Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-08-05
WHO BLUNDERED?
Problem coroner's Jury Is At.
tempting to Solve.
PROBING A HORROR on THE RAIL.

Tragedy Mt Atlantic City Under Investign.
tion-S;.nal Man Hauser Sure tho Sig.
nails Were All Right, Giving Right OF
way to the Exsursion-Witness Who
Believe. the signals Were Changed-t
Little Light Yet.
ATLANTIC CITY. Aug. 5.-The official in. !
uuiry bv Coroner Mclaughlin to deter. |
mine the responsibility for the collision
between the Reading and Pennsylvania ,
was resumed yesterday. The presence on !
the witness stand of Operator Hauser, |
who displayed the signals from the cross !!
Ing tower. and Fireman Hallihan, who !
| was on the engine that ploughed through
| the excursion train, made determination
| the most interesting Of the series When
the proceedings opened Nicholas Long,
| the day tower operator, was recalled. but
| simply went over old ground When
| Hauscr took the stand the pallor of his
| face betrayed the mental trouble under
! which he had been laboring. He declared
! empha.irally hat he had taken no in.oX.
| eating liquors on the day of the accidert
| Gave the Vest Jersey Right of Way.
| Witness said he had Just gone on duty
! when the West Jersey indicator rang, no.
| tifyinc him Of the approach Of a north
bound train. Previous 10 TINT he had
| looked at the signals and all were at dan
| ger He was sure Of this. He saw that
the West jersey was Il little late and then
gave them the right of way. He saw the
board come down. Then he pulled tho
distant scmaphorc The West Jersey kept
coming Then he discovered the Reading
rounding the curve. He expected tho
| Reading to slow up to let the West Jersey
over. He saw the steam of the Reading
go down, as is usual when it is turned Off
The engineer of the Reading gave two
blasts of his whistle, but both trains kept
on, and the collision occurred. He would
be disobrying rules to stop an express in
favor o an excursion train, but he
thought he lad not done so in this case,
because the West Jersey was SO much
nearer the crossing.
Fireman Hailinan Gives Testimony.
| Fireman Mailman stated that he was in
the tender during the approach to the sig
mails at the tower, and did not see the sig
nal until the second whistle flag was
blown. The distant one then indicated
caution and the home one stop. He was
on the step CT the engine when the crash
came. The engineer put on the air brakes,
and TO witness mind did everything to
I stop the train. The train was going forty
five to fifty miles an hour ut the distant
board. No conversation passed between
him and Engineer Farr just previous to
the collision. Hallinan was the witness
who was expected to tell a very full story
OF the disaster.
They Blame the West Jersey.
I Conductor Pinkcrton. of the Reading
express; Engineer Grcncr and Fireman
Newall, of the West Jersey excursion
train. ard Arthur stiles, n resident OF
Atlantic City, who was riding on his
wheel and saw the collision. testified.
Nearly all these witncsse; agreed that En-
, ginccr Edward Farr, of the Heading train
, had done everything in his power to stoE
his train when he saw that collision was
imminent and every one of them except
Greiner stated or Inferred that the Wesi
dorsey train could either have been stopped
i after Engineer Greiner saw the Reading
| laundering along towards him, or handled
8 SO hat only the two engines would have
a come together. This would have meant
Il the death of the men in the two cabs verl
likely. but it would have saved the pas.
scngcr coaches.
Intimatcs n Change in Signals.
q Conductor Pinkerton gave the impres
g sion that the signals had not been prop
l. erly worked. According to his interpreta
e ton of Engineer Farr's whistles a certain
$ signal had been given the Reading trail
Il and then suddenly changed TO another
10 The first must have been the right wa
= signal and the second the danger. Far
whistled to know which was right. but /
<, was too late to stop the train. Enginee
h, Grc!ner declared that he was guided onl
IN by signals. regardless of the approach G
u, .,c ;s-l,,
IS of-way and he continued on, but he ha
n known of instances when the signals Ia
I'd been changed quickly.
10 |