The Democratic banner., October 03, 1911, Image 1

About The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?

Image provided by: Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH

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MT. VERNON, OHIO, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1911. NO. 79.
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PRICE TWO CENTS
ESTABIslSHED 1836
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TAFT SPECIAL
FOLLOWS FLOOD
Throne Room In the Vatican,
Where Pope Receives Visitors
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Dam
reaks Letting Hot f
Of Water
Austin, Pa JsMassi
of Wrecka
DEATH LIST DECREASES
Will Not Exceed 300 Persons
at the Outside,
PROPERTY LOSS $6,000,000
Business Men Are Bankrupt and
Prosperous Little Village Will
Not Be Rebuilt.
Fire Alarm Instead of Flood
Warning Kept Many From Es
caing With Their Lives.
Austn, Pa., Oct. 2 Revised esti
mates of the number of persons kill
ed when the dam at the Baylisa Pulp
and Paper company's plant, a mllo
and a half north of hero, broke and
let a deluge of water down through
the nanow valley, are greatly re
duced from the figures originally
given out and It is not now belloved
that the number will run above
800 and limy be as low as 200.
The schoolliouso on the hill has
been converted Into a morgue, and It
1b crammed with bodies. Bodies are
Bald to have been soon as far as 10
miles south of Austin, and a great
many of them will never be recov
ered, as they, will bo swept down to
the Susquelianua river. Tho flood
has covered up everything with
wreckage and not oven a foundation
or cellar remain. Except for tho
bank building, tho site of Austin is a
leveled muss of bodies and bits of
wreckage. Fires are still burning
among tho piles of drift and many
bodies are being burned. The Renova
Are company fs on tho ground and
Is gradually overcoming the flames.
Thoy brought 200 men with them on
a special train. At the Buffalo &
Suaquohnmia car shops a great pile
of bodies is believed to be beneath
tho wreckage. Tho Are companies aro
trying to extinguish tho flames here
In order to rocover tho bodies.
Many or those who escaped from
the wall of water and the. tiros are
lying at tho point of death from tho
terrible injuries they huve received.
A numbo of amputations of legs and
arms have already beon made. Dr.
Matsuay lost his entire family In the
flood. Ho Is on the ground now and
ono of the bravest of the retraining
citizens of Austin.
Word recolvod hore from Costello,
a small village, 10 miles Bouth of
Austin, states that 10 of Its residents
lost their lives in tho flood which
descended from Austin to them. -Fifty
Buildings wero washed away and help
Is needed thero very badly.
The state constabulary havo ar
rived hero "and they aro patrolling
tho town and surrounding country.
Fifty men havo been sworn In as dep
uty poltco and are aiding in the
search for bodies.
Only 50 Buldlnga Remain.
But CO buildings remain !n what
was Austin, and they are perched
along the hillside All live churches
wero destroyed, and tho Austin Na
tional bank is tbo only building that
fountain
Btill stands in tho town below.
The pillar of water that lammed
Its battering ram of cordwood
through the alley where the town of
Austin lay swept Itself a clean path
for an even mile. Theie It smashed
a broadside against a full ltugth of
the principal street, gatheilng up as
it went the boards that a minute be
fore were houses, and heaed tbo
splintered fragments against the
moii' substantial line of brick stoies.
The dam, that split into eight
pieces, just us a row of dominoes will
bulge out, was not an old structure.
It wa'i placed below an antique
wooden crib a trifle over two years
ago But there have been murmur
Jngs against the heavy bulk of water
that it restrained even in spite of Its
newness. The women of ths town
eapecitilly have woirlcd about tho
day when It might break. The men
were disposed to laugh at these
ft-ars
Last spring there was an alarm
wbtn it was thought that the brink
WHb ready to give nay. Tho wafer
poured mer it so freely and with
such violence that a man galloped
on horseback down the valley crying
the warning Unit another ililer once
gai- in a flood In 'this state. At that
time the, people ran to the oveihang
Int, hills, but there was no need for
their fears. The flood did not come.
But when the alarm was over and
the townspeople went out to look at
the bu'-rler, It was found that the
concrete hud slipped down something
like 18 liu-hes. After that notches
weie cut in the upper suiface to
lecsen the pressure by permitting a
larger volume of water to trickle
over the edge.
