The Harris-Ingram ExperimentBolton, Charles E. (Charles Edward)
Science
The Harris-Ingram Experiment
Bolton, Charles E. (Charles Edward)
Science fiction, American
The Colonel then ordered his carriage, and taking Gertrude, rapidly
drove to the scene of the disaster. Great crowds had gathered, but the
policemen, and the Harrisville Troop, already had established lines about
the burning steel mills, beyond which the people were not permitted to
pass. The police and fire departments were doing all in their power to
save life and property.
Colonel Harris drove directly towards his office at the mills, but this
he could not reach as policemen guarded every approach. The two story
brick office had been completely wrecked by a huge piece of one of the
fly-wheels, that had fallen through the roof.
The night watchman whose duty it was to enter the office hourly was
killed, and his bleeding body was now being moved to a temporary morgue,
which had been established in an adjoining old town-hall. Already over
fifty mangled forms had been brought in and laid in rows on the floor,
and more dead workmen were arriving every moment.
The mayor and Colonel Harris were everywhere directing what to do. Scores
of the wounded were hurried in ambulances to a large Catholic Church, an
improvised hospital. Here were sent physicians, volunteer nurses, beds,
and blankets. Fortunately the seats in the church, being movable, were
quickly carried into the streets, and on beds and blankets the suffering
men were placed, and an examination of each wounded person was being
made. Names and addresses were taken by the reporters, and ambulances
began to remove the severely injured to the city hospitals.
Colonel Harris left Gertrude to minister to the wounded in the church,
and sought out Wilson his manager, and George Ingram. Everybody worked
till daylight. Many wounded and dead men, and women and children were
brought up to the morgue and hospitals from the wrecked tenements that
stood near the exploded mills. Several bodies of the dead workmen, and
the wounded who could not escape from the burning works were consumed.
When the sun rose on that dreadful scene, thousands of workmen and their
families and tens of thousands of sympathizers witnessed in silence the
awful work of anarchists. At daylight Colonel Harris rode with George and
Gertrude home to breakfast.
In the evening press a call for a public meeting at 8 o'clock next
morning of the prominent citizens resulted in the forming of an emergency
committee of one hundred earnest men and women to furnish aid to the
afflicted and needy work-people. The most influential people of
Harrisville were enrolled on this committee, which to be more thoroughly
effective was subdivided. Every house occupied by the mill-people was
visited, and every injured person was cared for.
The women on the committee visited the hospitals and for a time became
nurses ministering to every want. Money and abundance of food were also
contributed, and such kindness on the part of the rich the work-people
had never known before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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