Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-01
FIJI TEEN HURT
IN BOAT CRASH
Excursion Boat Grand Repub-
lie CoIlides in Fog With
Ferry Boat
PASSENGERS ARE LANDED
Prov of Excursion Boat is
wrecked Boy Scouts AS
sist Passengers
ARE LANDED

NEW YORK, Aug. 1.-The excur-
sion boat Grand Republic crowded
with 1000 passengers, mostly chill
dren, rammed the Erie ferryboat
Chautauqua, also crowded with pas
sengers, in heavy fog in the Hud-
son river today. Fifteen persons.
passengers on the Grand Republic
bound for Bear Mountain, were hurt.
in panic which followed the crash.
Two women and a boy were hurl-
ed from the top deck of the excur-
sion boat. Another woman with a
baby in her arms was thrown from
the boats deck to the deck of the
ferry boat. All were rescued. In
the tangled mass of beams, chairs,
railings iron and steel which was
once the prov of the Grand Repub-
lie, passengers started stampede
for the stern and safety.
Both captains blamed the fog for
the crash. Both asserted they blew
their whistles and received no an
swer. The Chautauqua vas
within twenty feet of her slip when
the PROV of the Grand Republic
doomed up to starboard and before
either captain could reverse sum-
ciently to get free the crash came.
The excursion boats prov cut
deeply into the glassed side of the
ferry. For thirty feet the entire
side of the ferryboat was ripped
away. The Grand Republics bow
was smashed into twisted, torn
wreckage and from it came shouts
and screams as women and children
fought to get away from the peril.
So fierce was the impact of the
collision that scores of men, women
and children were buried as chairs
crushed to bits and heavy pieces
of wrecked prov fell over where
they had been sitting. Some who es-
capped injury were later hurt when
a concerted rush for the stern began.
Captain Lewis of the Grand Re-
public backed away from the ferry
and took his shouting, screaming
cargo to Pier IT, two blocks down
the river. There police went aboard
and restored order and superinten-
ded removal of the passengers to the
pier.
A temporary hospital was estab-
lished on the pier and many per-
sons who suffered with shattered
nerves were helped there. Although
the police took the names of only
fifteen injured they declared that
more than 100 had been somewhat
hurt.
The panic on the ferryboat was
quickly cooled by deck hands. The
Grand Republic tore into the smok-
ing compartment of the ship which
as it happened was not we'll filled
and no one was actually sitting in
the path of the excursion boat.
The left belts aboard were hand
ed out, however, and some of the
passengers tried to climb the greas-
ed poles which form the ferry slip
as the boat slipped in.
A troop of eighty-five boy scouts
going to Camp on Bear Mountain
was aboard the Grand Republic and
helped in calming the frightened
women and children. They escort
ed Several of the injured women
from deck down to the cabin and
then helped the police get the big
crowd off the ship.
The Grand Republic built in 1878
has figured in several accidents. In
1910 when she was in the Rocka-
way service she made a winning
spectacular run against fierce hre
in her galley from Sea Girt to the
Crescent Yacht Club in Brooklyn.
For the last two years she has
been making special trips to Bear
Mountain.
The Grand Republic is a sister
ship of the i'll fated steamer Gen
eral Slocum which was burned Off
North Brother Island in 1904 and
nearly 1000 persons perished.