The daily worker., 1924-08-11
CARY SILENT ON
TRAGIC BLAST IN
BIG STEEL Mill
Steel City Officials in
League with Trust
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Continued from page u
agreed that three or more men were
killed in the blast.
The First Story.
The close connection between the
wishes Of the Gary Steel Works and
the policy Of the Post Tribune is seen
in the way the Gary paper handled
the story of the blast. The first ac-
count of the disaster states: zone
man was killed, SEVERAL ARE
MISSING in the explosion which
COMPLETELY WRECKED No.
blast furnace at the Gary Works.
Bricks and steel were hurled all over
the immediate vicinity Of the furnace,
and rescuing parties are now at work
SEARCHING FOR THE BODIES OF
SEVERAL OTHER LABORERS WHO
WERE WORKING IN THAT vICIN-
ITY AT THE TIME OF THE Ex-
PLOSION AND ARE THOT TO
HAVE BEEN BURIED. THE
STRUCTURE WAS COMPLETELY
RUINED"
Second Story.
However, the next days report in
the paper, after the company officials
had time to get their breath, stated,
ut was at first believed that several
other men lost their lives beneath
the mass of brick and steel when the
giant furnace toppled over after it had
been blown to bits by gas; however,
DESPITE RUMORS THAT OTHER
BODIES HAD BEEN FOUND, off,
cials said today they were practically
certain that only one man lost his
life."
Workmen want to know what hap
pened to the crew when the giant
furnace toppled over after it had been
blown to bits"
Coroner Angry.
Coroner E. e. Evans told the
DAILY WORKER he has set no date
for the inquest. When he was asked,
when will you hold the inquest over
the body of the man killed in the
blast explosion" he asked, (which
man do you mean?" (which other
man was killed besides Walter Ny
strom?" he was asked and replied
GROSSLY, mo one else" He admitted,
however, that he will be forced to in
quire into whether there were other
deaths. The inquiry will be farce
however, as the city officials, the
newspapers and the doctors have
combined to shield the discovery of
the extent of the disaster from the
steel workers.
The reporter handling the story of
the disaster for the Post Tribune ad-
mitted that he was not at all sure as
to whether or not more than one man
was killed. 1.-THE company announces
that only one was killed." he added,
"and we can do nothing but take
their word for it."
BY an ironic coincidence, at the
very moment when the DAILY
WORKER reporter entered the city
hall, the chief Of police and ]. Harris.
brother Of the city editor of the Post
Tribune, had their heads together
over a DAILY WORKER and Work
ers Party anti-war leaflet which party
members in Gary had been distribut-
ing from house to house. The police
chief was threatening to arrest the
distributors Of the leaflets, but he in
dignantly refused to reveal any in
formation which might get the Gary
Steel Mills in bad"
A. v. Martin, secretary to r. w.
Atchison, the superintendent Of the
blast furnaces, while he hotly denied
that more than one man was killed
in the blast, absolutely refused to al
low the DAILY WORKER reporter to
view the ruins caused by the explos.
ion. Just as the DAILY WORKER
reporter came out of Martins office,
Polish steel worker came from the
mill gates with his hands cut to
pieces and his face mass of wounds.
the blood dripping to the ground. He
was curtly directed to the hospital,
by the guard, who turned to the
DAILY WORKER reporter and re-
marked, THAT a common occurrence
here. We don't think anything Of it,"
1t was stated by Coroner Evans
secretary that, $50 many workers get
mangled and killed in the steel mills
that it is hard to keep track OF them.
don't believe they'll ever find some
Of the bodies" She declared Ny
strom's body was so torn to pieces
that no one was allowed to view the
remains at the funeral.
The steel mills in Gary. which be-
long to the United States Steel Cor
poration of which Elebrt II. Gary Is