[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 375 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 375

    Honoring the victims, survivors, and those who responded to the 
  Eastland disaster - a shipwreck which resulted in the deaths of 844 
                passengers and crew - on its centennial.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2015

Mr. Lipinski (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Gutierrez, 
  Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Foster, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. 
  Kinzinger of Illinois, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Quigley, 
Mrs. Bustos, and Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Honoring the victims, survivors, and those who responded to the 
  Eastland disaster - a shipwreck which resulted in the deaths of 844 
                passengers and crew - on its centennial.

Whereas, July 24th, 2015, marks the 100th anniversary of the Eastland sinking in 
        the Chicago River;
Whereas following the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the La Follette Seaman's 
        Act created untested new safety standards which resulted in the Eastland 
        carrying several tons of lifesaving equipment more than it was 
        originally designed to handle--all concentrated on the upper decks of 
        the ship;
Whereas A. A. Schantz, the general manager of the Detroit & Cleveland Navigation 
        Company, warned legislators in September of 1914 that many Great Lakes 
        vessels had extremely shallow drafts and that additional weight on their 
        upper decks could cause them to capsize;
Whereas, on July 24th, 1915, the Eastland was one of 5 vessels chartered to 
        carry Western Electric workers and their families across Lake Michigan 
        to their annual picnic in Washington Park, Michigan City, Indiana;
Whereas most of the families on board the Eastland were European immigrants from 
        Chicago and its western suburbs including Cicero and Berwyn, IL, and 
        this day-long picnic represented the only holiday many of them would be 
        allowed;
Whereas the crew hauled in the gangplank at approximately 7:18 a.m., and within 
        15 minutes, while still partially tied to its dock, the ship had listed 
        45 degrees to port and tipped over;
Whereas the vessel rolled over before any of its lifesaving equipment could be 
        deployed;
Whereas the crews and captains of the Kenosha, Indiana, Theodore Roosevelt, 
        Petoskey, Carrie Ryerson, Rita McDonald, CFD Graeme Stewart, several 
        smaller boats, and a U.S. Coast Guard power surfboat arrived at the 
        scene within minutes of the incident and saved hundreds of lives;
Whereas the Eastland rescue mission was the first major rescue operation for the 
        modern U.S. Coast Guard which had been established 6 months prior by 
        President Wilson;
Whereas Chicago police officers, firefighters, and local volunteers rescued many 
        still trapped in the Eastland, organized efforts to support survivors, 
        and worked with professional divers in the days following the disaster 
        to recover and transport the bodies of the dead to temporary morgues;
Whereas more non-crew, civilian passengers drowned on the Eastland than on 
        either the Titanic or the Lusitania;
Whereas 590 of the victims were under the age of 25 including 228 teenagers as 
        well as 58 infants and children;
Whereas the tragedy completely wiped out 22 entire families and left 19 families 
        without parents;
Whereas the Western Electric Company immediately made $100,000 available as an 
        emergency relief fund;
Whereas the American Red Cross established several relief stations for survivors 
        and raised nearly $400,000 from local businesses and citizens to provide 
        financial support to those who had lost family members;
Whereas all verdicts returned in the criminal proceedings were ``not guilty'', 
        and while the civil proceedings would carry on for another 20 years, the 
        victims' families ultimately received no monetary awards as damages; and
Whereas the Eastland was later restored and recommissioned as the USS Wilmette--
        serving as a Navy training gunboat from 1918 though 1946: Now therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the working-class families of Illinois who lost 
        their lives as a result of the Eastland disaster;
            (2) recognizes the brave first responders, both volunteers 
        and professionals, for their rapid response in their 
        community's time of need;
            (3) commits to working to keep their memory in the national 
        consciousness;
            (4) acknowledges the policy failure in responding to 
        concerns of Great Lakes mariners when creating the LaFollette 
        Seaman's Act; and
            (5) reaffirms the importance of intelligent maritime safety 
        policy.
                                 <all>