The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-11-18

evening the bodies of Is victims of last
nights catastrophe had been recovered,
this accounts for all but four passengers
known to have been on the car at the
time it made it's dreadful plunge from
the Central viaduct draw into the
Curahoga river. The verified list of
dead and missing is assfollows:
DEAD.
James Mclaughlin, q base ball player.
Henry Meclenburg.
Edward, Hoffman, conductor on the
Inflated car.
Mrs. John A. Sauernheimer.
Miss Bessie Davis, a school teacher
Harry W. Foster
Miss Minnie G. Brown.
Curt Lopehnd, or Clements, pianist
M rs. A. A. Hoffman.
Gertie Hoffman, years old.
Harvey Hoffman, years DID,
Mrs. Martha Palmer.
Marc Mottgen.
Augusta Sarinski.
Louis E. Huletz, mail carrier.
MISSING.
Lottie Voth, Miss Martha Saurenhei-
mer, BIC. Page. Matthew Gallagher.
Early this morning Augustus Rodgers,
the motorman in charge of the car, was
arrested. and was quetioned by the cOro-
ner and police officials.
He stated that Conductor Hoffman gave
himAthe signal Ito go ahead. When asked
as to how the conductor could have given
the "all right signal in the face OF the
fact that the red light signal showing the
drawer open was hung on the closed
bridge gates, Rodgers replied.
Hoffman probably thought the draw
| was just closing instead of opening.
Rodgers was released after giving
bonds for $4,000. Rodgers in an interview,
said: II stopped at the derailing switch
as l always do. saw the conductor go
ahead. l watched him an d he gave me
| the signal to come on. l did as directed
and gave the motor one notch. AS l
saw no red lights l naturally thought
everything was all right. AS struck
the gates, heard some one yell Jump.
| turned off the power as much as pos.
| sible and jumped. After the car plunged
the Haymarket to notify the police and
then went to the docks and helped.
| Five thousand spectators gathered at
the scene of the accident this morning
when search for the missing bodies was
resumed. A diver was employed by the
street car company to assist in the search
and after he sshad been at work. two hours
on the bottom, the body of Mail Carrier
Louis Hulets was brought to the sur
face.
About 10, tie diver came to the surface
with handful of woman's hair. He
said that the body was held dwon by
trucks and that in tryings to pull it out
he pulled the hair out. The body is
thought to be that of Miss Martha
Sauranhnin1or
About 80 the river man reported to
the police that the body Of a little girl
was floating under the Big -Four bridge
at South Water street. The body was
lodged against the piles and was fright
fully mang1ed, but was identified as the
body of Gertie Hoffman.
The work of searching for the four
unrecovered bodies will be resumed TO-
morrow.
Patrick Looney, the only passenger of
the Inflated car taken from the water
alive, is still at the hospital in a critical
condition. He has not regained conscious
ness.
The most plausible story regarding the
cause of the disaster, is the removal Of
the circuit breaker which was replaced
by the derailing switch about two weeks
ago. Formerly the circuit was broken
several hundred feet from the swinging
ortion of the viaduct, whenever the
draw was open. According to new con-
trivance which was constantly set, to
derail car 1t was necessary for the car
to stop and the conductor would set the
sderailer' and signal the motorman to go
ahead. This procedure was enacted last
night, and as the misty rain had so Gov
cred the glass in the vestibule. the motor
man claims to have been unable to see
the danger lights. depending solely upon
the conductors signals. AS the conduct
or went down to death with the car, 1t
will never be known what caused him to
fail to see the lights or to know that the
bridge was open. g. r. Brenner cap
tain of the bridge, was standing at the
guard gates at the time the car
car approached. He saw the conductor
run ahead and signal the motorman to
proceed. The car was going seven miles
an hour when it struck the gates. He
made no attempt to hold the gates, and
would have been carried down Ii it had
not been for chum who dragged him
aside. just as the lights went out he
saw the people rush to the front of the
car and heard girl scream, "Oh. my
God.'' He says the car did not turn
much in falling. The moment the acoi-
dent became noised about last night,
undertakers hurried to the docks with
their wagons and engaged in an unseemly
wrangle for the corpses. In one instance
the head of body was on one stretcher
and employees of another establishment
of 'sshame'' from the crowd had no
effect.
WORSE AND WORSE.