The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-17
TROOPS CALLED
TO GUARD Mine
Preserve Order Among
Bereaved Foreigners.
NO HOPE FOR LIFE REMAINS
Rieting Feared When Bodies Are
Recovered.
Flames Continue Unchecked Throush
Sealed shaft and WORK Of Rescue
Il Again Retarded - sherin
Asks Gevernor to send
TrosDs to Scene.
NO HOPE FOR LIFE REMAINS

9 Cherry. ILL.,, Nov. 1s.--rroops have
been called to prevent any untoward
demonstration at the St. Paul coal mine
when the bodies OF the 500 men, en-
tombed by last Saturdays disaster are
brought to the surface.
Sheriff Skoglund Of Bureau county
with authority from states Attorney
Eclxhart. autographed to Springfield,
late today asking Governor Deneen to
send several companies of state mill
TIA.
So far there has been no violence dis
played as a result OF the disaster. and
states Attorney Eckhart hopes by the
presence Of q small guard to prevent
any ill-advised move on the part Of the
miners whose feelings have been
wrought up BY the loss OF their COM
rades
1--WE want the troops at once; that
Is all there IL about It. We will take
no chances" declared the states att
torney
When the bodies viii be brought to
the surface Is doubtful. None Of the
officials believe any OF the 800 en-
tombed men are alive.
Fire In Mine Intense.
Fire In the mine today was even
more intense than IL was when the
men were entrapped three days ago
and no efforts could be made TO enter
II.
Fire Chief Koran, OF Chicago. arriv-
ed with assistance and supply Of hose
and chemical fire extinguisher sup
plies. The lid. or seal. over the mouth
OF the shaft was perforated and 1t was
intended to send water and chemicals
.rst. s.f~
plunged into the sand scattered on the
top OF the seal showed temperature
of ITO degrees. indicating that the heat
In the interior OF the mine must have
been intense. Chief Koran inspected
the conditions and shook his head.
TITS no uses he said. "To lift the It'd
today would mean that the whole miEe
would blaze up and there would be no
possibility q rescuipg even the bod
I aess The coal deposlts wqnld take
fires the timber SUPPORTS would crum-
Bile In and ftsis terrible to picture what
would happen. Perhaps another shaft
would have TO be dug to recover the
remains OF the men"
George s. Rice OF Pittsburg. chief
Of the field workers OF the United
States geological survey, also was pesi-
tive that the re-entering OF the mine
would have 70 be postponed
Stories OF distress continue to pour
in. In making the rounds OF the min
ers homes, Duncan Mcdonald. presi-
dent OF the district IL. United Mine
workers. discovered that a new baby
has arrived at home which lost a
father and q son. The mother was
kept In ignorance OF the dtasaster.
Only six OF the homes were visited. and
with the exception OF male children.
were without male members
Bereaved Women Frantic.
Only the most frantic OF the women
who lost husbands ventured to visit
the shaft and these crying for lost
ones. had to be almost forcibly taken
away. 1t was q scene Of desolation.
Frequently a pun OF smoke issued from
q crevice In the cover OF the shaft.
This was taken as an evidence OF the
nre raging within. Outdoors, the
mourners experienced intense cold. an
icy wind sweeping over the prairies.
Speculation was rife as to the loca-
ton of the bodies in the mine. Upon
this will be determined the immediate
cause of the mems death whether Il
was FIRE, suffocation by smoke or the
falling of parts of the mine. II the
bodies are found near the shaft 1t was
declared 1t win indicate the men per-
fshed by hre. II they are found In the
suffocation by smoke or gas. The To-
cation of the bodies will indicate about
when the men died, for the numerous
gases in the mine did not become ia
tally dense until some time after the
arst fire was considerably subdued.
One hundred and fifty pine boxes in
which are to be buried such OF the
bodies as are recovered arrived today
and were stored near the mine, al
though the fact of their presence was
carefully kept from the afflicted lam
lies. Funerals of eight of the miners
who were killed Saturday were held
today.
The belief was expressed today by
Mine Manager Taylor. that the men
in the mine were dead soon after the
disaster on Saturday.
FIirta With Danger.
Taylor has repeatedly risked his life
TO get into the mine and yesterday
was all but sacrificed when he wan
dered two hundred feet from the main
shaft and returned just In time to see
the kindled flames eating their way
toward the cage in which was MS on
ly means OF escape.
every man in that mine was put to
sleep on the day OF the Are" said Mr..
TAYLOR. There Is no reason In the
world why any one should try to
arouse false hopes in the minds Of
these poor people.
THE tests in this mine showed that
on the day of this fire the air current
In the mine had a velocity OF 600 feet
a minute. The longest gallery In the
mine is three quarters of a mile. The
Are in the mine was intense and the
smoke and poisonous gases known to
the miners as white damp were whirl-
ed to every corner of the mine. No
living thing could escape 1t. To argue
that pockets might be found in which
the gas did not penetrate Is folly.
Enough Less Of Life.
But we all have done everything In
human power to get into the mine tc
allay the anxiety of the people. This
work of exploration has been dang
erous business. We don't want to lose
any more lives. God knows we already
have lost too many"
Yesterday l thought / was gone.
had been feeling about the second weir
for two hundred and fifty feet from
the shaft. breathing the oxygen in the
apparatus on my back and on my re-
turn toward the cage. I discovered the
flames. / staggered Just as / discov-
cred the renewed are. could see Il
near the cage and my first thought
Uas, that the cage WAS stuck owing 70