The Detroit times. [volume], January 22, 1909, FIRST EDITION, Image 10

About The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920

Image provided by: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

                
The Truth No Matter
Wbom It Helps or Hurts.
Extra! A Bedbug
Explodes! Many
Lives Are Lost
Qot Too Near the Stove After a
Swim in Gasoline and Caused
the Chicago Fire Crib Horror
—That’s One Theory.
has nothing in the cupboard to feed her children whom this disaster
has left fatherless and hungry.
The crib in which all but 20 of these men were asleep when the
alarm of fire was sounded was a temporary affair of wood and a
veritable ore trap.
The crib stands in Lake Michigan, a mile and a half from shore,
just half way of the length of a tunnel which is under construction
and which is to be used in connection with Chicago’s water supply.
The tunnel work is being done by a private contractor.
A quantity of dynamite was stored in the crib, and whether this
exploded and set fire to the crib or whether the crib caught on fire
and caused an explosion of the dynamite has not yet been deter
mined.
Os course there will be an investigation and an effort will be
made to fix the responsibility so that these widows with hungry
children will know who to sue.
■ There isn’t much likelihood, however, of anything being offered
them unless they do sue and divide with lawyers, judging from the
progress that has been made so far in fixing the responsibility.
The United States engineers’ office is not responsible, according
to the chief clerk, who says:
The United States engineers’ office issued a permit for the erection of
the crib, bat we merely see to It that buildings of this kind do not obstruct
navigation.
The city engineer denies responsibility as follows:
My department supervises the work done at the crib to see that it was
carried out In compliance with the terms of the city's contract. That was
the extent of our inspection.
The building commissioner exonerates his department in these
words:
The building department sent no inspectors to the intermediate crib be
cause it has no jurisdiction over buildings erected in the lake, or If It has
Mich jurisdiction 1 nevar heard of It.
The chief of the fire department claims exemption like this:
It is not the duty of the fire department to Inspect structures such as the
Intermediate crib. In this case we never were called on by the building de
partment to do so.
The deputy building commissioner shifts the blame to the public
works department, saying:
The public work* department of the city Is responsible for euch a etruc
ture. It wae epecifled In the contract with George W. Jackaon, of the con
struction company, that precautions should be taken against fire. There wae
no specification that the structure be of steel.
And the contractor excuses himself in this manner:
> It would be absolutely Impossible for me to erect a steel crib for tem
porary purposes unless It were paid for by the city. If the city had been
willing to pay for a steel crib I certainly would have had no objections to
erecting It
In the absence of no one being to blame from whom damages
could be collected or who could be sent to jail, a theory haa been
advanced that it was bed bugs who were to blame.
It is claimed that gasoline put into the cracks of the floor to
exterminate the bugs was possibly carried by them too near the hot
stove in the crib.
The coroner’s jury may possibly, therefore, blame the bed bugs.
No one else appears to have been in any way responsible.
ALTHOUGH:
There was little Are apparatus on hand:
The fire extinguishers proved useless;
Through the careless handling of dynamite explosions had been
narrowly averted on many occasions;
The building was thrown together in shabby fashion;
Blasts in the tunnel rocked and swayed the crib as though it
were a piece of paper;
The only method of escape in case of fire was an aerial tram
way which would carry but a few persons at a time and was slow
In operation.
When resorted to the tramway wouldn’t work.
NO ONE TO BLAME, BUT EVERYBODY WILL SYMPA
THIZE WITH THE WIDOWS.
SINCE the accident and SINCE the morgues of Chicago are
crowded, it has been suggested that it would not have been a bad
idea if the crib in which these men were caught like rats in a trap
hid been built of some material other than wood.
Steel or even brick for the purpose would no doubt have been
the means of saving many lives.
Remembering that the crib was built of wood and that it was
•ure to burn to the water s edge, many of the men lost their heads
and jumped into the icy water, whereas had the building afforded
better proof against the flames they might have waited for the tug
Which came and took a number to shore.
Suggestions for protecting the lives of men engaged in such
hazardous pursuits are found though, as in this case, to have been
made SINCE the accident—never BEFORE.
The work must go on, and perhaps the next crib WILL be of
steel.
Perhaps, too, it will have been suggested that dynamite lying
around where there are men at work is DANGEROUS.
