The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-03
Rl-rtaN
AUSEDFHE WRECK
So the Coroner's Inquest
Into Jeffrey Blewett's
Death Decided
Last Night.
JOHN cHEsSMAN CENSURED.
The Jury Heard Trainmaster Waite
and operators June and Ryer-
son, and Then Agreed.
JOHN CHEsSMAN CENSURED.

Operator George F. June was found
guilty of causing the death of Jeffrey
Blewett, and Brakeman John Chessman
was censured for neglect by Coroner
Parslow's jury in Roche's Hall last night.
It was the fourth session OF the inquest.
Assistant Train master George w. Waite
and Operators June and John l.. Ryer-
son testified.
MI, Waite went to the scene of the
wreck a few minutes after its Occurrences
near signal tower w. S. and the coal
shute west of the Hackensack bridge at
5.26 p. M. on January 10. He took gen.
ernl charge of the trains at the wreck.
Mr.. Waite said that operators
in the signal towers should give one
stroke on a signal bell to show the APP
proach of a train, and two strokes TO sig
nifty that the block was clear, to the
operators In the nearest signal tower.
June's sheet for that day showed that
train $40, the Waverly local, passed Juue's
tower H.. 3. at $40, and that at 5:25 he
received a signal from the operator In
tower w. s., the next on the west that
the block was clear. Mr.. Waite did not
say how long the record sheet remained
in June's possession afGer the wreck, n
nobody asked Tim. He did not bring the
sheet. and said it would be Impossible to
get it for last night.
JUNE TESTIFIES.
Operator June was closely scanned
when he followed Mr.: Waite in the wit
ness chair. Ex-Assemblyman j. Herbert
Potts was present as counsel for June
and sat near him. June was neatly
dressed in a Prince Albert coat and gray
trousers. He is twenty-four years old
and lives at No. 81 Hoooken avenue with
his mother, q widow, aud his brother r.
He said he had been u telegraph operator
six years. He was formerly al operator
In Pennington street, Newark for the
Pennsylvania railroad. He remembered
that train 949 passed tower II. b. at 5.19.
He reported her approach with one tap of
the bell to Operator Ryerson in owe
w. s. and received an y; Il. answer. AT
5;25 he was about to ask Ryerson what
was the matter, when the signal-two
taps-came, indicating that train No. 949
had left tower w. S. June said: II then
put out q white signal allowing train No.
IS to pass, aud made the record immedi-
ately. The two taps from tower w. s.
were very distinct. Very soon after train
what I was doing. l asked what he
meant. He said there had been a wreck;
that train No. Is had run into train No.
$40. / left tower H. B. when Operator
Kelly relieved me at $50 that evening. /
gave the record to Division Operator Will
liam Dettinger, rs the operators are re-
quired 10 do every day. | had been Oh
duty fourteen hours aud a halt. The reg
ular hours are from 3 to o..
Juror Totten asked u why he
didn't ask Ryerson about the delay of
the two taps signal. June said he had
other matters TO attend to and didn't no.
tice the time until 5:25, when he Was just
going to speak to Ryerson. Trains some
times delayed at the coal chute near
lower w. S. to coal up. A way train
usually takes about q minute to pass
from tower to tower. He had known
Ryerson four years.
~RYERsoN's ACCOUNT.
Operator Jonn l.. Ryerson lives at No.
81 French street, New Brunswick, ana Is
apparently ABOUT twenty-five years old
He has been an operator five years. He
is a ..relief OPERATOR" he said, an extra
man for sudden vacancies. AT 5.l9 Z. M,
he heard one tap OF the bell, giving notice
OF the approach OF TRAIN 949, and he
answered o K. Train 940 stopped, aud
he saw the engineer and fireman get off
to fix the engine. The division operator
called up Mt the central Office and asked
about the delay. He answered thai
something was wrong. When he got
through talking with the division oper-
ator, he heard one bell from
II. N os - h&A ~
sign in answer and got no reply. Then
he saw train IS coming and asked June
what he meant. June nesitated and then
said he had got 949 cleared. The next
second the collision occurred. He was
sure he didn't touch the bell after giving
the O. K. signal.
This finished the evidence. Train
Master Waite said to a reporter that
Ryerson's statement was straightforward
aud clear. IC seemed to impress the Jury
In the same va, but Counsellor Potts
made note of the fact that when June no.
lifted Ryerson OF the approach
sign for o. K. According to Mr.. Waite's
testimony Mr.. Potts thinks Ryerson
should not have made any answer. The
Jury considered RYerson's D. X. signal as
merely a response to June. 1t was given
before the arrival Of train $40 at tower w.
S.
until Has and then the Coroner helped
them Is minutes in remodelling the ver-
diet into this shape.
1--WE find that Jeffrey Blewett came to
his death from injuries received in q COL
lisiou on the Pennsylvania railroad on the
10Th of January 1893. caused by the
neglect of Operator George B. June, in
we also censure Brakeman John Chess
man for negligence in not using his
efforts more efectually to prevent the
collision"
But few were present when the verdict
was announced. June had rome. June's
indictment for mansiaughter is probable.
Prosecutor Winfield said ne would wait
for the developments Of the inquest be-
fore calling the Grand Jury's attic ntion
to the case.
NOT ARRESTED.
June remains at liberty. A representa-
tive of the company said the company
would not ask for his arrest at present.
Prosecutor Winfield will examine the
evidence and very probably will submit
1t to the Grand Jury. June's Indictment
for -mHnslaughter is expected. and it is a
question if the Grand Jury may not in
dict Chessman.
C0MRADE SANDS In THE LEAD.
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