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The Eastland Disaster is often measured, especially by historians
and the media, with a popular yard stick named the Titanic. In fact,
some have gone so far as to call the Eastland Disaster "Chicago's
Titanic".
To compare
the capsizing of the Eastland to the sinking of the Titanic requires
a certain perspective and examination of the many differences. The
sinking of the Titanic occurred miles from shore and assistance,
where loss of life should have been expected. The Eastland capsized
a mere 20 feet from the wharf, still moored at the bow; in the heart
of the largest city in the Midwest. More passengers died on the
Eastland than perished on the Titanic; and were mostly women and
children. The Eastland had a history of long service (12 years)
on the Great Lakes, while the Titanic sank on her maiden voayge.
The sinking of the Titanic was a British maritime disaster, but
the capsizing of the Eastland was purely an American tragedy. So
why has American history commonly neglected the Eastland?
Passengers:
The Titanic carried the very wealthy and the working-class, mainly
from Ireland, Scandinavia and the Baltic States. It
was this make up of the passenger list of the Titanic, with many
distinguished citizens on board, that heightened the postmortem
uproar. In contrast,
the Eastland carried mostly new or first generation working-class
Americans from Poland, Germany, Bohemia, Slovakia and Lithuania.
To put this in perspective, consider
the recent press coverage of John F. Kennedy, Jr. plane crash compared
with the doomed passengers on Egyptian Air Flight 990. Celebrity
and wealth have always generated more journalistic coverage.
Loss of
Life: Loss
of life surely elevates the Titanic in the eyes of the history.
While initial reports indicated over 1,800 died on the Eastland,
the final casualty total was 844. But if loss of life determines
notoriety, then historians should provide more than a footnote to
the tragic loss of over 7,000 civilians and refugees aboard the
hospital ship Wilhelm Gustloff in January
1945. Since this is not the case, we must examine other factors.
Duration
of Drama: From the moment the Titanic struck the iceberg, drama
began. The drama was horrifically scripted with gallant and deliberate
choices of life and death, cowardice, bravery and survival. All
of the survivors arrived on the Carpathia to throngs of eager reporters
waiting at the docks. It was relatively easy for journalists to
obtain access to the survivors to capture their stories. The Eastland
capsized within moments, followed by heroic rescue efforts lasting
about 30 minutes. The Eastland had no passenger list. Survivors
in good health were sent home while those in need of medical assistance
were sent to numerous area hospitals and clinics. It was difficult
at best for news media to interview survivors following the disaster.
The only congregation of Eastland passengers were those at the Second
Regiment Armory temporary morgue, and the dead tell no tales.
Timing:
As with most things in life, timing plays a major role. The
Titanic was the first major maritime disaster since the General
Slocum burned in 1903. The Eastland capsizing occurred on the heels
of highly publicized maritime disasters, the Titanic (1912), the
Empress of Ireland (1914) and the Luisitania (May 1915). During
the months prior to the Eastland, the general public was bombarded
with stories of the Luisitania and news from the front, as the Great
World War (WWI) was accelerating its deadly pace. Death had captured
the front page for weeks when the Eastland capsized. For Chicago
newspapers, the story remained on or near the front page through
mid-August. For other American papers, the news dropped from the
front page after 2 days, and altogether by July 31. Tremendous battles
on the Western Front, inflicting over a hundred thousand casualties,
marshalled the Eastland tragedy from the front page into the dustbin
of history.
It is an interesting
observation to note that even though the Titanic sunk in over 2
hours, that only 19 of 20 life boats could be launched. If the Titanic
had been equipped with 40 lifeboats, how many more could have been
launched, when 20 could not be launched under the most ideal of
conditions? In addition, if the Titanic had listed badly during
her sinking, only one side of the davited boats could have been
launched. But this perceived shortage of lifeboat capacity was this
premise of the 'Boats for All' political movement following the
sinking of the Titanic; leading to the Congressional passage of
the La Follette Seaman's Act of 1915,
which ultimately contributed to the already top-heavy condition
of the Eastland through the addition of life saving equipment.
The Titanic
and the Eastland are disasters which could have easily been avoided
had safety measures and common sense prevailed. It is these particular
lessons which we should remember and apply daily in honor of those
whose lives were cut short by these tragedies. And
never forget.
| TITANIC |
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EASTLAND |
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Ship Builder
Location
Date Launched
Screws
Overall Length
Beam (Width)
Licensed Capacity
Total Passengers
Total Casualties
Passenger Deaths
Crew Casualties
Other Casualties
Survivors
Lifeboats (30')
Emergency Cutters
Collapsible Rafts
Lifesaving Capacity
Lifebuoys
Lifebelts
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Harland
& Wolff
Belfast, Ireland
1911
3
882' 8"
92' 0"
3,547
2,228
1,523
829
694
0
705
14
2
4
1,178
48
3,560 |
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Ship Builder
Location
Date
Launched
Screws
Overall
Length
Beam
(Width)
Licensed
Capacity
Total
Passengers
Total
Casualties
Passenger
Deaths
Crew
Casualties
Other
Casualties
Survivors
Lifeboats
Workboats
Collapsible
Rafts
Lifesaving
Capacity
Liferafts
Lifebelts
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Jenks
Port Huron, MI
May 6, 1903
2
275' 0"
38' 0"
2,570
2,573
844
841
2
1
1,730
11
1
0
776
37
2,570
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FURTHER
READING ON THE TITANIC
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