The examination of Failey Gan
nett, engineer for the state wator
Bupply commission, showed that one
chunk of concrete, weighing perhaps
a ton and a half, had been piojected
down stream 100 feet. Another much
longei section lay GO feet out of the
plumb line of the dam. Mr. Gannett
found a man who from the hillside
sav. the bursting of the wall.
"A. Newman, a politician of Cow
denjport," said the state engineer,
"told me4that he was drlvlug along
the hillside, away from the dam. His
companion turned back to look at the
flood of water. 'It seems to me that
there's an awful lot of water coming
ovor today,' said Newman. 'That's
right, agreed his driver, and then as
they looked Fieeman shouted, 'By
God, there it goes.' ,
"The big lump popped out of place
and catapulted down the stream.
Then, like the cracking of a whip,
the other popped out. In anothor
second the great mass of wood pulp
was being flicked Into tho air like
matches. It went up Hko a cloud.
The smokestacks of the Bayll&s Pa
per company wero hidden behind the
spray nnd cracking logs."
Tho chunk that popped so far down
was tbo -first to give way It was the
top half of a section, ripped off as
cleanly us If it had been sawed. Tho
oxposes surface of the base that re
mained in places showed that It had
not beon roughened. It apparently
marked tho end of a day's work In
the construction nnd tho only way In
which tho next day's section had
been welded into It was by four
twisted Iron bars which were pressed
downward.
Hired Special Lookout,
After the false alarm of last spring
tho Inhabitants of Austin decided
that In tho event of another flood
they might not place any rellanco
upon tho speed of a horse'.-, hoofs
and tho strength of a man's voice to
warn them. It was agreed that ono
long blast from the whistle of tho
Standard Wood company should bo
tho signal for the people to spread
out of tho quarter-mllo width of tho
vnlloy and to climb the hills. Thoy
went further and hired Harrv Davis,
tho general factotum around Cora
Brook3' roadhouso, which was tho
nearest building to tho dam except
tho pulp mills, to keep an eye out
lor danger signs In his leisure mo-
Photograph by American Press Association, 1911.
10V triMuuns go to Home without seeing the outfclde of the Vatican; tin
mugnllbent palace that for huutlmls. of yeais lias been tho reddeuct
of the head of the Konmii Catholic church. Tho Vatican stands ou
ground that was once occupied as the gardens of the Emperor Nero
Pope S.viuinachiiK lirtt Imllt a residence theie in the early jears of tho sixth
century. Nicholas V. (l-W7-.ri.ri began a systematic policy of Improving the
Vatican, which Iiiih been followed by IiIb kuc essurs. The pulace Is now :i
scries of buildings covuiiug nearly fourteen acres and containing about 1,101'
rooms. The throne room, pictured above, Is where the pontiff holds founal
audiences, and this room Iiub in pan, .venrw Ix-en been by nolflble pcrsous from
nil pnfts of the world.
r
ments.
l)uis went up to take a look at
ihe dam with Fred Anderson, super
intendent of the mills. The handy
man around the roadhouse did not
like the looks of it, he said, and he
went back to his job a little bit wor
ried. He went to the window more
frequently In the lull in business
around the noon hour.
It was a few minutes after 2 in
the afternoon that he hoard tho
bound of which tho town had been In
dread. One look was onough to show
him that the break had happened.
He ran to the phone as. he had
agreed to i"o and got the telephone
cei.tral in tho Bank of Austin build
ing, where a young woman had the
receiver across her bair. Ho gave
the traditional warning Just as every
one else who had the chance gavo it.
They had been thinking a lot about
the Johnstown disaster, had the Aus
tin people, and In every case thoy
appear to have followed tho action
of history.
"Tho dam has burst!" yelled Harry
Into tho phone.
"Quit yer kidding," said Miss Bln
koy, the phono operator, "He says
tho dam has burst," she repeated to
hor co-workor, Katherlne Lyons, aV
tho next desk.
"I toll you it has!" shouted Davis.
Something in the way ho said it
made Lena believe It this time, and
the way that she reached for a hand
ful of wires sent Miss Lyons to work
too. Thoy called up tho Standard
Wood company, told tho mnn who
answored to send out his warning,
and then began telling everyone thoy
could reach.
Miss Blnkey waited until she saw
tho wall of water coming and then
she ran Into the streets. Miss Lyons
stuck to her switchboard until she
saw tho steeple of tho Presbyterian
church topple and drop. Then she
clattered down the stairs. Sho
stayed so long that she forgot br
pocketbook. But It was Just a step
to the higher ground from tho bank
building, and she came out all right,
as did Miss Blnkoy.
