The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-07-29
THOUGHT HUNDREDS IN MUD
Announced at the Western Electric
Factory That 500 of Its Employees
Are Known to Have Persisted,
and 17s More Are Missing.


are still imprisoned in the hull, buried
in the mud beneath the vessel, or
lying in the depths of the river. If
this Is so the total dead will reach
1886.
Chicago. July 27.-Unopened prisons
of death now hold about 500 bodies
within the hull of the overturned
steamer Eastland. Coroner Hoffman
estimates that the total mortality list
from the ship catastrophe will reach
$500. Divers and tiremen, both wet
Grams" of the Eastland horror and
fresh volunteers, explored the lower
sections of the great steel tomb, In
which hundreds of bodies still are i'm.
prisoned. ~.
The difficulty of extricating the
greatest number of those presented Sc
rious problems. The Society of Ma
rine Engineers sent a committee to
examine the hulk and determine how
soon 1t can be raised to make the
work of recovering bodies easier A
big wrecking boat arrived from Mil
waukee to aid in this gigantic task.
Wire Cutters at Work.
Wire cutters were called into service
by those working on the partly sub
merged charnel ship. Two firemen,
Andrew Lindqulst and Francis
O'Rourke, entered the ship and then
reported that a great many bodies
were separated from the section of
the cabin already cleared by wire net
ting and wire doors. The men went
back into the ship with wire cutters
and began the task of forcing an OPEN
ing through which to take out bodies.
In addition to the 500 bodies be-
lieved to be in the hold of the ship, 800
bodies have been identified. and there
are Is bodies at the Second Regiment
armOry awaiting Identification. No
confident estimate has yet been made
of the number of dead now in the river.
The Western Electric company, un-
der whose auspices the tragic excur-
sion was arranged. announced that
500 employees Of the company are
known to have persisted and that 178
missing may be alive, but have not
yet reported. The apparent minimum
estimate of loss among Western Elec-
trio employees is TAT. Additional loss
Of life occurred. of course, among 9TH
ers aboard the Eastland who were not
employed by the company.
Two derricks of the Great Lakes &
Dredge company are anchored along
side the steamer. 1t was planned to
dredge out some of the mud between
the keel and the docks and lift the
steamer, slipping pontoons under 1t.
The water then could be pumped out,
engineers said. the wreckage cleared
away and the bodies recovered.
Coroner Blocks DynamIting.
Coroner Hoffman stopped workmen
who were preparing to place dynamite
under the hull to recover bodies. He
ordered that the boat be lifted, but
that no explosives be used, as a de-
struction of the hulk would hamper
efforts to place the blame for the
catastrophe.
Duluth and is expected to reach Chi
cago Thursday or Friday to raise the
steamer. 1t is believed many bodies |
are crushed under the steamer, and J
will be released when 1t is raised. The |
river will be dynamited IL necessary |
to raise the bodies. IT,.
The clearing away of the debris In |
the hold and on the decks was placed |
In the hands Of 200 white wings" of
the street cleaning department
Work to Forget Sorrows.
Ten thousand persons, men, women,
boys and girls, worked in the Western
Electric company's plants In Cicero,
Hawthorne and Morton Park They
went about their usual tasks to keep
their minds off their troubles.
you may work If you choose" was
the word that went out from the man
agement Of the big plants. and rather
than to remain at home with their
they chose to work. Their
pay would have continued whether
they worked or not. e3h 49,
/ - hObiSC was oShL Jul lIOul the OF |
Aces of the Western Electric company
10 all undertakers who have bodies in I,
heir charge that all bills for funeral L
expenses are to be sent direct to the {
Crews of employees were
llso organized and supplied with pock-
cts full OF cash to find families of I
sastland victims who are In immedi-
tie need OF financial assistance. L
1t was announced that the Bell sys-
EN- fund. which protects all the com.
'anies OF the American Telephone and
Telegraph company, and which totals {
iS.S55.O00, will be drawn upon to help I
he sufferers. Families of the victims !
will receive whole years pay, II the !,
upport OF the home was employed BY !
he company for period OF ten years. !,