The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-22
FIREMEN
GIVE Up LIVES FOR
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Score More Injured On
Blue Island Ave.

Funerals are being held today and
tomorrow for the eight firemen,
heroes today to be forgotten tomor-
row, who gave up their lives to the
great god private property Friday
night in the fire which destroyed
Curran Hall, Blue Island avenue.
Quickly after the fatal crash Of
the wall which injured a score and
killed nine, the DAILY WORKER
reporter was on the scene. He saw
over so policemen and as many fire
men, thru force of habit, carrying on
the tradition that their life was moth
ing as compared to the property of
the master class which they protect.
This Cop Sees Thru II.
A police officer, standing with a
stretcher waiting for the next body to
be unearthed from the debris, told
the DAILY WORKER reporter, Il
have been on the police force for
over thirty-two years. 1t is always
the same in any emergency. The
civilian says, Stand back, the fire
men and the policemen are the ones
who are paid to be burned to death
and shot at. Let them do the dirty
work."
And they were doing the dirty work
Friday night. Most Of the firemen
had Just been out to the half million
dollar stock yard fire, risking their
lives so that Armour might still be
called the champion pigsticker of
America. Exhausted and red-eyed,
these men had rushed without rest
or food. to the ancient building on
Blue Island avenue, eight Of them to
answer their last alarm.
The DAILY WORKER reporter
watched the firemen work-bound by
the tradition instilled into these
servants of private property-risking
their lives while three mangled
corpses of their comrades still lay
buried within the debris.
Firemen clambered to the front of
the building where the ruins of the
crumbled wall still swayed menac-
ingly Just above their heads. Bodies
we're brought out headless, crushed
and broken, and sent off to the
morgues in patrol wagons. Moving
picture cameras clicked in the glare
of light rockets, while laborers dug
the pile of marble, bricks and mortar
for more bodies. There's another
one. Get that stretcher," was the
call, and a docile policeman, called
out OF bed to the scene, rushed up
with a stretcher.
"The buildings gone all right.
Over forty thousand dollars worth
of damage" was heard as deputy
sheriffs and firemen and policemen
patrolled back and forth on the side
walk. There was another fire here
last Christmas. That paper box fac
tory was heavily insured. He had a
large stock on hand ready for ship
ment, l understand"
The usual investigations are UNI
der way. The fire fighters union
Chicago, Local No. 2, has donated
one thousand dollars to the widows
and orphans OF the victims. The
space given to the disaster in the
press is already diminishing. In a
few weeks the affair will be all but
forgotten.
Eight fremen have lost their lives
and are gone, but the system which
carries on the tradition that fire
mans life must be sacrificed in the
interests Of private property, remains
TO destroy life again in the future.
Funerals for three Of the eight fire
men burned to death here in the Cur
ran building fire Friday night were
held yesterday. Four OF the others
will be buried today, and the eighth
will be buried wednesday.
William ]. Panzer, chief Of the St
Louis fire department, accompanied
by Charles Rigley, his secretary, and
Michael Fahey, came here to pay their
respects to the memory Of the dead
They visited the homes OF the vic
tins and will remain for the funerals
Blame for the ire has not been
placed as yet. Arson is suspected
and three men are held for investi
cation.