Got Slnnale Twisted.
Somehow the men nt tho kindling
yards didn't sound the flood signal.
Instead of ono long blast thoro came
eight short toots and then a sus
tained wl.lstlo, tho town Are signal.
Ab a result people strolled out to Bee
whoro the blaze was. The single
boso cart was yanked Into tho main
street, and was whirled around tho
corner Into Railroad avenue, tho
chief thoioughfarf, that cuts off at
right angles along the banks of Free
man .tun, the creek thpt went over
tho dam and then rippled throush
tho town with a width' of not ' more
than a dozen fed. The flruuipn turn
ed up tho valley and rived rlrlit at
the wave that was spreading before
them.
John Dczlel was standing vpon the
high ground at the west. He saw
what ths men below couldn't see ana
he shouted with all his voice. They
heard him, dropped their ropes and
ran to his place of safety. The hose
cart was scooped up a minute lator.
eziel's sister was beside him. She
reamed and pointed down to Main
street, where four schoolgirls were
walking along, arm in arm, looking
into tho sky for sparks. As the?
watched, the four were caught in tho
force of the wood and water and
hurled against the brick buildings.
Their bodies hae not been recov
ered. The property loss will exceed ?C,
000,000, and It is tho general opinio-',
that the town never will be lebuilt.
Two, at least, of the large plants will
not be reconstructed, and n majoiity
of the business men of tho place
fcave been financially ruined.
Mary Blaltz, employed In the office
of the Bayllss Pulp and Paper coin
pnny, was caught beneath a huge
grindlnK Btoue and all efforts to re
lease her failed. At last, In despera
tion, she pleaded with her would-be
rescuers to amputate her leg with an
ax. At last one man was found with
sufficient nerve to do the girl's bid
ding, and after whacking away four
or five times tho leg was severed and
tho girl released.
Columbus, O., Oct." 2. Convinced
j that gross niismohagemont and irreg
ularities, If uot dishonesty, havo long
huen tho accepted standard at tho
Ohio penitentiary and other state In
stitutions, Attorney General Hogau
announced that ho would proceed
with an investigation of Institution
purchases and will omit no effort w
discover offenders and punish thorn
If posslblo. Tho Investigation will, bo
public nod will commence tomorrow
morning.
An Itemized Bill.
The depattlug guest, according to a
writer In the London Opinion, scruti
nized his bill and exclaimed, "Look
beie, you charge for writing paper aud
1 haven't used a scrap till tbo time
I'vo been hvrc!" Tho Proprietor Ah.
pardon, m'sleur. It Is for tho paper on
which your bill Is made out.
Rons Into Dig Cloudburst at'
Atchison, Kan,
IS LATE IN REACHING OMAHA
Four Stats Visited by Regular Del
uge, Which 8end Water Over
Tracks In Many Places and Ren
ders Bridges and Trestles Unsafe.
Pilot Sent Ahead to Pick Way Is
One of Most Thrilling Incidents In
President's Long Journey.'
Omaha?" Neb., Oct. 2. President
Taft was marooned in his special
trnln for nine hours on the Missouri
prairies by the deluge that flooded
four states and halted traffli from
Omaha to Kansas City. The delay
brought the president into this city
12 hours behind his schedule.
For most of the day the president's
train was the only one running be
tween Omaha and Kansas City. Tres
tles wero built to hold the tracks
above the surging mass of water that
burled the meadows and trains were
made up to test the track before tho
Taft special was allowed to continue
Its Journey.
For miles at a stretch the water
ran up to the tracks and flooded over
them. No rock bedding could have
lasted a minute before the rush of
water. Houses with the water half
up to their windows were passed and
entire cornflelds, fences and roads
were submerged. Families with wag
ons full of household furniture res
cued from the flood stood stranded In
the mud on the highest points of the
roads as the president's train passed
by. At every dangerous point the
president s peivnlssion was asked
each time beforo proceeding.
Broko Monotony of Trip.
Doapite the precautions of the Tall
road officials and their assurances
that there was no danger, it wns tho
most thrilling ride that the president
has ever been given in all the hun
dred thousand miles of his traveling,
about the country.
About six miles north of Atchison,
where a cloudburst occurred, is the
village of Rushviile. The route of
tho. tiain passed by that town and
over the old river bed, which is low
and flat and partially marsh land.
