The Tragedy of the Eastland Disaster
By: Margie Zorn

You have been looking forward to this day since you started working for the Western Electric Company earlier this year. The day tickets go on sale, you are even one of the first in line to purchase yours for seventy-five cents. Being a resident of Chicago, who has never left the city, you are looking forward to the opportunity to visit Michigan City, Indiana. Also, you know that most employees will be attending this company picnic, so you are hoping that the cute and single secretary will also be there and you will finally have your chance. The morning arrives and you leave your home early hoping for the opportunity to choose the ship that you will board. When you arrive, you are automatically drawn to the Eastland and the Theodore Roosevelt for two reasons. They are scheduled to be the first to leave and they are the newest and most elegant of the ships in the harbor. When the gangplanks are lowered, you rush to the Eastland because you think you see the secretary standing near it. You begin to think that everyone will end up on this ship and you see that it is quickly becoming crowded. That doesn’t matter to you, however, because you catch a glimpse of the person you are looking for. You become excited, as you get closer to the departure time of 7:30 A.M.

When the gangplanks are closed, you see that most people have moved to the port side, so you also decide to take a look. There is a beautiful view of what is happening on the river instead of the view of the docks that can be seen from the starboard side. As you are standing there, you can hear some of your coworkers making comments about the way the ship has been swaying. Initially, you do not understand what they mean and then you realize that the ship seems to be leaning toward the water. It doesn’t concern you at first because you believe that the crew will fix the problem. You begin scanning the crowd for the secretary that you wanted to ask out as you hear the band beginning to play and see many of the passengers beginning to dance.

The next thing that you remember is the crew asking passengers to move over to the starboard side of the ship. You quickly obey because you observed some of the furniture on the top level where you are standing, moving toward the port side of the ship. Few of the other passengers obey the crew because they hear the whistle from a passing fireboat. You stay on the starboard side, however, because you feel that the ship has not yet steadied itself and you are feeling uncomfortable. More furniture begins to crash and the passengers begin to panic. You are thankful that you stayed on the starboard side of the ship because you are able to crawl out just in time to see the ship continue to list to the port side until it is finally settled in the water. As you look back, you can see and hear the cries from the people who are trapped inside the boat or desperately trying to stay afloat in the harbor. You become really frightened as you think about what has just happened and you sit down before you collapse. You begin to think that you should have chosen one of the other ships and you hope that your coworkers will be all right. As the bodies of the dead are pulled to shore, you realize that this is not the case.

The morning of Saturday, July 24, 1915, was not a promising one. Morning drizzle threatened the day, but did not dampen the spirits of the employees of the Western Electric Company and their families. The 9000 guests planning to attend the picnic began to arrive early looking forward to a day of exercise with sporting events, parades and food. When the employees and their families arrived at Chicago Harbor, they found that they had six ships to choose from -- the Eastland, the Maywood, the Petoskey, the Racine, the Rochester, and the Theodore Roosevelt. Many of those going on the trip wanted to board the Eastland or the Theodore Roosevelt because they were the newest and fanciest. There was little doubt that both ships would be filled to their capacities.
At 6:30 A.M., some 5,000 people had already arrived for the excursion to Michigan City. At this time, preparations began for the boarding of passengers. Ten minutes later, preparations were complete and the Eastland began to board. People flocked to the ship that was moored to the dock between LaSalle and Clark Streets. Passengers were loading at a rate of 50 per minute. At this time, the Eastland began to list, or lean, toward the starboard side, which was facing the dock. The crew was not concerned because of the amount of people coming aboard. Nevertheless, the Chief Engineer, Joseph Erickson, ordered the ballast tanks, which were large tanks located on the bottom of the ship, to be filled partially to steady the ship.

The Eastland did settle for a short period of time. At 6:53 A.M., the Eastland again began to list, this time toward the port side. The crew did nothing to remedy this until the list reached 10 degrees. When the list reached 10 degrees, Erickson ordered his crew to partially fill the starboard side ballast tanks. While this was occurring, passengers continued to board the Eastland. By 7:10 A.M., the Eastland was filled beyond capacity of 2,500 passengers as there were 2,572 people on board and the gangplank was closed. The ballast tanks on the port side of the ship were emptied. This did not steady the ship and it continued to list until the port list reached 15 degrees at 7:16 A.M. After this the Eastland was again settled, this time only momentarily.

By 7:20, the list toward port resumed and water began to seep into the ship through openings on the lower port side. There was no panic among passengers at this time. Many made jokes or comments about the way the boat was swaying. The list continued and by 7:23, the crew advised passengers on the upper decks to move to the starboard side of the ship in an attempt to steady the ship. Many of the passengers did not listen.
As the clock reached 7:27, the list reached an angle of 25 to 30 degrees. More water began to pour into openings on the port side of the ship. Chairs, picnic baskets, beer bottles and other small items began to fall off shelves and move across the decks. Miraculously, passengers were still not panicked. They knew the history of the ship as being cranky and unstable, but they still believed that the crew would steady the ship.
A minute later, the port list had reached 45 degrees. There were more passengers on the port side of the ship because they heard the whistle of a Chicago fireboat as it passed the Eastland. Large furniture and appliances began to crash and slide along the decks. The crew realized that the situation was serious and the passengers began to panic.
E.W. Sladkey worked as the head of Western Electric Company’s printing department. He was the last passenger to board the ship and the first to escape. He remembers:
The Eastland was leaning over at an angle of about 45 degrees when crew and passengers became alarmed. After that it went over quickly, and the shout of warning from sailors and officers came too late. In an instant passengers who were not, like myself, gripping the starboard rail or leaning against the starboard side of the deckhouses, were slipping down the deck. In another instant it was all over with the Eastland.

