Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-30
WORRIED TO DEATH.
A Victim Of the Tarryt9wn EKplo-
sion Expires in Hospital.
KILLED By TOO MUCH ATTENTION.
Coroner, Jury and Railroad officials Hasten
His Tragic End.
ACCUSED OF CRIMINAL CULPABnlTY


town, on the New York Central Railroad
will have 20 deaths to answer for when the
curtain has been rung down upon Coroner
Mitchell's ghastly farce Edward Finne.
gan, the foreman of the hapless gang Oh
the construction train when the fatal ex.
plosion occurred, died in terrible agony at
the Proyident Home Hospital Great as
was his physical agony, the mental torture
to which lie was subjected during the last
week of his life was greater still.
Finnegan had gathered from his conversa-
tions with Mr.. Mccoy, the superintendent
of the Hudson river branch of the New
York Central Railroad and from his inter-
views with Detectives Gore and Dowd, of
the same corporation, as well as from the
line of inquiry pursued by Coroner Mitch
ell, who is said to have no connection with
the powerful railroad, that he
Was to BE the Scapegoat
in the affair, and that the railroad, by
throwing him overheard and by saving that
he carried the dynamite carelessly, hoped to
save itself from paving the damages to the
injured and the indemnities to the families
of the dead which any court of law would
allow
This line Of. defense was more fully devel-
oped at the inquest on Monday, when Boss
Foreman Travis deposed that he had ex-
presslv ordered Finnegan not to bring from
Douglass Grove any dynamite, but simply
the blacksmith's tools. This evidence was
not strengthenedby the almost miraculous
appearance of Henry Scully, who presented
himself without awaiting the formality of
subpoena, and deposed that he overheard
these orders given as Travis stated. In ex-
PLANTATION of his unbidden presence ON the
stand he let the cat out Of the bag by saying
that he had conversed with Travis for over
half an hour, and that somewhat later an
official of the road told him to go to the in
quest, ''as his evidence was valuable"
Mental as Well as Physical Agony.
As his strength waned poor Finnegan
knew there was on foot an attempt to rob
him of his reputation as a reliable and cap
able employee which he had deserved bv ia
years of efficient work. His statement will
be placed before the members of the grand
jury which meets on Monday at White
Plains.
All Wednesday night the harassed fore
man was delirious, and cried again and
again in his agony: ''God knows they or
dered me to bring up the dynamite. L
knew the full danger of it, and for the sake
of my children would not have run the
danger and exposed the men of my gang to
such terrible death had not the orders
been given me-"
DR.. Irwin G. Adams, of Bellevue, who
was in charge of Finnegan during his last
illness, made the following statement fer
publication, which is confirmed in every
particular by John T. Zaremha, a trained
nurse, also from Bellevue.
A Physicians Solemn Statement.
Coroner Mitchell and his jury have been to
see Finnegan twice. The first time they
took long statement from him and left him
in an exhausted condition. Two days later
his leg was amputated, but he stood a fair
chance for recovery.
Last Monday the jury came again. Finne-
gan's pulse and respiration were then nor
NAL The seven men were witllE him half an
hour, although they had no authority to see
him and came against the wishes of the
nurse ana matron. Nhen they left F1nne-
gan became delirious and his temperature
went up to log.
They asked questions that tended to ex-
cite his mind, and crosS-eXamined him to
verify his former statement Since then he
has raved about the inquest and the disaster,
asserting that Scully, who veri-
fled Travis statement regarding Finneganis
orders. did not tell the truth. do not hesi-
would have been alive today if he had not
been worried by the jury. OF course, he
might have died anyway, bat the chances
favored his recovery.
The doctor might have added that the
visits of Superintendent Mccoy and De-
tectives Gore and Dowd did the dying man
no good, while the presence of his wife bv
his bedside, would have had tranquilizing
effect upon his harrassed nerves.
The Coroner brought with him from
Yonkers Joseph Canopi, an honest old
Italian, to talk to his countrymen, who
were all on hand bright and early. Their
names were Angelo Dittore, Frank Angelo,
Antonio DebOne and Angelo spino and Wit
torio sItaliano, from Bellevue Hospital.
Canopi comes from Genoa and understands
no more of the Calabrian dialect, which the
Italians speak, than the man in
the moon. He did not understand the Cal
abrams and they did not understand him,
and when he commenced to put what he
certainly thought the Calabrians meant to
say into English, the jurymen and st en-
ographer could not understand what he
meant.
Then an obliging French-C Canadian jumped
into the breach, but as the Calabrians con-
tinually appealed for explanations and
counter explanations the duty ofinterpreting
the Coroner's questions and the answers of |
he Italians finally devolved upon another.
Coroner Mitchell submitted to the inevitable |
with very good grace.
The Italians made excellent witnesses, |
md their testimony did not clash in a single |
particular with the interviews and the affi- |
lavits which have been published The |
following Is the testimony of one of them, |
Angelo Spino:
Here Is a Clear Story.
We loaded on the cart about % cases of /
the Westling cartridges at Dudley's Grove.
Several Of the cartridge boxes, 1 think
three, were without covers and completely |
exposed. The boxes were placed on top of
Zach other, making pile about four feet
high on the forward end of the truck near
,st the engine, the explosive caps With the
wires and tapers attached were placed loose
y in one of the boxes on top of the pile
which was open. They we're lying loose and
lrotudcd above the box and were exposed !
% the wind and the sparks.
As we were afraid that one of these ex-
1loding caps might fall or be blown by the
llode Cerotto, one of the Italians who were
lilled, stood by the pile of boxes to steady
md balance the exploding caps and keep
hem from falling.
/ have been working on the road three
months, but never have seen construc-
ion train sent along at such speed as was
'ur train the morning of the explosion. /
vas seated about She middle OF the car, with
ny head facing south, in order to escape as
much a. possible the heavy showers of hot
parks which were falling upon us, coming
rom the engine. They burned my neck
evercly and finally L tiirned around to see
f there was not some section of the car
which escaped this shower that might
move to.
l