New-York tribune. [volume], June 17, 1904, Image 1

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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V 1V 1 - LXIV...-N 0 - 21.033.
AW IDENTIFICATION SCENTJ RKPEATET* FRTTQrErNTT,Y AT THE MOROTTH.
LIST OF DEAD GROWS.
Victims of the Shewn More than 900
—River Full of Bodies.
HEART-REXDIXG SCENES AT MORGUE
BODIES RECOVERED 554
BOEIES IDENTIFIED AT THE MORGUE 432
MISSING (ESTIMATED) 400
TOTAL DEAD (ESTIMATED) 900
Flag* on the City Hall and other municipal buildings were at half-
Bast yesterdiy by order of Mayor MeCkl lan to rfwM formally the \\i( Jc
toread sorrow in the rity for the de-iths of hundr^ls oJ people caused f>:
the Imrning of the steamboat Oenera? Stocam. The Mayor issued a i
\amat\or\ expres ing 1 the sympathy of the peoplr of tlit- city and appoint
ing a relief committee.
Preadent Roosevelt ordered Secretary Cortelyou l<» make a rigid in
rettigatkn of the disaster, and the work will be conducted under the per
sona] supervision of Mr. Cortelyou and George LJhler, supervising j - n
nenl of the steamlK>at inspeelion service. Any goverm nt
empkrre found negligent will be Bererely punished.
I;r ions have been started by Coroner Berry and District At
lomev '1 lie Fire Marshal ordered an investigation of the cause
of itramK^ft company was conducting an inquiry of its own.
■• FlannagsUi of fhe steamboat made a statemeni ai the Dis
office that the hose was rotten, and burst when efforts were
bjm crew to put out the lire Coroner Berry said the steamboat
Bomparn a< first had not complied with his request to send to him mem
- 4 '.r cxainination, but later had agreed to do it. It was
s } ]( life preservers on the steamboat were inndr of poor can vas
an<! • I oork.
L.i rrowds visited the morgue, in Twrnty-sixth-st. and the East
River resterday, to which all unclaimed bodies of the victims were taken,
an<l last evening the record showed that 432 bodies had been identified.
■Ue seventy bodies remained unidentified. The record kept by the cor
oner showed* late last night that 5.>4 dead had been counted, and the po
licr reports showed about 400 persons missing. As some of the missing
may be among the unidentified dead at the morgue, it was estimated that
the tot:! 1 , number of victims of the great disaster was near 000.
TIU: POLICE THAR IN EPIDEMIC OF SUICIDES
>• -h* trackage of the burned excursion
WISH ii i Genera] Sloeum, off Hunt's Point, and
from t» * crater :;t ■ if north shore of North
toother [frtand where the burning steamboat
I™* beartu I Wf-inwday mornln?. over fifty
mot* hodlea of rlctfnw ot the great disaster
*e-A recovered yesterday- ah these bodies
?.«•«•». s.r: 1 to the Horgne. | i Twenty-Mxth-st.
Hni rh« Raat Blver, to await Mcntiflcatlon. I^at«»
I \hr- <*.;-.\ H was ■■•„ < by Coroner O'Gorman,
ww h r > bad kepi the record, that 002 bodies of vic
tim* of !ti<> f!r«* nnd irazer had been setH to th*>
Jlf-n; . .iiy waj r,f X<»rth Brother Island.
Coaming bodies which hnd .mi sent to other
ptkfts iftw their recovery. «nd Indadlng bodies
cf ««m»- whi bad Sled sftef wens, the coroner's
*«!rr.atp. of ; >... total known dond wai Lli. He
*"«« ir;"!!Ti»-rJ to the b#iief «hat there were at
!e»*t fovr hundred more bodies ft;:! la the
*'>W, many of which mlpht !><■■ e*uottod to rise
to BM rurf..c» hi n day or two.
ttm difficulty fif estteaating th- number of
**>• <J<ad Is Increased *>> th<- uncertainty as to
"•••nun./"! of persons who were- on th« On
•r»l Pi-.' •• * tea che left the pier and steamed
u »> the Bast River on h^r fatal trip on Wtdnes
**y rnorninj. Contradictory statements have
t*«3 made by rurvlvors of the excursion, some
dicing the number of persons aboard the boat
•• low us eleven hundred, and others making
*•• total nearly two thousand. Reports showed
*■■* about four hundred of the persons In th
♦*«iri!lon party were still missing last night.
