Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1915-07-29

| Coroner Hoffman issued the following
statement to-day:
81 intend to use every effort within my
power to punish every person. directly or
indirectly responsible for this disaster.
None shall escape.
II am ready to cooperate with any Of
| fetal. city, State or national, in fixing
the responsibility for this disaster"
Numerous theories We're advanced to
account for the accident. but evidence
thus far obtained made no single one
more probable than another.
INVESTIGATION IN PROGRESS
one theory given credence 10y many was
that the water ballast had been pumped
out to Tighten the boat and the weight
of the large number of passengers, crowd
ed to one side naturally turned her that
! way.
Another theory was that the boat was
simply overcrowdei, while a third was
that the bow of the boat had become
imbedded in the mud and that when her
engines Were started and she did not
release herself, the boat careened and
! the weight of the passengers carried her
over Faculty construction. alleged by
I
owners and inspectors alike
! Dickersom y. Hoover. who is acting SUI
pervising inspector-genera of the steam
boat inspection service on his arrival
said
'All | am here for is to Impress upon
the local inspectors the grave importance
of thorough investigation. II II is true
| that an inspector is to blame I want to
| L. a.
want To know that There Is no one
more interested in getting at the bottom
of this situation than is the department
at Washington"
: With the assembling to-day Of addi-
tional facts from stories Of witnesses and
survivors details of the catastrophe and
the events Immediately preceding and
following it became more clear More
and more incidents of horror pathos and
heroism came to light.
TRAGEDY CAME IN INSTANT.
, The Eastland. a steel steamer, listed ia
port and turned over in the Chicago
river near the heart Of the business dis.
trct at 7;2o yesterday morning All o,
her passengers save two or three hun
dred who chung to the starboard rail OF
climbed out starbOard portfolios, We're
thrown into the river. crushed into the
Shiny mud of the bottom or imprisoned
between decks. The passengers were en-
ployes or friends of employees of the
Western Electric company bound for a
picnic at Michigan city Ind
Some sudden signs of terror had driven
smiles from gay faces several minutes
before tn" waters swallowed the throne
but generally the women and girls. IN
white summer attire, ana the men and
boys dressed for "A jovia outing were
laughing and shouting farewells when
death swept upon them.
The listing of the boat to port was
noticed some said. fifteen minutes before
she turned over. Captain Petersen said
I'VE minutes. Some women Clutched their
children but decided the slope Of the
deck must be something necessary IN
warpins from the dock, When the fun
realization came, the slow list had Re
come an overturn, Babies, girls boys
women and men, deck gear and furniture
slid into the water in a conglomerate
mass. In 30 minutes the Survivors ha6
been put safely ashore and the fishers
for the dead started the work that was
to continue in long monotony through.
out the day and night.
= ARMORY TURNED INTO MORGUE.
beginning late last night the line OF
bereaved passed through the armory They
came all through the night and all day
to-day Identifications We're made with
great rapidity so that the unidentified
u bodies had tonight dwindled to less thar
= "a hundred
: Tension and repression We're the out
a standing qualities shown in that identih
: cation line. Those who walked In II to
9 day had long since given up hope anC
n steeled themselves for the sight they
sought but dreaded, As fast as identih
cations wcr" made the bodies We're car
ried to long lines of hearses drawn III
Z along the Curtis street side of the ar
mory