The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-27
Chicago RURYING


(continued From First Page.1
Pennsylvania, He will assist In the
taking OF testimony. Eugene L.
Chamberlain. commissioner OF naviga-
ton Of the Commerce Department,
may also come to Chicago.
VIII BE No Whitewashing.
There will be no withdrawing in
this inquiry" said a Federal official.
President Wilson Is at the helm IN
personal and particular way. The
President has demanded the facts and
he Is getting them"
Solicitor Thurman is bringing with
him to Chicago the only protest ever
filed with the department against the
steamer Eastland. 1t was made In
1905 by George J. Schmitt. when the
Eastland was running between Chicago
and South Haven.
Following an interview with Presi-
dent Wilson by telephone, Attorney
General Gregory today communicated
by long distance with District At
torney C. r. Clyne. and with Act
ing Supervising 1nspector-General OF
steamships Dickerson N. Hoover. Tne
long distance conference is said to
have lasted twenty-three minutes.
Immediately after talking with the
washin gton authorities Mr.. Clyne call
ed a conference in his ONCE In rne
Federal building, both Ira b. Mans
field and William Nicholas. local In
spectors being summoned.
For more than an hour Inspector
Mansfield was excluded from the con-
ference after both inspectors had been
questioned.
Grand Jury Takes Hand.
Late in the afternoon the July grad
fury under Foreman George A.
Hughes visited the wreck of the East
land and made a thorough inspection
OF the hull. The jury seemed par
ticularly impressed with the fact that
bow and stern lines which had moor.
ed the craft to its wharf were still
attached.
There is nothing that the grand
fury can say at this stage" said Mr..
Hughes. I'VE are just looking around
and getting our bearings"
Empty ballast tanks below, and
oyercrowded decks above. was
tersc summary made to explain
the Eastland catastrophe by local
public officials. Others familiar
with the operation and constr'lc-
ton of the boat declared she
previously had carried more pas
sengers than were aboard Satur-
day, and that lack of ballast In
cause OF the capsizing.
Somebody Is Responsible.
I'VE are going into the question OF
overcrowding and the lack of ballast"
said States Attorney Hoyne. Grim
inal responsibility can be placed on
somebody If more passengers were
taken on the boat than the papers
! permit certain individuals must be re-
sponsibie. II fae boat was not in
shape to receive passengers other In,
dividuals are responsible for that.
From the stories which have come
to this office 1t seems possible that
| both conditions prevailed"
Eight more members of the
crew OF the Eastland were taken
into custody today. making Atty
two of the seventy officers and
men now under arrest. They
were taken to the States at
torney's Office and caused to make
statements concerning the wreck
and then taken to the Fillmore
Street policc station, and locked
/ up
| The States attorney Is conducting
his investigation in cooperation with
Coroner Hoffman. The Federal grand
| Jury called by Judge lands will con-
vene Thursday.
County and city officials estimate
| that 1t will be at least ten days before
the doomed craft can be righted and
! fioated. Acting Mayor Moorehouse. ac-
! companied by Lieutenant Colonel W.
". Judson. engineer corps. u s. S.. city
I engineers. representatives of owners
/ OF the boat and other city officials
held a conference this afternoon and
went into the matter In detail. Coro-
ner Hoffman expressed the belief that
| all of the bodies would be recovered
from the interior of the boat by to-
morrow night. and he said he then
would give an official release" on the
craft Mechanical arrangements have
already been made to raise the boat
/ by the owners. II was stated.
| Cfcero's Pail of Death.
| Out on the far West Side the pail
of mourning that shrouds Chicago
deepens to it's darkest over the COM
munity about Cicero. Here in the
territory which surrounds the plant OF
| the Western Electric Company fell the
| heaviest blow when the crowded East
I land toppled over. The territory tn
! cludes Hawthorne, where the toll was
| highest: Morton Park, Mountain Park.
iGrantworks and Clyde And in every