Into the old river bed the water had
rushed and eaten away the bedding.
About a mile north of Rushviile the
land gave way entirely beneath the
tracks just as the pilot train passed
ovor. They tried to cross buck to in
tercept the Taft special, but It was
Impossible. So they tolegrapned the
dispatcher at Rushviile and he
caught the news Just before tue head
light on the Taft special came into
sight. By that timo tho torrent had
weakened the tracks behind tho train
so badly that it was not safe to at
tempt to return to Atchison The
Taft special was marooned and,
though the railroad men had turned
heaven and earth, they could not
move It. The pilot ran on to St. Jo
seph and tho work was at once be
gun to patch up the tracks
LIVE STOCK AND GRAIN
CHICAGO Cattlo: Boevis. 4 7GS 15;
Tonus steers, $t 30iSG 10; western steera,
$4 IfttfJ 00; stockers and feeders, J3 10
(5 70; cows "and heifers, 52 l0t?G 25.
Cahis JC 00O0 50. Sheep and Lambs
Mitl sheep. $2 2.')i?l 00; westein, $2 73
.4 lu; native lambs, SI 006 00; eU
cin, 54 5iA(jG 00; yearlings, $3 S54 0.
Ijosh l.lirlit, JR lOffrS 75; mixed, J6 05
6 80; hcaxy, $5 80G 70; roush, S5 S0SJ
i. 05; pls, $1 00O0 15. Wheal No. 2 red,
95i&9ric. Cam N'o. 2, CS'llffCOc. Oal
No. 2 white, 47s48Kc.
CINCINNATI Wheat: No 2 red, 07
9Jc Corn No. 2 mixed, "O.glc.
Oats No. 2 mixed, 4S4Sc. Itye No. 2,
iiftC'iIJl 00. I.ard $D 30. Hulk Meats
til 7Ci)0 00. Hacon $17 5018 50, But
ter Creamei, 2029u; duiry, 17Mrff
18Vi I'oultiy SprliiBers, 1213c: bona.
12U'c; tutkeys, 17c. Kergs 14021c.
Cattle Steei-9, $3 75?il 7C; heifers, J2 78
fi6 35; cows. H GOGH 75. Calves S3 OOffJ
8 CO. Sheep nnd Lambs Sheep, SI 500
3 50; lumni. S3 OOOfi 00. Hogs Packers,
Ii) 5000 85; stass, 3 005 25; sows. JJ00
(5 M; pls-i and llffhts, S3 00G 10.
EAST BUFFALO Cnttlo: Export cat
tle, $S 7."07 00; shipping steers, SG 15
0 50; butihor cattle, J6 506 75; heifers,
3 50&G 00; fat caws, S3 505J3 00; bulls,
$3 O0S75 00; milkers and springers, $25 00
friO 00 Calves $10 OOftJlO 50. Sheep and
Lambs-Mixed sheep, $?. 75gt 10; weth
eri. 1 0001 35; ewes, $3 504 00; lambs,
$4 75ffi 50; yearlings, $1 505f5 00. Ilogfl
Ho-nies, $ii 00517 00; mediums, $7 000
7 0; YorktrB, 5G 90(7 00; pigs, $G 00itf
6 10, lOUghB, $5 75S15 60; stags, $5 00(0
5 50.
PITTSBURG Cattle; Choleo, $7 230
7 50. prime, $G 7507 00; tidy butchers,
$6 00(76 25; bulls. $2 COQi 75; caws, $2 00
01 25; fiesh cowj and sprlnners, $25 00
CiiO 00 Calves Veal, $S 509 00. Sheep
and Ijimbs J'rlmo wethers, $1 0004 15;
Rood mixed, $3 50fT3 75; lambs, $3 500
G 25. Hrtirs- -Heavy hoes, $G G05?6 70;
heavy mix l. 5G 7000 75; mediums and
heavy York' is. $5 00 90; llpht York
era. $6 25n0 5"! pigs, 5 OOB5 75.
TOLEDO-Wheat, 9Stfc; corn, 710J
oat, 4SHiO; eloverssed, $12 00.
t Ready For
Italians
WilUwait Reinforcements-News Wires From Seat Of War
2 In Control Of Invaders And Roman Press Is Filled
With Tales Of Valor WhiciilLack First ElementsIOf
Truth, But Serve To Fire Hearts Of Countryman
WltblPatrlotlsm The Situation la Tripoli
Rome, Oct. 2. Even the yellowest
exponents of sensational journalism
are shocked at the liberties taken
with the truth by the Roman press
in announcing a series of naval vic
tories. The Italians, however, ac
cepted the news as a matter of fact
and with genuine Italian pride.