If, then, this latest tragedy costing the lives of so many work
ingmen, together with that ot recent date in a West Virginia coal
mine, shall have the effect of impressing the lawmaking bodies now
sitting the country over with the fact that too little consideration is
given to the lives of the men who have to risk them for a living,
these 70 muckers will not have died in vain.
j mm 6i mt people, j
g I, i -*-■ •«•«••••■• »••••••
" Would Hava Mr*. Andrea Act.
To the Editor of The Time*.
in your paper ts Tuesday evening
I notice Blahop Williams. in an ad
dress before his church club, up* ik.j
Os the great wed r.f a woman proba
lion officer'for our Juvenile court. I
.heartily agree with him, ami instantly
the thought came in my tnlnd who
could better fill auch a pla< e than our
Mr*. Annie I„ Andrus? A wide-awake,
bright tdttun, of entmre and reftno
ment> of laige acquaintance in our
city, and Interested in every point
which tends to the her ferment there
of, sympathetic and charitable to \
marked degree, young girl offender*
' would find In her a careful, Just and
warm-hew Me<| friend Wqr women do
•o want to help make the world bet-
According to the latest report
at least 70 men lost their lives in
the Chicago crib fire disaster.
The majority of these men were
married and engaged in earning
a living for themselves, wives
and children.
Consequently, in many a Chi
cago home today there is a grief
stricken, widowed mother, but
worse than that, a mother who
ter. If the men will only give us a
chan e.
iMKsv Kate .\1 LAW HENCE. Fresh
Supt., W. C. T. U J
Letrolt, Jan. 21, U*uy.'
And None the Other Way.
The woman opiated to suffrage for J
her s r\ explained thut she preferred
a husband to a vote.
"IVrliaps | would, t«K>." replied th<
agitatoi for the cans* "Hut 1 have a
fighting t haneu tor the vote —Phila
delphia Ledger
What He Meant.
"What do you mean by staring at
* my pnrtnrr so?"
"Your partner happens to be my
wife —that is my only excuse"- File
gende Hlatter
Agreed.
"You were crax.v to marry me,"
boasted she
"I realise that now," he admitted.—
Washington Herald.
Editorial Page of the Detroit Times
f* \/'AK SPEAKER, WHO.DBR6S >
|#> |T<?CA5 t ASPARAGUSOnAt’y
Perplexity.
Mike (ae someone knock* —Sure!.
If oi don't answer, ut's some wan t'
give me a Job, an’ If 01 do. It's the
lan’lord afther the rint." —Life.
• • •
A Shock That Might be Fatal.
"Doctor." said the convalescent,
smiling weakly, ♦.‘‘you may tend In
t your bill any day now.”
"Tut! tut!" replied the M. D., si
lenclng hia patient with a wave of
hla hand. "You’re not strong enough
yet."—Leslie's Weekly.
• • •
Pretty Slow.
Horace L. Moore was lieutenant col
onel of the noted Nineteenth Kansas
Cavalry. He could lead men for a
lorjger period without rest, on a single
ration of cheerful good humor, than
any other officer. Though not given
I to Jokes, he was the reputed author
of as many artonishers as the great
Lincoln
One time, on the march, he sent an
orderly with a message to an officer
at some distance Before the man
was out of hearing. Moore shouted:
"Hey orderly! Come back here?"
He came galloping back, sitting
limply in the saddle.
Moore dropped his voice, and as
suming a half confidential manner in
quired: "Orderly, in the course of
your life have you ever seen a snail? '
"Yes, sir,", was the astonished re
ply.
"You met him. then." replied Moore,
"for you'd never overtake one!" —Kan-
sas City Journal.
• • •
Sidelights on Immortals.
At a meeting of the French academy
a short time ago the "Immortals” had
I assembled and were conversing In
formally on the subject of the elec
! tion of anew member w hen a well
No game today; rain.
• • •
jarnen J. Hill say* the farmers are well off He means probably that
thev are well off and don't know It.
• • •
Thirty-two thousand New York teamsters are prepared to strike the
instant they get the official "whoa.
That house appropriation for a $12,000 automobile for Taft apparently
•should have'carried an extra wheel. It has been punctured In the senate.
• ■ •
The oldest mall carrier In the country lives in Springfield. Ohio. He Is
91 years and Is said to be still able to read the finest writing on a postal
card. ...
It wouldn't make so much difference to the Inaugural parade If Gov.
