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pe] = Ea 2 ~ » in small boats from the other vessels By J. Seymour Currey It is now nearly four years since the passenger steamer Eastland cap- sized in the Chicago river causing the 1oss of 812 lives, the most serious disaster involving the loss of life that had ever occurred in the history of the city or of the great lakes. Prac- tically all of the fatalities were those of individuals whose residence was in Chicago. This terrible event occurred on Saturday morning, July 24, 1915. The final report of the Eastland disaster relief committee has just been issued and a remarkably com- plete record of the cases as compil- 2d by the committee is given in the | 186 pages of the report. i The steamer Eastland was one of four steamers that had been charter- ed for an excursion of the employzs of the Western Electric company of Chicago for their annual outing | to Michigan City, Indiana, accom- | modations having been provided for | 7,000 men, women and childrzn. The Eastland was to have left her dock | at the foot of LaSalle street at 7:30! a. m., to be followed at half hour in-| tervals by the other steamers; but by | 7:10 there were approximately 2,500 | persons already on board and the of- ficers prepared to sail at once as all available space had bean occupied. The lines were cast off and the boat began slowly to swing into the stream. The 2,500 passengers, largely women and children, were in high spirits, the little ones romping about as well as they could in the crowded condition of the decks, while the older ones were waving their hands and shouting to their freinds who were boarding the other boats. As the steamer moved out away from the dock it was noticed that she gradually listed over toward the middle of the stream, but presently she swayed back to almost an even keel, then began to list again, and slowly turned over and lay flat on her port side in some eighteen feet of water, with the keel only-a few feet from the dock. At first the peo- ple thought there was nothing un- usual about the movement of the boat, and it was not until the second | listing had progressed so far as to overturn a refrigerator that the crowd became alarmed. Then the cheers and shouts of glee gave way to cries of terror, and a mad panic en- sued. Still the boat turned over very slowly and a number of those on the starboard side, next to the dock, _scrambeled ashore or dropped into the water and were pulled out by rescuers. Several hundred of those gathered] on the upper decks were spilled over- board toward the middle of the river, and either swam ashore or were sav- ed by the prompt arrival of .rescuers near by. But many hundreds between decks were penned in and drowned or crushed to death. Some of the im- prisoned ones held on until holes were cut in the side of the boat which remained above water and were brought out te safety. Hun- dreds were found dead by the res- cuers when they were finally reach- ed. The bridges at Wells street and Clark street were thronged with peo- ple going to their daily tasks and of course great numbers promptly rush- ed to the rescue of the unfortunate passengers though it was difficult to give any help. Alarms were sent to the fire and police departments even | before the boat had completely turn- | ed over, and all the newspaperof- | fices were notified at once. Thus in | the midst of crowds but a few steps | away from safety and within the! sound of voices from passing shrongs | there perished 812 persons. None of | the other steamers left their docks | for the proposed excursion. The | Western Electric company, whose | employes were the principal suffer- | ers, suspended operations at their | works until such relief as could be | afforded had been given. | R "The people of Chicago sprang at once to the relief of those who had been bereaved," says the report. "En- tire families had been wiped Parents had gone to their death leav- | ing a nuntber of children. Sens ang! daughters had been ing the parents childless. All the | breadwinners of other families had | perished leaving a great number of | dependents." The Red Cross | placed in charge of relfef Measures, out. } drowned leav-|R was} sed through many terrible experienc- es since first the explorers revea bed its site to the world nearly two and a half centuries ago. Thz first one in the series to be mentioned here was that which occurred at Fort Dear- born in 1812, when the Indians caus- ed the death of sixty or more men, women and children, either by massacre or in consequence of cruel captivity. Then next occurred the awful cholera epidemic of 1832. re- peated at intervals during the follow- ing thirty-four years, rasulting in the death of thousands. In 1849 occurred a destructive flood in the Chicago river with great loss to shipping and bridges, fortunately, however, with but slight loss of life. In the same year the cholera re- appeared and for five successive years there was a heavy mortality, the climax being reachad in 1854. his was known as "the great cholera year," when there were 1.424 deaths from that diseasc out of a population of 66,000. This was at the rat: of twenty-one and thousand, and if occurring present time with a population two and < half millions it would hive resulted in a mortality total of 34.