The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-08-22

could not wait for the train to come to a halt.
but jumped from IL while still in motion, and
soon brought gladness to the hearts OF ~ xioua,
waiting friends. Those but slightly wounded
stuck their heads out OF the car windows, and
as they espied those near and dear TO them,
called out in lusty tones, vouchssfing the in
formation that they were more scared than
hurt. But while these meetings drew tears Of
pleasure, there were others that convulsed the
soul with anguish, aud bapless wives and
parents mingled their means with those of
dying husbands and sons.
There is a deep and expressed determination
in the community that the happening OF this
calamity shall be thoroughly Investigated, and
that all parties OH whom guilt can be proved
no matter how high position they may occu-
by, shall be dealt with according to the full
measure Of their guilt The time is passing
when the responsibility for accidents OF this
sort can be quietly shifted on the shoulders of
those directly instrumental in bringing them
about. Recklessnesr and carelessness are the
result of system. General bad management
is the direct cause 1t may be true that some
accidents are unavoidable. but this one is di-
rectly attributable to adevil-may -care reckless
ness, and that is a legitimate outgrowth OF the
way in which all our railroads are nowadays
managed. 1t is but fortnight ago that the
It1,es drew attention to this spirit in railroad
management, and predicted the natural result
illustrated by this horror. 1t ID high time the
responsibility were placed where it in great
part belongs. Sooner or later this will be done,
and the sooner, the better. The greedy desire
for gain is at the bottom of il all. Heartless
monopoly has but one end in view, and when
applied to railroads it il epitomiZed in the
word dividends" All the timetables are set
to this trisyllabe, and il the conductors fail in
keeping to the laundering paces required by
it, they have one alternative, and that in col
Htrns m live do t,nto in, tl.a
calculation of modern high-pressure railroad
official. Judges are theirs, juries are easily
packed, and the impecunious victim Ii fought
to the court of last resort and is there cheat
cd on some frivolous technicality of the
statute.
Such is the long and short of railroad acct
dents, and therefore it is time to put the blame
whore it belongs, not only theoretically, but
practically. Public opinion is ripe for for
ward movement on what has hitherto proved
an impregnable citadel, but united effort
will break down the walls and class railroad
murdeIers in the same category with other
criminals.
The exact spot at which the accident &C.
CURED is situated about half mile south of
what is known al "Sag" bridge, and about
two and half miles from the village of Lee
mont. The track at this place passes across
the low bottom land bordering on small
stream. known in that region as the Calumet
feeder, and, in the middle OF the Mersley ex-
panse, which is nearly a mile wide, swings
around an easy curve to westward.
On the very crown of this curve the collision
took place. The skill of the engineer in con-
structing the road at this point seems now
that the event has occurred there, to have
completed what nature had left unfinished in
order to make this the very spot of all others
for the scene of such a catastrophe. From
either direction the track approaches through
wooded region; over the marsh dense fogs
frequently gather when the condition OF the
atmosphere liz favorable. al it was last Satur-
day evening; the embankment crossing this
region lis sufficiently high for the purpose,
and the descent of grade from either side
toward the curve, though regular. is quite
decided. All these circumstances, combined
with the other two, neither Of which were
wanting on that fatal evening, viz, a passen-
ger train a few moments behind time. in
charge OF conductor who, supposing that he
had a clear track before him, is running at an
unusually high rate Of speed in order to re-
gain what he had lost. and a heavy freight
train in charge OF a reckless manager, coming
i'll the opposite direction, combine to make
the calamity more than usually disastrous.
The night passenger train, No. 4, of the
Alton aud st. Louis railway, which left
this city at $40 o'clock on Saturday evening
was more than usually we'll crowded with pas
sengers. 1t left the depot promptly at the
appointed moment. but for some reason il had
lost time slightly, and on reaching Willow
Springs, station Is miles from town. il was
nearly eight minutes behind
The train was supposed, according to the
rules of the road to have the full right Of
way between that and the next station, and it
was with the full confidence that he had
clear track before him that Conductor Russell
ordered his engineer to make better time than
usual for the next six miles. Under ordinary
circumstances this proceeding would have
been perfectly safe and would have been so
on this occasion were it not for another cir
cumstance of which he was then entirely ig-
norant
At about the same moment that - No. A.
with its load of human freight, left Willow
Springs, or perhaps trife earlier. coal train
No. %, in charge of Conductor Edward Beane.
left Lemont going north. Why this was done
no one now can imagine. Mr.. Beane knew,
if he had his senses about him, that he had
no right to the road, and that even then the
passenger train was laundering on its way to
Lemont. But he says he did not think Of this
fact until ten minutes past 10 o'clock, just five
minutes before the fatal crash came. 1t was
then, he says, too late to return. and so his
heavy ,rsin of twenty-three heavily-laden cars
drawn by u powerful ten-wheel engine, went
rushing on toward the fatal curve
1t would seem from the position of the
wreck that both trains must have emerged
from the woody region skirting the marsh, and
started down the grade toward the curve, at
almost the same moment. At that time. had
the circumstances been favorable, the ell
gineers might have seen the threatening glare
of the headlight on the other engine but
they we're not.
heavy fog hung over the marsh, and no
dense and thick was it that it was almost i'm
possible for each man to see even faint
glmmer from his own lantern. as it's rays fell
upon the wall of mist i'll front. The roar OF
the wheels filled the ears of the only men who
at that moment had the power to avert the
danger, and they, unhappily, like
the hundreds whose lives were in their hands,
did not even suspect its presence.
Suddenly, as the curve was reached, the
most dangerous point at which the accident
could have occurred, bright and threat
ening light, dashing forward like a meteor,
flashed in the eyes of the engineers. There
Was one sharp, shrill scream from the whistle
of the freight engine, crash, deafening
roar that seemed to shake the very earth, one
sharp hiss of escaping steam, and the heavy
trains which but an instant before had been
plugging inadly forward, were crushed and
glound together into one shapeess heap. A
terrific explosion. az the huge boiler OF the
engine burst asunder, was heard.
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