The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-03
Austin Demands That Torch
Shall Not Be Put to Flood
Swept Ruins.
WORK OF RESCUE is SLOW
No One Can Foretell Result il
Flames Are Resorted To for
Sake of Living.

Austin. Pa. October 2,-Twenty-f ou,
known dead. aighty-s six missing, and
believed to be buried. beneath the debris
is the official census tonight of Aus
tin's loss OF life IN tho flood OF Satur-
day. 1t Is conceded, however, that sew
eral, II not many, visitors and stran-
gers were in town that day and un-
doubtedly perished. Including them
and allowing for inevitable errors In
compilation, the total OF dead probably
Will reach $50. Twenty-one OF the
twenty four bodies recovered have been
Identified. and III the missing hope is
entertained that some may yet be ac-
counted for.
The problem for Austin tonight is to
recover her dead from the thousands
OF tons OF debris choking the narrow
valley. To do so before 1t becomes
necessary to burn the ruins and save
the living from an epidemic, an army OF
laborers must reach the town within
the next thirty-slN hours. officials say
Otherwise the torch may transform the
wreckage into the pyre of most OF
those who havo persisted.
PIen for workmen.
The single line OF wire between Aus
tin and the outside world carried an
urgent plea for workmen to the Mayors
of Buffalo. Pittsburg and Philadelphia
Samuel G. Dixon, State Commissioners
of Health. supreme in command at Aus
tin. wired each of the Mayors:
We are in need of laborers to assist
in rescue work. Desire about 400 sent
in bunk train. Please advise us what
YOU can do. Work consists Of recover
ing dead bodies from ruins. Please
telegraph what assistance you can rem
der
Encouraging responses are hoped for
early tomorrow.
Give us our dead" Is Austins cry,
voiced by State Senator Baldwin, who
lost father, mother. sister and Other
relatives. Only the body of his father
1onh H. Baldwin. had been received to.
night. The others are locked In the
ruins.
speak for the people Of Austin
ne said. The State of Pennsylvania
owes US the Bodies of our loved ones
FOR forty eight hours they have been
In the ruins. How much longer will
the Commonwealth leave them there.
The State should have thousand men
working here now"
The nlne-m!le railroad leading here
from Keatins's Summit was given over
to-day to rescue and relief work
Locked cars pulled out of the Summit
80 lhe scene CT the disaster. When
they reached here the workers de.
framed; the drones. kept aboard. werc
sent back. Every man on Austin.
streets except newspaper men was con-
scripted for service. but despite the ef-
forts OF the authorities only $50 were
working at sunset. Smoldering flames
In the debris burst forth anew in the
wreckase this afternoon, but IL is not
believed that any bodies were burned
austin stands to man against the
sugSestion that 1t may be NECESSARY
10 put the torch to her ruins. Feeling
runs nigh. and should the health a,,
t thhorities be forced to this extremity
tnere Is no foretelling the result. Penn.
savanna state constabulary holds the
town in it5 grasp tonight however
and the troopers Will rcrsin here i,ntii
to go. "ofu
Offers No Shelter.
The floodswept valley offers no sha,-
ter tor the laborers expected here to-
morrow. and unless they come in hum,
cars they cannot be cared for. EIeht
homeless men slept last night on me
moor OF a house spared by the waters:
two women and Ave children. ali
refugees. slept in the room above thorn
while the household OF ave hud5Ied
into the two remaining rooms This
Us hut typical of. conditions everywhere
In the food zone Food and clothin q
reached Austin in carload lots to-day,
Continued ON Third Pago.l :