TAKE BODIES FROM WRECK.
Rom early morning- until noon divers were
forking at the srroeh, of the steamboat. John
**°« and David Tullock, divers In the employ
•ft** L»ok Drnartmrnt. and Harry Heyer ana
L Oi*V !ft r Cent Hotel Prontensc. Thousand Inlands.
AieL" 'i' v - Int.-r.nln>.' Souvenir booklet free.
--*«■;£*• C • °' T ™»»«". manager. Kronter.ac, N. Y.
Tn-day, ihonrr. In th* morning.
io-mnrron, fair; Tarla!il<> \rlnda.
■rs in the employ of the
Albert numbers, <i |v
Merrltt A Chapman Wrecking Company, ex
plored the partly burned hull of the steamboat,
which lay or. th« port side In sixty f^et of
water. Only part of her starboard paddlebox
and the ■mokepfpe of her donkey engine were
above the surface her big smokestacks havlrg
gnr.p by the board.
B fora the divers could explore the starboard
paddleboi it was nsoessary to away part
<>f ,ts <(i\t'rinK. it was not possjbb t<: get into
the pi.r 1 paddlebox. Police Commissioner M< -
Adoo K»y* authority to us.> dynamite, if neces
sary, to In us k lip the wreck, but the divers said
the wreck was fjoing to pieces gradually. The
dlvc-rs found twenty-six bodies, which were
t:fk'v, to North Brother [eland In launches be
fore noon, arid sent with other bodies to tha
Morgue.
Boon after noon the divers reported to Poiw
Inspector Albertson, at North Brother Island 1 ,
that they bad SXplored the entire wreck, and
di<l not believe any more bodies would be found
in it. Later, Ili<c found In the hull a section
«.f the spine and B I- rt of the trunk of a boy,
apparently eight or ten years old. < 'lose to
the paddlelwx th~ diver found th« badly burned
body of a girl, probably ten or twelve years
old. On one foot was an Oxford tie with a
spring heel.
In the afternoon the divers were working In
the waters near the shore of North Brother Isl
ai.d. while men In boats were dragging the bot
tom with boathooks at low tide. In this sear» h
twer.ty-five bodies were recovered, mostly by the
men In the boats.
PULVERIZED CORK BOUND ONE BODY.
One of these bodies was that of a woman
about forty years old. Around her neck was
what looked like a life preserver covering. Cor
oner O'Gorman found a quantity of pulverized
t en i luued on iwvaJ V"«»-
YORK. FRIDAY. JUNE IT. 1904. -SIXTEEN PAGES -*Ti»^.Vx.£i.««.
SCEXES AT THE MORGUES.
AN* IMPROVISED MORGUE.
Interior of the pier of the Department of Charities and Corr»-.ttnn. Hire
thousand* passed lone Unas or coffins seeking to Identify the. dead.
TK£ MAYOR ISSUES A CALL FOR AID.
To the Citizens of York:
The appalling disaster yesterday, by which more than five hundred men, women and
children lost their lives by fire and drowning, has shocked and horrified our city.
Knowing the keen sympathy of the people of the city of New-York with their stricken
fellows, I have appointed a committee o; r.tizcr.s to receive contributions to a fund to
provide for the fit and prop i burial -i the dead, and for such other relief as may be
neceoary.
Ihe following gentlemen have been asked to serve on the committee:
llcrris K. Jesir , Joseph C. Hendrix,
Jacob ii cch i, Tnomas M. Mulry.
Herman Bidder, George Ihret.
Charles E Diokty, John Fox.
Hatcrt S. Van Cortlanfy John Weiiu chi
Erskiiit Hewitt, H. d Sdtarmaxu!.
