Evening star., 1940-03-05
Mine Town Cave-ins
Resume as Faint
Rumb|ings Are Heard
Buildings Sag More;
Residents Take Steps
To Recover Million
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
SHENANDOAH, Pa, March S.
The earths surface sagged anew to-
day in this undermined anthracite
town.
Slowly and automatically, in
scattered sections of a 16-block area,
cracks widened in walls and pave
ments. The slow sinking of homes
and business houses ceased tempo
rarily late yesterday after some
shifted downward as much as 20
inches in the cave-in of old mine
workings deep underground.
Early today some residents of the
cave-in section-most heavily pop
ulated part of this community of
2l000, heard faint rumblings much
like those that sent 1000 fleeing
threatened buildings early yester-
day.
Coal company engineers, State
mine inspectors and a local COM
mittee went into the honeycomb Of
diggings to seek the cause of the
worst cave-ins in the history of
Pennsylvania's great anthracite
fields
Townspeople have said recent
mining in the old workings weak
ened the supports. Coal company
engineers denied that the supports
have been touched.
Warned the subsistence might
continue sporadically for weeks and
V,&ccio1v, v,pt1n fhnir hnyv, &c
slowly sink into the earth, the folk
who know the hard toll of mining
and the peril of cave-in took steps
to recover damages tentatively es-
timated at $l,000.000.
Town Meeting Tonight.
There were many who joked about
an experience not uncommon in the
worlds greatest hard coal fields,
but never before so significant in
scope. But others. householders
mostly, found it difficult to jest.
They were grim and concerned for
the welfare of loved ones as they
awaited town meeting tonight.
Meantime, Gov Arthur H. James
pushed an inquiry into the disturb
ance that took no lives, but played
havoc with property-homes and
business buildings-ruptured gas
mains, buckled streets and impaired
water service.
Chief victims of the subsistence
we're a dozen persons sickened by
escaping gas fumes.
Rushing here from the State Capt.
tol at Harrisburg, Gov. James di-
rected State officials and mine COM
pany experts TO tour today the
honeycomb of mine tunnels beneath
Shenandoah, which is situated on a
mountain slope.
Gov. James remarked that "by
strange coincidence" his attention
was called Sunday night to a petit
ton from 800 Shenandoah residents
asking that the State Bureau of
Mines investigate recent mining
operations in the area.
Reparations in Doubt.
The Governor was unable to say
what property owners could reason
ably expect in the way of repara-
4llC OUdlC Aluso Jul ASdlCOlOll,
he explained, only over mine mat
ters that affect the safety of miners.
National agencies were enlisted to
contribute aid. The American Red
Cross dispatched an Investigator
from Washington, where Senator
Joseph F. Guffey, Pennsylvania
Democrat, announced he had been
promised help from the Bureau of
Mines and the Federal Works
Agency.
While many we're terrified when
the earth started heaving early yes
terday morning, and there were
those who feared it was the mil
lenium, most were quick to under
stand their plight.
damned doors and windows we're
pried open to afford escape from
trembling dwellings. There was a
minimum of hysteria.
The reaction of hard-bitten miners
was summed up in the response of
one to a rescue directors warning:
"Hell-we've been expecting it,
amt we?"