New-York tribune., 1922-09-04
Trapped in Bunk House
at Pittsburgh, Car Shop
Strike Breakers Buried
in Ruins; Ten Injured
Arson Suspected;
Two Arrests Made
Six Investigations Start;
Police Disperse Crowd
That Irnpeded Rescue
speciol Dispatch to Tho rrsau,,s


PITTSBURGH, Sept. 8. - Fifty-five
railroad machinists, most of them
brought fere from other cities to take
the places Of striking shopmen, were
caught in trap at s o'clock this morn
Ing, when fire, believed to have been of
ancendiary origin. broke out In the
large building at the Thirty-third
Street shops Of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road, which has been used as car re-
pair shop, commissary and sleeping
quarters for the strike breakers.
Seven are dead, ten are in hospital,
two Of them not expected to live, and
another is missing. His body is be-
iieved to be in the ruins.
While the rescue work was going on
a crowd of several hundred men stood
on a cliff overlooking the building and
hurled stones at the injured and the
rescuers until they were finally driven
away by a squad of police.
N P. Good, chairman of the striking
shopmen in this district, expressed re-
gret tonight over the tragedy, but
said it could not be charged to the
strikers. II understand the shops were
under heavy guard" he said, "and could
not have been reached except by some
one having free access to the yards"
Two men, taken into custody by city
detectives, have been lodged in Central
police station and are detained incom-
municado. No charge has yet been
placed against them. Police officials
refuse to disclose what, if any, evil
dence they have against the pair.
Only One Identified
The identity Of only one of the dead
men has been established. He is ]. s,
Karr, thirty-seven, of Baltimore. He
died in the Columbia Hospital, VIII
kinsburg, this morning from burns,
The bodies of the others who perished
were not removed from the ruins until
this afternoon and they were charred
beyond recognition.
The list of the names of the fifty-five
men who were housed in the building
was in the custody Of the foreman Of
the car repair shops, and he is believed
to have been one of those who per-
ished. Tho list is supposed to have
been burned with him.
The names of the injured, who are In
the Columbia Hospital are:
Ray Clifford, twenty-five, Tulsa, Okla.
James Umter, twentyeight, Pitts
burgh.
James Minorufajuna, twenty-six,
Toxic, Japan.
Aleck Latch, thirty-three. Pittsburgh.
J. Burns, twenty-six, 149 West
Eighty-fourth Street, New York.
Peter Krunk, thirty-three, Pitts
burgh.
John Burns, twenty-six, s2a Green
Street, Philadelphia.
Louis Cantagalio, thirty-three, 613
Eighth Street, Philadelphia.
John Myzlynski, thirty-six, Pitts
burgh.
c: schaeffer, thirty-seven, Highland
Park, Mich.
Six Investigations Started
Six separate investigations-Dep
ment OF Justice, state, county, city,
railroad and district fire marshals--are
uAaSt Woy 4n dA SiOib W QGtCsIllHS
whether the fire was incendiary. All
Of the investigators are proceeding on
the theory that the building was set
on fire by striking shopmen who are
antagonistic to the railroads efforts to
operate it's shops with strike breakers.
From the beginning of the strike the
Pennsylvania Railroad has not been
seriously handicapped by the walkout
and for many weeks has been operat-
ing at nearly normal.
The fire was discovered by negro
cook. He ran to the second floor and
from bed to bed, shouting and shaking
the sleepers to awaken them and warn
them of their peril. Within FIVE min
utes the entire building was a mass Of
flames and the escape of some had al
ready been cut off, They perished
when the floor fell in few minutes
later.
There were many thrilling rescues.
Some Of those who leaped from the
windows were hurt so badly they were
unable to move and police and firemen
dragged them back from the base Of
the burning building to safety. Others
who had been overcome in their quar-
ters were carried out by policemen and
firemen, who donned smoke masks and
(ContInued next Haee)