Ur.t'i rh? eemmittec! Ip-'«1 p-'« rnUI aa opportunity lo or?r.'.r. ; te t I shall be glad *o receive
coirtributiom a' the Hayort oHI;-^.
,-~-of i ■ ng Iha •• ordered n^ A C :< v Hall to he put at half
" B. MCLHIAH, Mayor.
CYCLONE KILLS SCORES.
(TBA SWEPT BY STORM,
Devastation in (>' ■ ■' ■ nnd
Santiago Stca ■ r Reported Lost.
g .. 1-. ner to XI
* p •!• cadi
on i ■
fourteen I i
panted by .t hurrteane. The lower village
of I'A Cobre has troyed Forty-five per
sons are known to be dead and scores are miss
ing. Bodies are floating in the Cobre River.
■ ,- bodies have been recovered by boats pa
.• the bay.
All the bridges on the Cobrc Railway are out,
and many bridges have been lost op. the Cuba
Railway. A train which left Havana Saturday
is held between washouts forty miles Inlan 1. A
relief train, bringing mail and passengers, was
wrecked at Moron. The fireman and mall agent
were kill"' , and two of the employes were In
jured. The passengers are safe.
Th/- mines at Daiquiri are crippled, and six of
the employes have l>een drowned. The pier has
be-n damaged.
Tlip city's property loss Is enormous. All tele
graph and cable lin*B are disabled.
<JuantHnamo, June 15 (delayed in transmis
sion). Th» most severe storm on record her*
has B wept over this place. There were showers
nil Monday, and at night a steady downpour
of rain began, lasting till noon Tuesday. At 4
a in. the ciiiis'i Ha no and Jalbo riven were out
of th<=-lr banks and sweeping the country, caus
ing loss of life and property. The rivers are still
UP, and there is no communication with out
side districts.
Ten bodies have been recovered thus far, but
much greater loss of life Is supposed to have
occurred In the low districts beyond the rivers.
There are lance numbers of dead cattle along
the banks. The Guantanamo railroad was
washed out near faimanera. The damage was
■light end the road will be open to traffic to
night. The Cuba Eastern Railroad is consid
erably damaged. No bridges have been de
stroyed but they have been injured. The line
between Quantaiuuno and tidewater is badly
washed out. A bridge which was being con
structed by •'■ sugar estate across the Bano
River has been carried away. Communication
with th«-- rest of the island is cut off completely.
The United Stales steamer Vixen lias arrived
here from Santiago. She reports many bouse*
destroyed there and forty persons drowned at El
Cobrc Many bridges have been tamed away
on the Cuba Company's railroad, and there have
been no trains through since Tuesday. Several
passenger trains were blocked en rout? bridges
on the Cobre Railroad have been carried away.
The jnnagua Railroad, along the coast east of
Santiago, ■offered badly. It cannot be operated
fO The oBteamer0 Bteamer Tomas Brooks, plying between
Hayti and Santiago, la reported lost.
Business here is almost paralyzed.
Havana June 16.— The government Is In re
ceipt of telegrams from points In the province
of Santa Clara telling of the work of the storm
in that vicinity. The people are alarmed over
the extraordinary rise of the Sagua River.
Communication between Santo Domingo and
6ienfu*go« Is impossible on account of bridges
being under water. Traffic on the Van Horn,
and other railroads Is demoralized because of the
"The Governor of the Province of Puerto Prin
cipe reports numerous minor wrecks on the
south coast of the Island and considerable dam
age .lon.- to buildings, but that there was no
los*s of life. .
The government has set aside JIM .000 to aid
sufferers.
RUTLAND R. R. FOR MONTREAL.
Brandon. Burllnjrton. Across the Islands of I^Ke
('haiauiitlit Ottawa. Quebec, four tram*. Illustrated
book 4c. postals. Information, 369 Broadway,
N. y.'-AJ-t.
BIG LOSS IN MEN AND GUNS
HANS DRIVEN BACK.
• '• Attempt to Relieve
Port Arthur Fails.
