Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-21
.OAE FUNERAL FOR ALL
F0rty-Seven Crib Victims to-
Be Buried Together.
CORONER Is INVESTIGATING
Number of Dead Probably Never
Will Be Known.
DIFFICULTY IN FIXING BLAME
sponsibility for Conditions Evaded
by All Authorities-Hope That
Some Live in Tunnel.
DIFFICULTY IN FIXING BLAME
Special Dispatch to The Star.


CHICAGO. January o1-A coroner's IN
vestigation such as Chicago has not wit
messed since the days following the Iro-
quis Theater fire was instituted today.
with the object of fixing the responsible
ity for the wholesale loss of life-the total
may reach siXty-in the burning Of the
Intermediate crib established by the
George w. jackson Tunnel Building Com
pany in Lake Michigan. one and half
miles from the shore. at list street. yes
terday.
With the bodies OF forty-seven men.
who died in the infiammable wooden struc-
ture without chance to escape lying be-
fore him at South Chicago. Coroner
Peter NJ. Hoffman this morning began
impanelins the jury to embark upon an
inquest which probably will last ten DAYS.
Until all evidence has been presented.
the coroner said he would withhold oil
personal opinions respecting the guilt of
individuals or others for a death list
which may be much increased by the time
all the bodies have been recovered from
the grim fortress of smoldering debris or
from the waters of the ice-coated lake.
Dead May Never Be Numbered.
1t is not likely that the exact number Of
dead ever will be known. Contractor
Jackson furnished list of seventy-nine
names as the roll Of the men employed on
the crib That this list is not complete is
obvious
Forty-seven bodies have been recovered
Fortyaight men were rescued by the ting
Morford. 1t is believed at least a dozen
were drowned before the tug reached the
scene.
1t is variously estimated that about 1UO
men, We're in the crib Some survivors
tacf TINA TO of -
is thought that about one-tllird were at
Wofk IN the tunnel, the men worked
IN three shifts. y majority of the re-
malnder We're in hunks ranged about the
wooden walls of the octagonal structure
Taking testimony by the coroner's Jury
VIII not begin until Saturday. The inter
VenlnS time will be spent in finding every
survivor of the disaster and assuring his
attendance at the inquest.
As for the Identification of victims il is
doubtful II even one of the bodies can be
identified as that of any given individual
The best that can be done. in the opin-
ion OF the coroner and the police is to
check up lists of survivors and missing
and in this way arrive at a list of the,
dead.
In almost all instances the heads were
burned from the bodies. Mutilation from
hurnlnS was unSpcakable i'm all cases SO
much SO that canvas sacks We're used tn
contain the shapeless fragments of human
bodies. which We're assorted with all the
SIKH the searchers could muster in their
efforts to determine the number of dead
One Funeral for All.
How To dispose Of the remains of the
forty seven dead bodies already In IL man.
ner satisfactory to the relatives was an
other problem, as important as is the in
quest itself. President jackson of the
contracting company said he would ar
range for all funeral expenses besides
caring for the injured workmen.
1t was deed To bury all the forty-sev-
en- dead bodies on the same day I'm plot
of ground To be purchased by Mr.. jack
son. This funeral procession with its for
ty-seVen hearses. each conveying a body.
attended by hundreds of relatives and
thousands of sympathetic spectators will
be the largest public burial i'm the his
tory of South Chicago, and will be held
Saturday afternoon
The latest Information about the disas-
Ter arouseS much unfayorabl comment on
The methods Of tunnel construction The
wooden temporary crib was nothing more
han fire trap. without lfeboat moor
ed at its walls.
The natural risk was intensified a thou
Sand;old by the fact that the Shanty was
q place, of storage for dynamite Aicn
who escaped ,a.d three tons of explosives
We're within the wooden walls. This is
denied by Nh. Jackson. who declared 800
pounds q days supply. was the gross
The threa tons he declared
~; shore.
Anyway. and by some queer freak of the
dynamite, the freakiest explosive known.
or tie merciful diSpensation of Proyi-
dence. the $40 pounds or the three tons
did not explode 1t simply burned like
so much sawdust soaked with infam-
mabIe tiuid. If il had exploded the sur
face of the lake, unbroken except for
floating bodies and debris. would have
been the only thing to greet the eyes Of
rescuers.
One Explanation of Fire
The fire seemed to be spontaneous.
While officials connected with the investi-
factory theory regarding its origin, q
story which sounded plausible gained
Here ii is:
Bedbugs had infested the structure ami
taken up their habitations i'm the cracks
the pine boards. A negro work.
man, with the idea OF abating the nui-
sance, had secured gasoline and poured
il into the cracks. The gasoline in some
way poss bly, from the red hot stoves
hat warmed the building, became igniteI.
With the result that the whole structure
burst into flames.
Another theory iS that the fire started
near the west door. where the dynamite
Is kept. one man said that a torch fell
from the cap of a miner lie ;,ot cut of
the bucket and dropped on a stick IF
dynamite lying ON the floor. The eNplo-
sive began to burn, frightening the men
50 they became panc-stricken.
Thi:, theory may be true. Not man
escaped by the west door. which was cut
,ff by 4 she ct of flame.
Search for Dead Continued.
CHICAGO. January PA thick mist
hanging over the city today gave the last
ouch necessary to complete the gloom in
lie viinity o. "Murphy's morgue," where
est the bodies of the victims OF yester-