The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-05-25
THIRTY LIVES CRUSHED NIT
IN TN|NKL|hG Of An EYE

g. w. L. Young, OF Los Angeles
chairman of the celebration commit
tee, saw the human mass plunge to
death and rushed to the rescue. He
carried out Ave children, who were
not seriously injured.
D. H. Stewart, an officer of the
Long Beach police. was buried under
the pile of struggling humanity ana
escaped with sprained wrist and a
cut lip.
Il don't know how escaped" he
said tonight. People were packed all
around me in the auditorium and
most OF them were suffocated. was
Just shouting to them to come easy
at the doors when the floor gave way
and felt myself falling. In an in
slant | was in the sand and all /
could hear were screams and groans.
Then struggled to see and we
started pulling the women out, pull,
ing, pulling, pulling. but we couldn't
pull fast enough"
Many of the injured were taken to
the Long Beach sanitarium, where,
amid groans of the injured sounded
the glad cries of those who founu
their loved ones alive. Physicians
were at premium. and many arrived
from neighboring cities to help in the
work.
At the Seaside hospital, Mrs. Smith,
hr MI -, L
work, while herself suffering from a
broken arm and wrenched ankles, sus-
tanned In the crash. Mrs. Smith was
buried under the crowd when the
floor collapsed and lay for some time
with .ty.er tfsy.aerztes pess, 49, ,sys,s
her, never expecting to escape alive.
Several picknickers who were max
ing coffee on the sand under the
platform which collapsed.
We're killed outright when the mass
Of humanity came hurtling down up>
on them.
Mr.. and Mrs. Alfred Newbold and
their little son Eric were standing to-
gether when suddenly Mrs. Newbold
saw the people around her begin sink.
Ing She reached for the little fellow
but he was gone with his father When
seen afterwards Mrs. Newbold was
tears. of JOY, TO-, c]apping
his hands and worrying over his los,
cap, was little Eric. his shirt front
stained with blood but only slightly
bruised Newbold was uninjured.
Two Mothers Gone.
Frank p Cheshire, of Los Angeles.
was standing near the entrance 70
the auditorium when he suddenly felt
himself crushed to the floor and saw
his mother disappear in a seethins
human mass. Fifteen minutes later,
trying manfully to compose himself
and answer the questions of those
pressing around him, his voice broke
as he said:
Mother, they have taken her away!
She is gone"' His clothing was soak
ed with blood from his contact with
the dead and injured
Frank Mathews, Jr. of Los Ange,
les, stood over the dead body of his
mother and pleaded piteously with the
bystanders to tell him that she was
not dead His father had been taken
away injured but he had remained at:
his mothers side, hoping against hope
that the body contained the spark OF
life. When he realized the truth, his
first thought was of his sisters at
home to whom the news had to be
broken.
"The scenes that ensued when the
'loors Of the auditorium collapsed
'orm picture in my mind that will
not be erased until my dying day.
said Miles Elliott, CT Long Beach. 81
was standing on the top floor of the
While the crush came
without warning it was not so sudden
rs might have been expected At first
he floor seemed gradually 10 settle
Continued on page 81