Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1896-08-06
WHOLE NO. 25lO

All Brldgeton mourned their awful
ueath, and all Bridgeton offered to the
pereaved ones such sympathy as il was
possible to express.
A bright dayi nature had provided,
The glorious sunlight cleaned into the
darkened homes until several of the dead
had been shown the respect due their
memory, and then it seemed as if nature
itself could not continue it's glorious glad
ness, and down pour of rain, like a
ftful sobbing of the weeping clouds,
descended upon the mourners, and upon
the dead.
Of the funerals, five of them were
double. Three of husband and wife. two
fathers and sons, while the other was a.
husband and father alone
All day long funeral corteges were pass
ing through the streets. All day long
| could be seen the solemn glass enclosed
hearses, carrying the dead, all day long
| could be seen curtain drawn cabs, carry
ing the sorrowing and bereaved.
In the cemeteries the sections were en-
gagged in rounding up mounds over the
newly made graves, while strong men
were weeping, and women were swoon-
ing, overcome by their awful grief.
| The last ceremonies over humanity are
| always more impressive than any other
I OF life's duties, but the circumstances of
these deaths-the horror and appalling
suddenness and the number of the vic
tins made this Sunday one to be forever
remembered by all who saw and felt it's
woe. That in the most instances the
faces of the dead could not be shown to
their own kindred, because of mutilation
and unspeakable disfgurements made
the services still harder to witness. The
regular church services were not attended
so largely as usual, as many people had
no thought for anything else than the
funerals of friends and acquaintances.
ATLANTIC CITY, Aug. 3.-The opening
days proceedings in the investigation
before Coroner Mclaughlin, which is to
locate the blame for the railway catas-
trophe of last Thursday evening, were
uneventful and disappointing to the
crowd in attendance, which had expected
sensations and gruesome revelations.
Four and one-half hours were used in
edO AOi udi IuOhtlhCdtIOu VI Gu0 u6du III
explanations of the methods of signalling
employed on the two railroads at their
crossing on the Atlantic City meadows,
the question of the safety of such methods
and devices, and the possibility of mis-
take on the part of the operator, and of
mechanical arrangement on the part of
the devices employed.
1t was shown that the mechanism of the
interlocking switch and the electric sig
nal system is as near perfect as inventive
genius can make it-marvellous in their
protective power against accident, but
the factor of human fallability can never
be eliminated from the operation of rail-
roads.
The two star witnesses in the inquest
are Fireman O'Hallahan, of the Reading
engine, and George F. Houser, the oper-
ator in the Meadow tower who set the
signals for the two trains which met on
the crossing. Neither of the men gave
his testimony to-day, and the only evil
dence bearing directly upon the disaster
was given by Nicholas Long, the tower
signal operator, who was on duty in the
daytime on the fatal day of the crashing
trains.
He left the tower only two minutes be-
fore the accident, which he witnessed as
well as taking notice of the position of
the semaphor signals on the Reading and
Pennsylvania roads, both before and after
the smash. He talked simply and in a
frank, straightforward manner. which
impressed the jurymen favorably.
He left the tower to walk home at o.4O
O'Clock in the evening after his days
work Of twelve hours. Hauser having
relieved him. AS Long went along the
West Jersey road bed, he passed the
Bridgeton excursion train, which was
moving so slowly that he ''could easily
have jumped on her. She was not going
much faster than 1 could rum" This
train, which had just pulled out of At
lantic City, was about 800 feet from the
crossing.
The day operator saw that the track
was ''clear' for this train to proceed;
that is that the semaphore signals were
set at safety" The engineer had, there
fore, only one thing TO do-go on. The
two semaphore arms on the Reading
track toward Pleasantville were horizon
tai. pointing warning fingers, one ''cau-
tion," the other danger" "stop." He
heard the whistle of the Reading flyer
half mile away and turned, for in his
Judgment the express should have been
given the right of way, and he waited to
see her stop. The Reading train was 60
ing four miles to the excursion trains
one.
Long said positively that the express
| thundered by the first ''caution" signal,
1000 feet from the station, without slack
ing speed, so that when the red sema-
phore board flashed danger" from
| close beside the tower, the train was not
under control, and the excursion train
moving ahead, as ordered, was struck