Warner didn't happen to be In it. From the condition of the state treasury
Michigan had better wait and get In line when somebody sets on foot another
Coxey'* army.
FT - r— —If 1 whatN _
—.. \ w .. Q Ido you h now \ • Q „
' * y P ~Et^
W HO DARES CAST ASPARAGUS?
Here’s a Smile for You
From Another Point of Vie\r
known writer entered the room He
greeted his colleagues, who smiled
broadly upon hun Presently the
smiles became laughter and It dawned
upon the writer that something about
him was the cause of the hilarity.
Good natured explanations followed,
and then, stroking his left cheek, the
late arrival said: ‘i fancy you are
right. I had not finished shaving when
l thought of the election here today
and rushed away, with the work un
done.”
"Don't worry,” said one of bis
friends "Remember Pasteur, who
condoled with a woman who had just
lost her husband, and thinking for
the moment that it was the son who
died said: You are the more to be
pitied because he was your only one.'
—Chicago News.
• • •
Failure of College Education.
"Well," observed Old Man Potts.
"I've spent a heap of money on my
boy Bill s education, more u nine hun
dred dollars jest to see him through
Yale. And I ain’t through yet. It
shorely makes me sore to think of
the money I'm wastin’ on a hoy who
ain’t got as much sense now as he
had before he went to college."
"What's the matter, father?” aJked
Mrs Potts. "Mebbe you’re a little hard
on Bill."
"No, I aifi't, Mary." answered the
old mau. ".lest to show you-—a little
while avo I says to him I thinks It
was going to tain tomorrow What
fool answer d'ye suppose he made to
me?"
"I’m sure I don’t know, father ”
"He begged my pardon:”—Harper’s
Weekly.
Briquets of compressed calcium car
hide. which the maker avers will keep
indefinitely, are a recent Invention In
Vienna
cA Chip of the Old Block
TODAY S BEST STORY.
A minister who had a somewhat
parsimonious congregation once in
duced the Rev. Sam Jones, uh eccen
tric lecturer and evangelist, to come
aud preach for him.
Just before the sermon was to be
gin the usual collection was taken up,
and found to consist mostly of nick
els and pennies, together with a lib
: eral sprinkling of buttons.
The Rev. Sam gluneed contemptu
ously at the baskets as they were
, placed on the edge of the platform
I near his chair, and theu, turning to
the minister in charge, he asked:
! "Is that a fair sample of the collec
tion you get in this church?”
1 "Yes,” was the reply. ”1 should say
that Is about the average. My peo-
Iple are not very liberal givers."
"I see they re not.” remarked Sam
dryly. "But do you know what I’d do
if l were pastor over a congregation
;of this kind? Why, I'd hunt up the
meanest, leanest, ugliest, loudest bark
ing yellow dog I could find and set
him on them.”
The minister put his open hand up
beside his mouth, leaned toward Ills
brother clergyman and responded In
a stage whisper:
’ That is just what l had thought of
doing Sic ’em. Sara." —Cleveland
Leader.
Sayings of a Cynic.
You may guess what h woman Is,
hut that's your limit.
He Isn't much a a baker who eats
all the bread he kneads.
And It sometimes happens tuut a
man Is married to hls hoes
Many a man with wheels thinks he
1 is the whole political mat bine.
'fni more money a man has thy
(more he Is abused —and the less he
! cares.
It takes a wise man to write a let
ter to a woman that doesn t mean
I anythin*.
When a woman writes a letter she
puts In all the useless words she can
think of.
The average man begins to sit up
and take notice when he hears a noise
like a silk swlrt.
And the world would be Just as well
off If some stage-struck people were
hit by automobiles.
ft sometimes happens that a mar
riage license furnishes a man with a
good excuse for trying to drown lus
1 troubles
The patient seldom knows anynung
about the medicine the doctor gives
hltn —and neither does the doctor,
once tn a while.
The yest ll'OS rounded out thirty
jears of telephone service in New
I York city. i , v
“SAMSON’
mi— - - O'BRIEN
(A novsllxatlon of the play now running at the Criterion Theater.
New York, by Henri Bernstein. author of “The Thief anti "Israel.' 7
published by permission of Charles Krohinan.)
CHAPTER XXl.—(Continued.)
I. y| NDKK such conditions my duty
lla j wai clear. It eeemed to me. I
§1 1 ! stopped the panic and here I
| ] am. Had 1 coutlnued aud fol
lowed your Instructions blind
ly what would have happened?
