The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-27
Falls Across Coffin OF SWeetheart.

Picked up by a fireman on the eighth
floor blackered hand still clenched a
pi,ful purse in its grasp. They pried ihe
fingers away and released the bag, II
contained a small sum Of money, Keys
and receipt made out to a. >. Clmmella.
Young mar found his sweetheart burned
and blackened and fell across the coffin
In faint
sobbing women became SO hysjerical
that an lmprovised hospital ward was ht-
Ted IN on the pier, manned by nurses
from Bellevue hospital. lIysteria ran riot
and nurses were busy tending those who
collapsed.
All day there rumbled steady stream
OF dead wagons along the approach 10
the pier taking away those that had been
claimed. The air went stale with an odor
OF burnt flesh and for time the pier was
cleared. During the brief recess heavy
eyed attendants rearranced the baskets
of personal effects belonging 10 the vic
Tins. There were more than $500 in
cash in the pockets and purses OF the
dead. One woman had $500 In her stock
ing,
Hospitals Besieged.
Hospital doors were stormed by hun
dreds during the day and night: A cut
ter whose sister worked few feet away
from him in the doomed factory, inquired
for her every half hour at ST, Vincent s
hospital. She died between his visits
and he became so violent the police had
to restrain him He and she had planned
10 welcome their aged parents from Rus
sia to the new world this week. The
parents are on the sea now.
A woman and girl. who lay dying
side by side. whispered to sympa thetiC
nurses their stories OF the disaster, rush
ing their words In rapid stream. as
though fearful that death would check
the recital. The girl died murmurng
her sruesome tale: the woman fingered.
became delirious and begged the nurses
TO release her
she moaned as she sank back into a
troubled sleep which the surgeons said
would be her last.
The coroner ana the grand jury began
bers died in the burned building. They
touched shoulders with the district at
torney's men. building department
agents. Fire Chief Crockcr. Fire Commits
s!oner Waldo and their helpers.
There will be n thorough inquiry and
a fixing of the blame. # blame there be-
and II can be fixed.
Someone Criminally Liable.
Said District Attorney Whitman:
III what Fire Chief Croker tells me
is correct. then someone Is criminally
liable and whoever IL is. whether It be
one or q dozen. shall be prosecuted.
mover saw anything more horrible in
There are many buildings in this city
In which even worse conditions prevail,
declared Commissioner Waldo. "On this
building there was only one outside iron
balcony fire escape with the treads eiSh-
teen inches wide, and so constructed that
persons entering on the fire escapes by
windows would have to close the iron
shutters before they could escape. There
were two enclosed ireproof stairs. only
sufficiently wide for one person TO de-
sccnd at n time, and with winding steps
at the turns. Entrances TO the stairs
were blocked by partitions. From indi-
cations. gates and doors appear TO
have been locked at the time of the
fire"
The building itself. said Commissioner
Waldo. seemed TO comply with the law
governing the erection OF fireproof struc-
lures. The owner of the building j. j.
Asch Of South Norwalk. Conn. appar-
entity had observed the regulations OF
the building department. he said