St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-02
PLUNGED into THE RIVER.
FIVE PEOPLE DROWNED IN A PORT
LAND ELECTRIC CAR.


accident Caused by Heavy Fog.
Il Slippery Track and an Open
Draw Conductor, Motorman
and President of the Road
: Under Arrest-lnterviews With
the Officials.
PORTLAND, Or, Nov. IAN electric
ear this morning plunged off Madison
bridge into the Willamette river. A
heavy fog was prevailing and the draw
| was open for the passage OF Il steamboat.
The car contained about fifteen pas
sengerS, ten of whom escaped by jump
ing. The remaining five were drowned.
Two Of the bodies have been recovered,
but have not yet been identified. The
president of the road, the conductor and
the motorman are under arrest. The
car was the first one coming into Port
land from the suburb of Milwaukee aud
few minutes before o'clock it went
through the draw. A number of ply
sicians Immediately went to the scene
of the accident.
A very heavy fog prevailed at the
time OF the accident, and it was un-
doubtedly due to this that the car took
its fatal plunge to the bottom of the
river. Three bodies have been recov-
cred, Charles Beckman, Al exander
Campbell and j. P. Anderson. Three
other men are missing. The conductor
and m0torman were released on their
own recognizances.
The car was the "Inez," belonging to
the East Side Railroad company. The
draw was open for the passage of the
steamer ElWood. So far as known, the
car contained about twenty passengers.
Just before the car reached the edge of
the draw the conductor saw the impend-
ing danger and
GAVE AN ALARM.
The passengers rushed out of the car
in confused mass, and it is thought all
but six of them succeeded in getting off
the car before it took the fatal plunge.
The record OF paid passengers showed
eleven. This, however. is no inoex to
the number, as many of the passengers
who came from Milwaukee or points
outside the city limits paid double fares,
which was shown by the register as two
fares, while representing but one pas
senger. In addition there were a num-
ber of passengers riding on tickets
issued by the company which were
punched by the conductor, but were not
recorded. The conductor thinks there
were eighteen or twenty persons on the
car. There was but one lady passenger
On the car, Miss Thayer, who. in the
scramble to get out, was caught in the
doorway from which she was eXtricated
without serious injury. The railroad
company are the recipients of a great
deal of cenSure for their failure to pro-
vide cars with sand. The three bodies
first recovered were
TAKEN TO THE MoRGUE,
namely:
Charles Hickman. bookkeeper, leaves
wife.
Alex Campbell, saloonkeeper, leaves
wife and oAild.
John P. Anderson. cabinetmaker,
leaves wife and five children.
Three men named Bennack, Stadeler
and Scott, are missing. Several of the
passengers received slight injuries, in
jumping.
The body of George Stadeler has Just
been brought to the morgue, making
four bodies recovered.
Motorman G. F, Terry gives the fol-
lowing version of the accident:
when the car came on the bridge
the power was thrown off and the car
approached the draw at a low rate of
speed. The fog was so heavy that I
was unable to see the lights at the draw.
When about four spans from the draw
put on the brakes, but owing to the
slippery condition of the track they re-
fused to work and l had no sand. When
within one SPAN of the draw reversed
the car, but the momentum was so great
that it was OF no avail.
"Seeihg that it was impossible to
avoid ali accident, I jumped, catching
the railing Of the bridge just as the car
crashed through the wooden gate in
front Of the chasm = -
Conductor W. G. Power states he was
standing on the front Of the car making
ger the caf was bit a few feet from the
jump and i Scramble followed. -
The body of BeHntck Was recovered