Reliable informatipn is lacking, I
since the Tripoli and Malta cable Is
in the hands of Italians. The only
positive facts aro that theTurks have
changed tactics, abandoned Tripoli
and departed Into the Interior, where
they intend to remain pending the
arrival of reinforcements, and that
tho Italians, ara now occupiing-Tripoli.
The Italians are already show
ing nnrlpty lest the Turks swoop
down on them.
To date tho Italians have sunk four
Turkish cruisers and five destroy
ers, including tho Hamidlr, Alpagot
and Tarablony. These vessels werp
Chicago, Oct. 2. Railroad officials
and shopmen ou the Harriman lines,
who struck to enforce their demands
for recognition of the newly-organized
federation, spent the day in pre
paring for the struggle. The walk
out, occurring just before the Satur
day half-holiday,, gavo the railroads
a full day anfl a half In which to
make preparations to run tbe shops,
and it was said that in many of the
shops practically a full force of men
would he at work. The men at tho
Lima," O., Oct. 2. A cyclone demol
ished bams, unroofed houses, laid
orchards wastp nnd caused damage
estimated at ?100,000 four miles east
Df here. The two-story frame house
of Edward Nelson, farmer, while sev
eral members of tbe family were
within, was blown off Its foundation
nnd set down 200 feet distant. No
one was seriously injured. Tho
cyclone swept a strip of country ono
half mllo wido and live miles long.
Centenarian Preacher Dies.
FIndlay, O., Oct.. 2. Rev. John
Smith died at his home at Sit. Dlan
chard, aged 100 years and 3 inontlis.
Ho was born In Hampshire county,
W. Va., and came here in tho early
twenties. Ho has beon la the minis
try slnco 1840, and cast his Jlrst vote
for Andrew Jackson. His long life
was attributed to abstinence from
iicuior and tobacco and constant,
work.
An Old Family.
Ho Mtaa Bellneour claims to belong
to n very old rurally. She Well, phe's
Justified There ate six of those girls,
snd tho youngest of them must bo at
least thlrty-llvc-Exchange,
PARKABLE CONFESSION
MADE 10 THE POLICE
- i
Settle With
unaware that war had been declared
and It is considered that the Italian
attack was an act of piracy. Tho
vessels were mink at Prevesa, as told
of In previous dispatches, and the
attack has lneeneed the Austrian,
government.
CREMATE!
Indiana, Pa, 0t 2. Eight chil
dren of Mr. amf Mrs. William Dias.
of Heshbon, ranging in age from 13
years to 3 month?, were burned to
death when tiro destroyed the family
home.
big BunmUle shops here spent the
day quietly, gathering in little knots
in the streets and In their cottages,
discussing the outcome of tho strug
gle. Watch erfa near the ship's stockade
Bay mors than nft strikebreakers
were brought into tbe stockade on a
special train. Provisions for keeping
the men at the shops were also
made. There was no sign of a dem
onstration, although a guard of po
licemen was constantly at the gates.
FIndlay, O., Oct. 2. John J. Gar
land of Minneapolis, sentenced to
four years In tho penitentiary; An
qrew McGorrald, an alleged highway
robber, not yet tried, nnd Harry
JJbert pf Columbus, who was held on
n statutory charge, escaped from tbo
Hancptjk county Jail after Garland
Icnooke'd down Sheriff Johns and tho
other Iwo kicked him. He is in a
sorloui condition.
Scanty Ammunition.
Colonel Stark's regiment just prion
to tbo battle of Bunker Hill was quar
tered nt Milfonl. Bomo fonr miles dis
tant, and wns destitute of ammuni
tion. About 10 o'clock on the morn
ing he received orders to march, how
ever, each man received a gill oupfut1
of powder, fifteen balls and one flint.
As the tnuskpts were of varying cali
ber it was necessary to reduce the sizo
of the balls for many of them. Maga
zine of American liistory.
Art Versus Nature.
"How came h1il to get such a suddei
vrazo on to visit the beauty doctors?"
"She wnntb-itp look like, her photo
Ernph." Houston Post.
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