Copper would have gone down to 600;
yes. but you would have wiped out a
\ast number of fortunes. Tomorrow
those poor people would have been
forced to sell everything. That made
the baron come forward, and had I
continued to sell the stock under his
support would hH\e rebounded and
you would have been left behind with
jour entire fortune gone. I tell you.
sir. I know what I am talking about.'
Resolves to Sacrifice All.
Deveaux was very much lu earnest,
and Urachard saw that the situation
was more critical thau he had expect
ed. He walked angrily up and down
the room, torn between the desire to
avenge the dtahonoi that Govain had
brought upou him aud the prospect of
losing his own fortune, it was then
that there came t«* him the blble story
ot Samsou. the man who grappled in
his mighty arms the pillars of th«
temple In w hich his enemies wer *
gathered and brought it down in ruins
upon them, sacrificing his own life in
the effort. His own temple was on**
of gold, which he hud built up by hard
toll, by constant buttle, and the pillars
were under hla hands. Should he
break them and bring his temple dowu
\o overwhelm him the while It killed
i his enemy ?
Deveaux watched him as he paced
the floor.
*1 thiuk It is lucky the baron warned
1 us," he said. “1 will go back to the
Exchange now and do whatever you
say. 1 await your orders.”
Bracbard stopped and braced him
self as if for a shock, looking ut the
broker.
•My orders are the same.' he said
••Sell copper until it reaches #00.”
1 "No. no!" Deveaux exclaimed. "This
is serious. Ido not persist.'
"I've listened to you cheerfully; you
don't understand the situation,
Bruehard said in explanation.
“Good heavens' there ts only one
possible outcome,” Deveaux cried.
"You will be ruined.”
"I have my own views on the sub
ject." Brachard said calmly.
"But you will lose. Mr. Brachard;
you will lose!” Deveaux cried. "You
have one of the richest men in the
! world pitted against you. And what
I Is more Incredible to me Is that 1 real
lze that you. too, are sure that you will
lose. It Is Incredible that such tntelll
:gence as yours”
"We are wasting valuable time."
I Brachard interrupted.
"This thing has turned your head."
Deveaux exclaimed. "I believe your
strength has made you mad. You are
1 no longer satisfied to predict events
j You wish to mould them.”
Knew Course Meant Ruin.
Deveaux van trying with all his
strength to turn Brachard from what
he regarded as a course that would
lead to financial suicide. The million
aire realized as clearly as his broker
j that his course meant ruin, but he per
slated. He turned angrily now to
' Deveaux. \
"There's nothing I dislike so much
as useless words. Deveaux." he said
! angrily/"Are you prepared to execute
jmy orders? Say yes or no."
DeVeaux knew that his tight was
i hopejjeas.
| "I everything to you. sir." he
' said numbly. "You made my fortune
for nJe. [ will stand by you.”
Hf looked at his w. ;< h and uttered
an exclamation of dismay.
"There is no longer time fur us to
work In the dark." he said. "We must
show our hand* now. Does that suit
j you?" f
• Thdi suits me perfectly.” Brachard
' exclaimed.
1 well, then.” Deveaux exclaim
ed resignedly. "If I am lynched by
tlie stockholders of Egyptian Copper
before the closing of the market.
Egyptian Copper will fall to »>oo. But
when 3 o'clock comes. Monsieur, you
can say to yourself that Jacques Bra
• hard, worth $30,000,000 this morning,
is a pauper because he was not will
ing to acknowledge for once In his life
that he was wrong."
Deveaux looked at his patron earn
estly, still hoping for some sign that
[he relented.
"You are going to do this?" he ask
ed "You are determined?"
"Sell copper," Brachard replied.
The broker turned and dashed out
of the door, shouting a "Goodby" as
he disappeared down the hall. Brt
chard walked over to the door leading
into the other room and threw It open.
. "Govaln! Govalnl Come here.” he
i ailed.
Govaln emerged sleepily, rnhbing his
eves and fawning.
Douce take it, what u hurry you’re
in," he said. "I’ve had such a hullv
nap. but you have a perfect mania for
rousing people out of sleep That's
twice you've done It to me today."
) "I've some startling news. Jerome.*
Bra' hard said.
• Well, rattle away; what Is It?”