- oe. The year 1866 was the last in which this pestilence appeared in Chicago. The great fire of 1871 involved the destructidn of 190 millions of prop- erty and about 200 lives. Passing over many minor disasters the next great event of this character to be mentioned is the Iroquois theater disaster occurring on the 30th of December, 1903. This disaster re- sulted in the loss of 571 lives, twelve of which were those of residents of Fvanston, The latest of the great disasters which have happened in Chicago is that of the foundering of = % Fie cane Eastland Tn 'the Chicago THE EASTLAND DISASTER # JULY 24, 1915 | MILITARY POLICE NOW cne-half per | at the! of | ee Se te WINNBKA WBEKLY TALK, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1910 3 as above related. RIDE MOTORCYCLES | Military police at Fort Sheridan will be mounted on motorcycles here- after to arrest speeders along Sher- idan road. Edward Marony, the chief of police at Highland Park, has assured the military police that he | will assist the men getting fines for | the speeders who are arrested by | the soldiers. Everyone who violates the speed laws, from officers to civilians, will be arrested. Plan Midsummer Festival A midsummer testival arranged in the old country style was observed Tuesday evening in the Scandinavian Salvation army hall on the corner of Sherman avenue and Greenwood boulevard, Evanston. The program included violin re- citals by Miss Carol Clapp of Evans- ton. A quartet of young women from Chicago sang, and a number of per- sons dressed in their old country's national costumes also took part. Several north shore Scandinavians attended the festival. This branch of the Salvation Army claims a large representation on the north shore. The more properly and regularly all refuse of the. household is harm- lessly disposed of the better for the healthfulness and comfort of the home. SAS NNN NN NN NNN NN Harry Mitchell # STUDEBAKERS , =SEE -- BRIDGES & GAGE FRANKLINS -- SEE -- BRIDGES & GAGE 3] EH The Cemetery Beautiful | ED amidst nature's own beauty, man has created a beautiful park ceme- / tery. The sunken gardens, the winding paths, and the impesing chapel makes this ® spot a vision of beauty. It is indeed a fit- ting final resting place for our beloved ones. MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY and ANNEX Gross Point Road and Harrison St., Ys Mile West of Evanston We want you to visit this cemetery. You will find it interesting and attractive. You should reserve for yourself a family lot--all lots in Memorial Park are sold with full perpetual care guaranteed. Suitable easy payments--no interest. Don't miss this opportunity. YOU ARE INVITED to call or write to the main office, 703 Mar vuette Bldg. and make appointment to have one of our representa- tives call for you in an automobile to take you to and from the cemetery. No obligation. Investigate NOW! Central Cemetery Company 703 Marquette Building, Dept. A861 Chicago Our perpetual eare funds are on deposit with the Trust Pepartment ef the Central Trust of Illinois. 1 f Curtis"TKodak Sh Wir erTe / urtis - Noda op = ! - 1728 SHERMAN AVENUE ime Ji g EVANSTON " VIAN MARTIN { g Will Open for Business on in"An Innocent Adventuress" ¢ J 30¢ h EXTRA ....... PATHE NEWS i : 7 une EXTRA, CHRISTIE COMEDY |{g# 4 = : Wed. and Thurs.. July 2 and 3 g CleanUp Sale J We Sarry nothinglbut Evenings 7:30 and 9:00 $14 aw pi Eastman Kodaks and Films ) Siving every Man the Greatest Tail- | - LILA LEE Sd ng Opportunities He, ever Had. [ | { [ Don't Miss It! Regular $50, $60 ( | in "A Daughter of the Wolf* {18 : ¢ : EXTRA re Liovre g Suits Made [ | [= uRt developing and finishing department for " LATEST iE to Order g your films in charge of Mr. Dietert, formerly EXTRA Eee TRAVEG {8 Extra Pants FREE #4 with C. E. Smith, Photographer. Fri. and Sat, July 4 and § : With Every Suit fg Ty oe : : . : Evenings In 25 and 9:38 Lh Weaving on "<arly 50/0 of Fins / We carry a large line of picture mouldings, and frame ss ee Eac ay at 3:30 iE Sng ane nme abnies audits # to order pictures at reasonable price. mission Pk val porta re ' I! od aess: Hults 20c; Childien tle i Suits Made 0 d ; 5 | Our aim is satisfied customers. All our work is guar- MARY P| KF & dt it i 3 a e fo r er g anteed, and the most courteous treatment is assured. 1 PICKFORD {2 : ig . i , Extra Pants FREE \ g | Mail orders given special attention in "Daddy Long Legs With Every Suit| L EXTRA... PATHE NEWS [fg -- 5 EEE A A -- gk EVERYTHING GUARANTEED - ! R COMING - TF Fit, Style, Lining--to be the very best * [| obert Warwick in "Secusk ' HARRY MITCHELL ¢ ervice" Chas. Ray in "Hay Foot, Stream # 16-18 East Jackson Boulevard # Foot" - Between State and Wabash, Chicago 4 1 SN NAS SN ANN SNR 220 funds were subscribed amoumating in | NN the totad to $386,000. previous disaster on the 1860 when 297 lives were lost. | ® The hull of the Eastland was rais- | ed a few weeks later and taken to |R The greatest |R great lakas | * had been that of the Lady Elgin in | . . | a shipyard where extensive altera- | BY tions were made' and eventually it], was sold to the United States gov- ernment. The upper works of the steamer were removed and she was |NZz #reconstrueted as a destroyer under the nante of "Wilmette," and is wy doing duty on the oeean. She is! rated as a vessel of 2,000 tons with a speed of eighteen knots, and accord- ing to Captain Evers, who had been assigned to her command, she "is the best gunboat il the navy." The. tale of (disaster of one kind and another is frequently met with in Chicago's annals. Chicago has pas- TH" G45 774% 7% X25 \ 2/4 2222277 % » HWUPMOBILES CE --S ER : BRIDGES & GAGE Expert Auto Repairing ; -- SEE -- BRIDGES & GAGE HURRAH FOR THE FOURTH! We have the only and the largest assortment of fire- works north of Chicago. If you are going out of town for the Fourth, be sure to take your fireworks with you. We have some splendid assortments from one dollar up. The FIREWORKS MAGAZINE is located at West Ridge Road between Central St. and Harrison St., half a block north of Memorial Park Cemetery. Take North Shore Line to Central St., Evanston, west on Central St. to end of line and walk half a mile on Central St., then half a block south. Two other fireworks magazines, one at the Niles Center Mercantile Co. at Niles Center; the other at the Niles Center Mercantile Co. at Niles on Milwaukee Ave. Also we have safety torpedoes and other harmless devices at Rake's Hardware . 1943 Central St., Evanston Phones: EVANSTON 227 and WILMETTE 211 & WILMETTE 926-R You may call up and leave your order if you wish oo ii J