Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-07-30
JURY BLAMES SIX
FOR BIG DISASTER
STEAMSHIP OFFICIALS AND FED
ERAL INSPECTORS HELD FOR
CHICAGO CATASTROPHE.

BiaIflS IOT tuS lOSo vi CuS vi
lives by the capsizing of the steamer
Eastland in the Chicago river Satur-
day was placed on six men by the
verdict of the coroner's jury, given
late Wednesday after three days in
vestigations. The men are:
William H. Hull, general manager
of the Chicago-St. Joseph Steamship
company, owner of the Eastland.
Capt. Harry Petersen, OF the East
land.
], M. Erickson, engineer.
Robert Reed, federal inspector of
steamships, who gave the Eastland
license to carry $500 passengers
July 2.
]. C. Eckliff, federal inspector of
steamships.
w. X. Greenbaum, general man
ager Of the Indiana Transportation
company, lessee of the Eastland.
Indictment Recommended.
The jury recommended that these
men be held to a grand jury for in
dictment on charges of manslaughter.
A dozen members of the Eastland's
crew testified before the grand jury,
but added nothing, it is said, to evil
dence adduced by Coroner Peter
Hoffman.
The jury found that the passengers
we're not in any way to blame for the
capsizing of the ship. 1t recommends
further investigation by the coroner
and other officers to determine wheth-
er the men named and others may be
guilty of negligence or of contrib
uting in any way to the canse Of the
disaster.
How many persons lost their lives
in the disaster is still unknown. To
date 831 bodies have been recovered
and all but five identified, but the
Western Electric company has a list
showing 389 still missing. making a
total Of 1920. Whether more may
be found when the Eastland is right
ed cannot be determined for several
days. Wreckers have started the
work of putting the ship on its keel.
but the operation will be difficult, it
was said.
The disaster was the greatest in
the history of the Great Lakes and
happened in the heart of Chicago.
The Eastland, which had just left
its dock on the Chicago river with a
jolly crowd Of excursionists aboard,
turned over inside of five minutes
after it began to list, pouring its pas
sengers into the river, or imprisoning
them in its submerged hull. Every
effort was made by thousands of per-
sons on the river wharf to rescue the
drowning men, women and children,
but many drowned almost within
grasp of the river bank.
Mothers went to death while their
children were snatched to safety.
Other children died in the arms of
their parents, who were finally saved.
Hundreds of girls, freed for day
from their tasks of making tele-
phones and other electrical apparatus
in the factory of the Western Electric
company, dressed in their smartest
white frocks, drowned miserably.
Eastland's Design Faulty.
Marine architects asserted that the
Eastland was faulty in design; that
the top deck had been removed be.
cause of the tendency Of the ship to
list, and also pointed to the possibil.
ity that the ship had been unevenly
or insufIiciently ballasted. The East
land used water ballast, so that il
could pump out some on entering
shallow lake harbors, and investi
gators are working on theory tha
the ballast tanks were not filled, anf
the rushing of passengers to one side
Of the decks caused it to roll over.
The steamer carried 2,400 EN-
ployes of the Western Electric com
pany and their relatives and friends
bound for a pleasure trip across Lake
Michigan. The accident was one o
the greatest marine disasters in his
tory, the loss of life on it being ex
ceeded only by the Titanic.
Investigations to place the respon
sibility were Immediately begun b,
the city, county, state and fedora
authorities while the city was still
plunged in sadness. while various or
CARNATIONS instituted campaigns t
raise relief funds. Funerals of som
zoo victims of the catastrophe wer
held Wednesday, while the whole cit
was in mourning under an otficia
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