reach the surface in the first cage load,
"Waite was standing near He re-
fused to come IN in that load but said
he would stay down and give the oth-
er fellows a chance. I know Mr.. Flood
tried to pull him into the cage, but he
refused to come.
LET me stay where I am he said.
There are n lot of other fellows who
ought to get out of here. Hurry up
that cage and get them. I'll try and
do what I can down here. Maybe 1t
amt as bad as it seems
when ] asked about him after the
second load had come up nobody knew
anything about him. II looked like he
was overcome by smoke and died
down in the shaft He did not have
to. because he could have climbed in
to-"
The mine and civic officials tried
during the early part of the day to
keep secret their preparations for re-
covering the bodies and endeavored to
circulate the idea that no such move
would be made until tomorrow.
Tho crowds comprising most of the
women of the little village were aug
mented constantly by persons from
o
cial trains, in automobiles and by
carriage.
Families Destitute
Mr. Mcdonald said there would be
1000 orphans and 200 widows. Prac-
tically all are destitute. For each
death the State Miners union will pay
$3.50. This organization also will con-
tribute $4,000 for distribution and the
National union will give a like amount.
Whatever other help there is probably
will come from the public funds, 1t is
said.
Almost two-thirds of the men leave
widows" said Mr.. Mcdonald. Each
widow has from three to five children.
l saw one woman here who has nine
children, all less than II years old.
She has not enough ahead to pay for
a weeks provisions. In month from
now the distress of these families Will
be pitiable Whatever the public has
to give should be offered now, so we
can plan ahead to take care of these
poor people for the winter"
Mrs. Fanny Buck, wife of j. F.
Buck, chief clerk of the mine, was OF
great assistance in canvassing among
families of missing men. organizing
a committee of leading women of the
village Mrs. Buck collected most of the
statistics to be used in the apportion-
ment of the relief funds.
There was little discussion of the
catastrophe on the streets. AT one or
two corners early this evening knots
of people, mostly men, gathered. but
their talk was little of the probable
death of their comrades.
In the afternoon children played on
the streets as usual. The one school
of the town has not held a session
since Friday and probably will not
until the end of the week.
Since Saturday night not saloon
has been open. Edwin Perry, secre-
tary-treasurer of the United Mine
Workers, who is here, received today
bv wire from Secretary Frank Nor.
rison of the American Federation OF
Labor the following resolution passed
bv the delegates to the twenty-ninth
annual convention OF the American
Fedora ton of Labor:
"Resolved. that we, delegates in
convention assembled, extend TO the
families and dependents of our former
fellow workers our heartfelt sympathy
and coincidence in the great sorrow
that has overtaken them; that the sec
ratarv be instructed to convey TINS
resolution to the afflicted through the
representatives of the miners orgahl-