As 7:30 A.M. approached, the Eastland had settled on its port side in 20 feet of muddy water. Unfortunately, because the Eastland capsized quickly, no lifeboats were launched and few lifejackets were passed out. Rescues commenced almost immediately after the ship settled.

Superintendent F.D. Fredericks and “Charlie” Hart manned a tug named the Rita McDonald. They went into the area where there were the most people and were responsible for saving 100 people. Another hero in the wake of the disaster was Charles R.E. Bowles. Bowles was a 17-year-old volunteer diver who worked from morning until night to rescue those trapped inside the ship. He was responsible for bringing forty victims to the shore. Bowles continued to work despite warnings from medical personnel and others helping in the harbor.

The Eastland disaster was a horrific site for all who were at the scene. Bert Cross was a survivor of the Eastland disaster. He describes what he saw in a letter to his mother:

I don’t know yet how I managed to get out on the side of the ship. And for the next two hours I worked pulling men, women and children out of the boat and from the water. If I live to be a thousand years old I will never forget the experience.

The whole river was a mass of struggling humanity when hundreds were drowning before my eyes…. Men and women covered with blood from broken windows, children and girls struggling in the water calling for help and the people trapped within the boat who never had a chance for their life. The ones in the water were soon recovered if they were alive, but in the cabins, staterooms and on the lower decks it was hours before the steel plates could be cut into and their bodies taken out.

I didn’t mind so much the pulling out of people who were alive but when we commenced to pull up dead ones, little girls and boys and even babies strapped in go-carts, then I quit, I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Although Bert Cross saved many lives that morning, two of those in his own party lost their lives, as did a group of four women they were talking to moments before.
Harlan E. Babcock was another survivor of the Eastland disaster. He described the scene:

Never to my dying day shall I forget the supreme horror of that moment. Men, women and children, who a moment before had been laughing and shouting messages to one another on board the Eastland and to friends on shore, were hurled by the hundreds into the Chicago River.

Hundreds of life preservers were thrown to the pleading men and women in the river, some of whom sank even before they could reach the floating bits of cork.

I shall also never forget the way those wailing, shrieking women- and some men- clung to the upper railing of the capsized boat. In mad desperation they grasped the rail, knowing that to let go meant possible death.

There were many other similar experiences among the survivors. All of them agree that it was a horrific sight.

At the end of the recovery effort, there were 844 dead, making this the most deadly disaster in Chicago. Of the total of dead, 841 were passengers, two were crewmembers and one was a crewmember from the Petoskey who lost his life during the rescue effort. Twenty- two entire families were wiped out on July 24, 1915. Surprisingly, many of those who perished on that morning did not actually drown. Medical examiners found that many of them suffocated. The medical examiners attribute this to the fact that they were probably crushed to death when they were buried under masses of other people and debris that landed on top of them.

There were many theories as to the probable cause of the tragedy. The ship was filled beyond the capacity of 2500 passengers. There were actually 2572 passengers. There were also questions as to why the capacity was raised from 2000 to 2500 prior to the incident. It is believed that the capacity should not have been raised, so instead of being 72 above capacity, it is believed that it was actually 572 above the amount that should be on the ship. Another possible cause is that the ballast tanks were not designed or working properly. The ballast tanks were not able to respond rapidly to changes in weight distribution. The ballast tanks had no meters to gauge the amount of water that was being placed in the different tanks and they were unable to pump water out of one set of tanks while simultaneously pumping water into another set. Many people believed that the cause of the disaster was actually crew error. It was believed that they did not handle the situation properly. Many of the crewmembers were charged with negligence. They were all acquitted in federal court. Although there are many theories as to the cause of the disaster, there was no single cause determined by authorities.

You find out the next day that the cute secretary you wanted to ask out to dinner is one of the victims of the disaster. You are really angry because you do not understand why this happened. You attend the trial of the crewmembers, but you do not comprehend why they are on trial. You believe that because many others in Chicago feel as angry as you do, these crewmembers are charged as scapegoats. During the course of the trial, you hear all of the theories as to the cause of the disaster, but you believe it is ridiculous that they are unable to find the actual cause. As time wears on, many forget about the tragedy, but you have never forgotten. You can not forget about that secretary who perished and your coworkers who did not survive. You lost many friends that day. You also decide after this incident that you will never attempt to leave Chicago again. You believe that you are safer in the city.

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