The San Francisco call., 1896-03-10
CHILD VICTIMS
OF THE TROLLEY.
Two Little Girls Trip Mer-
rily to al Awful
Death.
NO GUARDS ON WHEELS
The Children of Frank E. Booth
Killed by an Electric
Car.
THE COUNCIL WILL ACT.
A Stringent Law to Be Passed Re-
quiring Safety Brakes and
Wheel Guards.
THE COUNCIL WILL ACT.

OAKLAND, CAL, March Skate
Anna. a little miss of ten years, and
Ida Emilia, four years younger, the
children of Frank E. and Mrs. Booth,
were instantly killed by an electric car at
Eighth and Adeline streets tonight.
They have been in the habit OF going to
meet the train from San Francisco every
evening. Their father is employed at the
City, and his only two children used to 60
to Seventh and Adeline streets and walk
home with him. This evening when he
got off the train he looked around as usual
for little Katie and Edith, but did not see
them. At the next corner be saw big
crowd, and when he joined it he saw that
it was surrounding the mangled forms oi
his little ones.
They were terribly injured, and the
shock was 50 great to the father that he
could with difficulty reach his home,
where the news had preceded him. Katie
had been skating on the sidewalk. and her
little feet still wore the rollers after they
were extricatei from the wheels and the
little mangled forms were taken to. the
Morgue. At the time of the accident
the children were going from Sew
enth street toward Eighth, and
evidently did not see that there was
a car approaching from either direction.
The east bound car had passed and the
girls had crossed the south track. When
they started to cross the north track the
west bound car came along and before it
could be stopped the front wheels had
passed over Katie and the second pair
were on top of her younger sister. Both
were dead before they were picked up.
John Mclean, the motorman OF the
fatal car, delivered himself to the police
tonight and was released on his own
recugnizance. He said that the girls were
not in sight when he reached the opposite
crossing, and he was going at rate OF
speed that would permit of his stopping
within the cars length. This, he says,
was rroyl, by the fact that he brought his
car to 'standstill right where the girls
we're crossing. To do this, however, he
had to reverse his motor.
The instant 1 saw the girls said Nc
Lean, II applied the breaks and reversed
the current. 1 was going at slow rate
and had no current on at all. l did not
see the girls until l struck them. They
came right around the rear end of the car.
One was skating and the other was walk
ing by her side. There was man and a
woman sitting on the front seat. When
they saw that the accident was inevitable
they screamed and jumped of and were
lost in the crowd. l am sure that they
will exonerate me if they can be found. !"
The Oakland Consolidated has been par
licularly unfortunate in killing people
during the past two years, and nearly all
their fatalities occur in West Oakland.
About two years ago little child named
Bell was killed almost at the scene of to-
nights accident About a year before
that little Loren Fox was killed ard within
the past year three men have also been
killed on the West Oakland branch. The
youthful victims were removed to the
Morgue.
At the meeting Of the Council tonight
Councilman Towle discussed the accident
and said that he would have an ordinance
prepared or next week that will make it
compulsory for all streetcar companies to
provide their cars with the latest improved
brakes and safety guards. An ordinance
providing for something is now on the
statute-books. but it is not enforced and
there seems to be very little known about
its provisions.
Councilmen Mott and Towle decided to
have the City Attorney draft an ironclad
ordinance that will leave nothing optional
with the railroad companies.