General Stackelberg v.is outanancrarrcd
»nd defeated with !;< avj loss in men and
guns l v v th Japanese at Telissu after three
il.i\s" fighting. His force is now in full re
treat north by three ro-.ds. and l!ms ends the
attempt to relieve Port Arthur.
Vice Admiral BezobrazoJT, ii 1 1 command of
the Vladivostok squadron, returned to that
harbor after o snccessfnl niil in the Japan
Sea. in which he sank two Japanese trans
ports, v.ith .i loss to the Japanese of about
nine hundred men.
Geneva! Knroki captured Shi Yen, driving
hack n forcr of Rus»i ins ;m<! Chinese bandits.
This is the first authentic account of th«
bnndits fighting with the Russians.
RUSSIANS IN RETREAT.
Stakclherg's Relieving Column Out
manoeuvred by the Japanese.
Ft Petersburg; June I<*. Emperor Nicholas
has received the following telegram, dated June
IC> from General Kuropatkln:
I have received the following dispatch from
Lieutenant General Baron Stakeiberg, dated
June !«;. 120 h. n. :
"Yesterday I had intended to attack the
enemy's right flank, but. Ju^t as mir troops had
be»-n assigned for the purpose and were begin
ning successfully to envelop tl •• enemy's right
flank, the Japanese In their turn attacked my
right flank with a superior force, an i l was com
pelled to retreat by threi roada t>> the north.
Our losses are heavy, but they ara not yel
completely known. During the engagement th^
third and fourth batteries <'f the Ist Artillery
Brigade were literally cut t" pieces by the Jap
anese shells. <>t sixteen guns, thirteen were ren
dered useless nnd abandoned.
The conduct of the troops was excellent, a
large proportion of them refusing to retire until
after they had been repeatedly •;;■>! -.->! •<> ,\,i ;:■>.
By this victory tlv Japanese captured Telissu.
between Kai-Chu.v and Polan-Tten, and the
ilnsslan hope of relieving th«- pressure on Tort
Arthur by threatening the rear oT General Oku
came to an end. The Russians left more than
five hundred dead on the field, and the Japanese
captured three hundred prisoners. Earty esti
mate i>!;.'-e the Japanese losses at 1.000 men
killed or wounded.
The Japanese attacking force was divided into
right and left columns, and began the advance
on Tuesday along both sides of the railroad.
They encountered the Russians east of Vafan
dicu and drove them back. Late In the after
noon the Russians held a line between Luns-
Wang-Tiao and Ta-Fang-Shen. The Japanese
artillery opened on this line, and the Russians
responds!. The shilling continued for two
Continued on ulitcrulh iiajrc.
ATLANTIC CITY JUBILEE.
Grand celebration until June ISth. inclusive. Pa
r»d»B. Fire Works. Pennsylvania Railroad through
trains leav« New York 9:55 A. M.. 2:55 P. M. week
days, 7 66 A. M. Sundays.— Advt.
A UMtQ I>T\*E OF trXDRRTAKERS" WAGON'S AT TFTE FOOT OF FAST TWENTY-STXTH-ST.
TAKING AWAY THE IDENTIFIED DEAD.
EFFORTS TO FIX BLAME BEGUN.
A DRASTIC INVESTIGATION ORDERED BY PRESI
DENT ROOSEVELT.
Secretary Corielpou Here to Begin Inquiry — Boat Should HayS
Stopped, Not Fanned Flames.
THE PRESIDENT ACTS.
Orders Rigid Inquiry Into the
Sloe ■ • Disaster.
■■ rtn triscws srmsMr.j
Washington, June !'■ -Prestdeci Roosevelt to
day Issued -st. pe.-retary Ct
telyou of the Departmewt of Commerce and
Labor to Investigate the Sloeum horror and to
!-=-av» no stone unturned in the effort to fix the
responsibility for the disaster. If any one in
the service of the gowrnment was negligent in
his duty he will receive no mercy at the hands
of his superiors. Secretary Cortelyou left
Washington for New-York this afternoon to take
personal charge of the investigation at the out
set, and to-morrow he will be joine-l by George
Uhler. supervising inspector general of the
Steamboat Inspection Service, who ill remain
then until the inquiry is Bntehed. Mr. L'hler
expects to be able to close the investigation by
Saturday evening, but if it requires a longer
time he will mam until it is finished.
