The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-26
EastIand Was Known by All Sailors to be a
Cranky Boat, But Government Inspect
ors Permitted it to Pass Muster.
The WATER BALLAST AS EQUIPMENT
Federal Steamboat inspection Service Needs
Searchlight Upon Itself Instead of Being
Turned Upon Sunken Steamer.

runited Press Leased Wire service.l
CHICAGO, July 26.-While stream
.rs Of crepe fluttered Imply in spray
6led breeze against the doors of
more than half the homes in Cicero
and Hawthorne, the sections whence
came almost all Of those whose "holi-
day was turned into doomsday" by
the oyerturning of the Eastland, off,
cial and citizen Chicago turned today
to fnd the answer whom is to
hlame?'
And again today the extreme pity of
the latest tragedy was forced upon
one 5y the fact that those pieces Of
crepe we're mostly white or black
With ribbon of white about them.
testffying mutely that the death har-
vest was reaped chiefly from among
those of tender age.
Even today searchers after the an
svsr to whom Is to blame? were
ignorant Of tha exact toll taken by
what was admit.Slly badly balanced
boat. The number who died was still
spoken. OF in round numbers. 1t may
reach a total, some offcials still in
sisted today, OF 1900. 1t may be as
low as 1000 At o'clock this morn
ing the latest estimate was given by
Deputy Police superintendent Schuet-
tier and Coroner Hoffman as 1,200 to
1900. At that hour 816 bodies had
been recovered. The identified dead
numbered 1856. OF these 730 had been
embalmed and were awaiting burial
In the grief stricken homes. or the
twenty-five bodies still at the Armory,
fifteen were known merely by num-
bers late this morning. Sixty-five ad-
ditional bodies were at other mor@ues.
officials called attention to the rapid
ity with which identifications were
made In the face Of so many dead. 1t
was one Of the mercies accorded in
the catastrophe that scarcely a body
50 far recovered was treated with the
cruelty OF mangling that FIRE or wreck
displays towards It's victims.
Divers and dredgers resumed their
gruesome hunt for bodies at 1880 this
morning At that time efforts started
Z to raise the Eastland hull which show
ed fiat and round against the dock.
The crlx OF the two chief questions
Of where lay the blame and how many
lost their lives conferred on the single
issue OF how many we're on board the
Eastland.
Officials of the Indiana Transporta-
.ion company. which chartered the
noat from the st. Joseph Chicago
steamship company and was in charge
OF the excursion for the Western Elec-
.ric company. reiterated today that the
noat's capacity of 2,4S0 which includ-
ed crew of 70, was not exceeded.
Working on these figures as basis,
recovery of S1S bodies would leave
TOTAL OF l ,264 to be accounted for. The
number saved is given by some as
avoo, perhaps more. This would leave
sof missing or unaccounted for. max
1880.
Andrew Furuseth, president of the
{. International Seamen's Union Of
america, said today:
=, NO passenger boat Is safe boat
/, una. VIII not stand up without water
paliast and with its maximum load Of
,yassengers all on one side. Water bal
am ,ase IS not used as a safety device at
al or should not be, II the lake boats
are properly inspected.
water ballast is used only and
hay msrely for trimming purposes-for
~ siping to keep an even keel. SO as
~ reduce friction. make speed and
reduce the cost of fuel.
All seaman knew that the Eastland
as cranky ship. That was her
w putation. That meant that she was
10 To-. carrying the proper solid ballast.
tbon y sue mad been properly weighted
hau all the passengers on her could
ens stood on one side of the ship
ano 1t would not have turned her
t,el ti0a The federal steamboat inspec-
d;..aVice service Is again at fault for this
hnttser, has.er; Investigate 1t from top to
Iasa 'oe A, olander, secretary Of the
vsin, Seamen's Union, who has been
gnvar. trying for years to have the
II. Ihent clean out and clean up