Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-17

I
" toward demonstrations at the st.
Paul coal mine when bodies of the 300
| men entombed on Saturday are brought
| to the surface.
Sheriff Skoglund of Bureau county,
with authority from States Attorney
| Eckhart, telegraphed to Springfield late
| today asking Governor Deneen to send
several companies of state troops. so
far no violence has been displayed az
a result of the disaster, and States At
torney Eckhart hopes by the presence
of 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 comrades.
I'VE want the troops at once, that's
all there is about it, We will take no
chances" declared the states attorney.
When the bodies will be brought to
the surface is doubtful. None of the
officials believe any Of the 300 entombed
men are alive.
The subterranean fires today were
more intense than when the men were
entrapped three days ago, and no ef-
forts could be. made to enter the mine.
Chicago Fire Chief Arrives
Fire Chief Horan of Chicago has ar
rived with a supply of hose and chem
ical fire extinguishers. The seal over
and 1t was intended to force water and
chemicals down the pipes. A thermom-
eter In the sand on top of the seal
showed a temperature of 10 degrees,
indicating that the heat in the interior
of the mine was intense.
Chief Horan shook his head. IT'S
no use," he said, ito lift the lid today,
as it would mean the whole would
blaze up and there would be no posi-
IT -
The coal deposits would take fire, the
timber supports would crumble, and 1t
is terrible to picture what would hap
pen. Perhaps another shaft would
have to be dug to recover the bodies
of the men,"
In making the rounds of the miners
homes Duncan Mcdonald president or
District No. IL, United Mine Workers,
discovered a baby had arrived at
home which lost a father and a son.
The mother was kept in ignorance of
the disaster
Eighty-six homes visited were, with
the exception of children, without male
members. Only the most frantic of
the women who lost husbands ventured
to visit the shaft and these had to be
taken back almost forcibly.
To Determine Cause of Deaths
Speculation was rife as to the loca-
ton of the bodies in the mine. On this
will be determined the immediate cause
of the mems death-whether 1t was
fire, suffocation by smoke or the fall
ing in of parts of the mine. 1t Is the
opinion of veteran mine workers that
In time of danger a miner will remain
near the hosting shaft until driven to
remoter parts in search of air.
If the bodies are found near the shaft.
it was declared, it will indicate the
men perished by fire. If they are found
in the more distant galleries, suffoca-
ton by smoke or gas is possibly the
cause of death.
The repeated sealing up of the mouth
of the mine, necessary to stop draught
and smother the fire, it is held. was
sufficient to generate enough gas to
kill the men i'm any part of the mine.
The location of the bodies will indi-
cate about when the men died, for the
noxious gases in the mine did not be-
come fatally dense until some time
after the first fire was subdued.
The hundred and fifty pine boxes. in
which are to be buried such of the
bodies as are recognized, arrived today
and were stored near the mine, al
though this was kept from the afflicted
families
, Eight Bodies Buried
urday were held today. Two died While
carrying on rescue work.
The belief was expressed by Mine
Manager Taylor that men in the mine
died soon after the disaster Saturday.
Taylor had repeatedly risked his life
to get into the mine. and yesterday al
most perished when he wandered 200
feet from the main shaft and returned
just in time to see the re-kindled
flames eating their way toward the
cage--his only means of escape.
EVERY man in that mine died on
the day of the fire." said Taylor.
'There is no reason in the world why
anyone should try to arouse false
hopes in the minds of those poor
people.
TESTS showed that the day of the
fire the air current in the mine had
velocity of 800 feet a minute. The
longest gallery in the mine is three
quarters of a mile. The fire in the
mine was intense and the smoke and
poisonous gases known to miners as
white damp whirled to every corner.
No living thing could survive it.
1--WE will do everything possible to
recover the bodies. because we believe
it is essential the poor sufferers should
bury their dead
President Earling of the Chicago
Milwaukee and ST. Paul railroad,
passed the day aiding in the work