Brachard looked at him musingly
Friday. January 22,
1909
before he spoke. He watcher careful*
ly the effect of hla words.
"You're a rascal, Jerome," he said,
tapping Govain on the shoulder.
His action wus peculiar. Govain
thought him suddenly demented.
"You seem upset, Brachurd," he
said. "What’s wrong with you?"
"Not at all," Brachard cried lightly.
"Would you like to know where ICgyp
tloii Copper Is? It la now at 760.”
"Eight hundred and fifty you mean,"
said Govain.
"Seven hundred und fifty," Brachard
repeated. "It has fallen 100 points,
Jerome le Govain.
"What's the matter with you? Hate
you been drinking while I waa
asleep?" Govain demauded, growing
indignant. "Are you drunk?"
"Aud in an hour it will fall to 600,
Jerome le Govain." Brachurd declared,
apeuklng monotonously and looking at
Govain under his bent brows.
Go\ain drew away from him. He
reached for his hat und cane. Urach
ard had been Idly playing with the
cune a minute earlier aud was startled
to discover that it was the sheath of a
smull rapier.
"I m right; you're drunk." Govain
said. "I'll go and let you get over it."
He started toward the door, but
Brachard interposed himself and said:
"Just a minute."
CHAPTER XXII.
The Duel.
Brat-hard knew that the moment of
! hla triumph had come. He faced Go
valn with the consciousness that the
man was absolutely In hts power. Go
l vain attempted to brush past him, but
Brachard Interposed a sinewy, muscu
lar arm.
“Oovain. where did you take supper
last night?” he asked.
Govaln drew away from him lu sur
prise. becoming suspicious for the first
time of Bruchard’s real motive In
bringing him to the Hotel Kltz
“Why do you ask me that 0 " he de
manded.
"You were at the Case de Haris,*'
Urachard said accusingly.
••Possibly.” Govaln said, recovering
his self-possesslou.
“And who else was there?”
”1 can’t remember,” Govaln answer
ed Indifferently.
A Brachard strode over to him and
looked him squarely In the eyes.
“Was my wife, Aune-Murie, with
J you?”
Govaln drew away from Brachard
, and attempted to cloak his auswer
with Indifference.
"Brachard, I've bad enough of this!”
he exclaimed. "Some sorts of joket
are”
I 'Tra not Joking, 1 never joke,” Bra-
I chard said ”1 don’t know how to
joke. But I know this: Last night
you took my wife to a supper where
there were low characters. This af
t*-rnoou Egyptian Copper will fall to
six hundred. Now do you understand?"
Govaln. with folded arms, drew back
and studied Brachard's face.
"You must be drunk,” he said.
"Don't you understand me yet. Go
, vain?" Brachard said. "I'm afraid
' you don't want to. You took ray wife
away from me last night, and I have
ruined you. Do you understand now?”
Govaln tried to pass Brachard.
"You will annoy me seriously,
Jacques." he said. “Make way there,
and let tne go.”
Brachard pushed him back.
“You shall not leave here,” he said.
(Continued tomorivn.)
That Settled It.
♦ *
) He was one of the genuine Tennes
see mountain squatters, and after he
had brought me a gourd of water from
the spring hack of the house, he said:
"Stranger, you urea right smart
lookin' feller, and I reckon you can
read and write."
"Yes; I can do both fairly well." I
replied.
"Mabbe you'd be willin' to do a les
ilo southin' fer me?"
"I certainly would.”
"Wall, young Jim Renfew is In the
< abln here He's been cotein' my gal
Linda for a year past."
"I see."
"But he and Linda has concluded
not to hitc h up. Fact Is. he's stuck on
another gal."
j "And wants to get rid of Linda 0 ”
"That's It. Os co'se he kin do so,
but havin’ agreed to marry her, it's
| what they calls a c ase of breach of
■ promise, ain't It?"
'it surely looks that way."
"Yas, Jim says It does, and he’s
come over to settle. He’s willin' to
Kettle, but he wants a receipt, and
none of us kin write. Will you come
Inside and do It?”
I went In with him and was Intro
duced to the wife and the young
couple, and after writing material had
| been provided, I sat down and wroto
l the following, which was duly signed
and witnessed, and made everybody
happy.
"This Is to certify that I have let
i Jim Renfew off from marrying me for
the sum of 92 In rash, and he cun
marry who he durned pleases and I
won’t make him any bother." —Joe
4 Kerr.