Bnpervislng Inspector General Uhler to-day
received from Robert S. Rodle, Inspector of the
Second District of New- York, i preliminary re
port on the disaster. Inspector Roule., as on
as be learned of the fire, went to the scene In
the wrecking boat Chapman. in his report he
saj:':
While vl« wing the wreck I BOttecd and callwd
.„. •>„. forward aid* "f the peddleba*, anj t.a.iie.l
Cantata Turr.irV, attention to It It proved to b
ihebody ol m , man. and on close bmeUntt
Sod thai three other boilles were inside th«
nartdlebOS nil • i which proved lo be women. At
I tr - we Tir.t W«Bi «ion«sM« the wreok V*m
I,;. ,:;:„, . I i\,^ immediate vi.-.nity except a .mad
boat with ■ man la it soice distar.oe off. ***
time after we noticed Iba* a pftttce beat was ap
i ".".. :hta« the wre, k. w- 'u.-tu.i over to thera the
wo k .f taking th« bodtoeean^ wWch ***£** \Vt
nruvided them with iix>s. an.l they cut aWSj part
Jlf ti.e open woodwork in ordn to remove the
bodtoa.
After giving statMln of »h<> vessel and crew.
• . Rodle saya:
The records of the office .how that *« <•*•«*»;
era! StoeunVsl •qnlpmrat consisted of l&> vx ejpr*
servers In itehl, within easy rea. h f« ll i*¥*S
sUe ■- feet 3 ir.ches lons by S f»et 1 tack «*W
sf«#t S ncbM «**» ill metal boats, and two
Barsto. ■"•' l™ elXind%llajte l Xind %lI a jt supplied
boat, were swung un* .
■ 1
„,,i ,» f,.^ t of IU- inch ii-tse. all it> Komi comuuon,
: ' ;:v ; -;;■'-.:: V. : : ~5
him ;"pSrt« "book shows that the vessel had a
r^erhaultog sin.;. the laM inspec tlon »pre
■ ihe water- •'( tIW baj .ilia ■''■ n "' '.'
„,r <■■>•■ .d tm* coastwise between R...-kaway miet
HS&^h^^swss'wa
Jon as practicable, to lnvestl«at« the cans* ol this
"vinfortunate ami dreadful accident.
Realizing the Importance of haying the great
est care In the management of steamboats, espe
cially excursion : oats, exercised. Secretary Cor
telyou. "ii May '.•;; of this year, issu.-d ■ circular
letter to Inspectors of steam vessels warning
them to guard against just such a disaster as
thai which occurred at New-York yesterday.
Some extracts from the letter follow:
The neir approach of th* summer season, when
lar. numbers 2 passengers are carried on Che
M.im-rs 'f regular lines and or, excursion »team
erV ",,i the Zreaneni complaints that many ol
fhese steamers carry MSSI Bgen larsrtly In excels
, ' the number allowed by their iwUflcatea ol to
s-.ecLiT.n or k>v their excursion pevmttS, <ltinan<l
'•hit the BOVernmeni officers concerned shall tike
special precautions to prevent the ovemwwdmg
CollectwrJ'and surveyors of customs are therefore
reiiueated to Instruct their subordinates to make
careful examination of such steamers and to report
atl case., of violation of the law. Extra efforts in
fhis "ire -lion should »>•• made on Sun.lays and par
ticularly on the Fourth of July and other important
„i i* nil -\iul State hMiaayp.
« -V, , ' -I'll' i-'-'.ector» will Instruct Ike local In
■MPtora to detail one-hall their force earn Sunday
for duty in the vicinity of their home potts for the
purpose of ascertaining, by actual count. Ifascssw
whether more than the- lawful number of
r.os.enKers are taken on board, and on the Fourth
of July the whole force wnj be so employed.
ißmtetora of steam vessels will confer with th
chief officers of customs of th-lr resiective districts
as to the best methods of carrying out this order.
