The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-30
THEY WANT MORE LIGHT.
Waiting to Hear "The Call :"
Mans Testimony on the
Baden Accident.
Conflicting Evidence Given as to the
Time the Washout Occurred-The
Roadbed Was Low.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CAL, Jan.
29.-The jury impaneled by acting Coro-
ner E. E. Cunningham to hold an inquest
over the body of Engineer Keyer, who
was killed in the Baden accident, held an
other lengthy session tonight and adj
iourned without accomplishing any actual
work.
Two new witnesses were called, Joseph
Morgan and Antoine Buffet. Both were
very willing witnesses, though their testi-
mony was mostly hearsay. Both swore
that Tilton told Watchman Murphy that
the water was over the track and 1T was
his duty to flag the train.
With the conclusion of this testimony
there followed long wrangle among the
jury as to the ACCESSIBILITY of bringing in
verdict without securing the testimony OF
Fireman Gill or j. P. Reynolds. the re-
porter for THE CALL who was with Murphy
when the latter made desperate but fu-
tile effort to attract the attention of En-
gineer Keyer. Juryman Neff was out
spoken in his desire to have the jury reach
verdict. 1t was finally decided, how
ever, to adjourn over until Saturday morn
ing at 10 o'clock. when an effort will be
mace to have both Fireman Gill and Mr..
Reynolds present
There seems little reason to doubt that
two-thirds of the jury are inclined to fix
the blame on Waterman Murphy, although
the t en- witnesses so far examined have
given no evidence to show that the watch
man did not show the danger signal.
Every witness seems to be very much at
sea as to time. Section Foreman Wren
testified that he was at the scene of the
fatal disaster at $40 and that later he sent
an assistaD back over the track. AT that
time the water was not running over the
track and there was no reason to expect
the flood, which came almost as soon as
their backs were turned.
Antoine Buffet swore that the bulkhead
which the railroad people claim caused
the washout, broke between 4 ana o'clock
in the afternoon. This assertion is COR
roborated by others, though the time is set
from half to three-quarters of an hour
later. If Buffet is correct is it difficult TO
understand how it is that the great volume
of water just released did not reach the
end of Mr.. Wren's beat until after $40
O'clock and had not even begun to gather
when he says his assistant appeared on the
scene some minutes later.
w. j. Martin, agent of the South San
Francisco Land and Improvement Com
pany, is the only man who bears out the
statement of Murphy, though even this is
in faint-hearted sort of way. He saw a
light near the bridge just above where the
accident occurred, and the light, whether
it was white or red he could not say, ap-
peared to wave.
If the suggestion of acting Coroner Cum
ningham is followed the Southern Pacific
will come in for a certain amount of CEN
sure whether the jury find Murphy guilty
of criminal neglect, or the railroad merely
lax in its track-Walking system.
When the new line by way of South San
Francisco was completed three years ago
the swamp lands between here and Colma
were thought capable of producing trouble
at any time. To obviate this as much as pos
sibie the railroad was raised an average of
eight feet. The heavy rains of the last two
years have washed in so much loan and
debris as to practically level the bed. 1t is
now on an average of only about two feet
above the swamp. When a heavy rain
comes it is matter of few hours only for
the swamp to become entirely covered with
water.
The bursting of the bulkhead, whether
it occurred at or clock, threw such q
volume of water against the thirty-foot
culvert as to completely block it up.
Something had to give way, and it did, in
the shape of the loose SOIL and gravel OF
which the embankment is made.
1t is ccntended by Mr.. Cunningham that
had the Southern Pacific kept the roadbed
at its original height the storm of Sunday
could not possibly have done any harm, as
the culvert would easily have carried away
three times the amount of water suddenly
released by the breaking of the Spring Val
ley bulkhead.