But First, A Word From Our Sponsor:
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board. Just click on the Spinning Top™ to make a submission.
Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist poster reserves the right to edit all content.
Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the doodle...
|
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the city of
Chicago's greatest disaster. Early on the morning of July 24, 1915, the steamer ship
Eastland was one of among five ships sitting on the Chicago River, hired by the Western Electric Company to take roughly 7,300 employees and their families to a company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana. By 7:10 a.m., approximately 2500 people had loaded onto the
Eastland and were ready to depart. Some eyewitness accounts say that crowds of people began rushing to one side of the boat to pose for a photographer, causing the boat to suddenly list.
The crew made the decision to try and stabilize the vessel by opening one of the ballast tanks. It didn't work. At 7:28 a.m., the ship tilted sharply and then quickly rolled completely onto its side coming to rest on the river bottom trapping hundreds of people within. Rescuers immediately went to work with torches to cut a hole into the hull. Although this act did manage to save 40 people, 840 passengers and 4 crew members were either crushed to death or drowned just 20 feet from the wharf. The death toll was nearly triple the count of people who perished in the Great Chicago Fire.
The inquiries immediately began. A grand jury indicted the president and three officers of St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company which owned the ship on manslaughter charges. The ship's captain and engineer were also indicted for criminal carelessness. Federal extradition hearings were heard to compel the six indicted men to travel from Michigan to Illinois to stand trial. Defending them was none other than Clarence Darrow. The court found insufficient evidence that any of the men were personally responsible for the tragedy and refused extradition. Even though a naval architect had warned the company in 1913 that serious structural defects in the ship's design could cause the ship to list, his advice went ignored and the problems never addressed. Still, in this era of rampant corruption and corporate cronyism—some things never change—the investigation was shut down with no one ever being held responsible for the tragic loss of life a century ago.
Now on to Tops!
TOP MOJO
July 23, 2015
(excluding Tip Jars and first comments)
Got mik!
1) Here's the video of the exchange by LoneStarMike +191
2) This is shameful, and it is a real two-fer. by blue jersey mom +154
3) Did she type up licenses for divorcees, adulterers by Dirk McQuigley +126
4) Give me a break by CenPhx +109
5) His borther added $3 TRILLION in debt for Iraq by chrismorgan +107
6) By text no less when they had already by a2nite +104
7) Prescription drugs by Betty Pinson +99
8) there have been several huge by jfromga +98
9) I believe the costs of his brother's by jfromga +95
10) Hell, we can payoff that $50 billion by cutting .. by FogBelter +90
10) Nice Political Party you have there... by Witgren +90
12) 50 Billion? About 1% What the RIch Have Taken by Gooserock +86
13) The leaks and fuckups are familiar by Dallasdoc +75
14) At 4:10... by CanisMaximus +71
15) Yes it is. And I really want to rec up... by expatjourno +70
16) This is capital murder, even if she killed herself by Walt starr +69
17) Good for her nt by a2nite +68
17) Bernie on The Ed Show last night by LoneStarMike +68
17) I got pulled over last fall by LibrErica +68
20) At this point, may I say as a white person by Onomastic +67
21) And also, per capita, it's about $150. by billmosby +65
22) "It's not an entitlement. I earned that." by Matt Z +64
22) We need more sousaphones. by admiralh +64
24) Wow, Jeb really is stupid by Betty Pinson +63
25) Bland attorney: she had MJ while in prison ... by We Shall Overcome +61
25) One of the ways to strengthen Meidcare by gulfgal98 +61
27) Yes, ma'am by quaoar +62
28) And let's not forget about the Bush tax cuts n/t by Shockwave +60
29) I've stayed on the sideline of this Meta Pie by Wisper +59
29) I'd like to blockquote by Raggedy Ann +59
|
TOP PHOTOS
July 23, 2015
Enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
|