In all eaves where it Is round aacesMry to prosecute,
tba ottVer >ros >cuting will report all the facts to
th.- department for its Inf irmatUi..
An sealous effort on the part of the onVen named
herein in th.- perfbrmanc* of the dutl-s ravaged
< unflaurd on fourth paßf.
$20.r»> TO CHICAGO AND RETURN
Via Pennsylvania Railroad. Tickets sold June 16th
to 20th. inclusive, good Is return until Jun« IVth.
Consult Ucket agents.— AdvL
nun: three texts.
NAVY BLAMES r\rT\[N\
Officials Charge Van Schaick 'oritK
Xegligence in Nd Stopping.
Naval and revenue cutter service officers are
pever** in their condemnation of th» way In
whi.h Captain Van Schaick handled the Gen
eral Sloeum after the fire broke out. Had h«
done, they say, what common sense a^i th«
regulations of the naval and revenue cutter ser
vice demar.-l, brought his boat f» a ffefl «rto{>
until the fire had been extinguished, not a Ufa
would hay_e been lest. Under specified heavy
penalties for the breaking of the regulation th*
commander of every government boat, when a
fire Is discovered on board, must bring hta vessel
to a full stop until the tire Is extinguished or
beyond control. This order, rigidly adhered to
In the service, has saved the lives of hundreds
of sailors'.
'Captain Van Schalek did the most senseless
thing a man could do when he jammed the
General Stoconi ahead full speed." said an of
ficer in the revenue service yesterday. "A man
of his experience should have known better. In
one of his length of service such an action was
criminal. With the strong wind blowing off
the Sound directly over the bows of the Slo
eum, and the boat rushing against It. he rouhl
not have destroyed the boat quicker had he
wished to do so. He has been criticised for
beaching his boat where he did. but that was
about the on'y place where he could, have don«
it. Rut whether he beached the MSSSJBJ on
North Brother Island or could have done It else
where is not the question. The pi. ice where ha
beached her is not what he should be criticised
for. but he should be mail? to explain why he
ran the steamer a mile or s> directly into th*»
teeth si the wind. Had he stopped, with the
fire fighiins: apparatus on board, which the
steamboat inspector h;-d investigated and ap
proved, and which must have been in goo.l
condition, he could have easily extinguished th«
small fire forward, Instead of that he put on
full speed, with the wins rushlnsj lbs flames aft
along the dry woodwork and creating a draught
that fired the whole steamer in five minutes.
No other term th.m "criminal' cai: be applied to
such a coarse/"
Next Tuesday there will b^ an investigation
into the bun it. < si the Skmoaa in the office of
the Board of Putted States Steamboat Inspec
tors in the Whiten-ill Buil.jns; Yesterday
Nevada EC Stranahan. Collector of the Port.
sent a communication to Ceneral Dumnnt, su
pervising inspector <>f steam vessels In this port.
asking fas i conference bs-dny for the purpose
of making more rigid and effectual rt.e inspec
tion of excursion steamers in regard to the num
ber si passengers carried. The collector of th»;
port has nothing to do with the examination of
the vessel.;. his duty being to enforce the penal
ties fi>r the violations of the laws regarding th»
safety of the passengers. In his letter to Gen
eral Dvsaont, Collector fttranahas said that he
did not wish to interfere with the duties of the
Inspectors, but that he wanted th. m to at one*
report to him any failure to comply with the
United States statutes tha' they may find In
their investigation ot the burning of the Slocum,
In order that he might enforce the penalties
provided ' y law.
Robert S. Rodie, supervising: inspector of the
second district, which includes the Port of New-
York, visited the wreck as soon as he learned
of the accident, to make a superficial examina
tion. As soon as be returned he sent a detail*)
statement to George L'hler. supervising inspec
tor general at Washington, giving the condition
of the steamer when Inspected May t> by In
spector Henry Lundborg, who had been In tha
service only about two months, and the circum
stances, aa he understood them, which led to
the palling loss of life.
Yesterday morning Mr. Rodi* iai<l Uiat «v«ry-