The Saint Paul globe., 1897-11-05
COLD SPRINGS DISASTER.
Inquiry Into It's Cause Resumed by
the Coroner.

COLD SPRINGS, n. Y, Nov. 4.-The cor
Oner today resumed his inquiry into the re-
cent disaster on the New York Central road.
Coroner Wood on the advice CT District At
tOrney Southland, refused to permit counsel
for the New York Central to take any part
in the proceedings. After Michael Clare had
made statement as to the condition of the
rOddbed at the time that he had charge of it.
cross examine Clare for the purpose of show
ing that he was discharged by the company
for inebriety, but the district attorney inter
posed an objection, and the coroner stated
that the railroad companys counsel would
not be allowed to either question Witnesses
or to call witnesses to testify. Counsel for
the railroad declared that their presence at
the inquest was to assist in any way possible
to- elicit the full truth and not to influence
or shade the testimony in the slightest de-
gree.
Conductor D. I. Parrish was questioned as
to the number of passengers on the train,
and his answers showed that at least one
passenger, Chinaman, is still missing.
John NJ. Toucey, general manager of the
New York Central, testified: 81 reached the
wreck soon after it occurred. / found the
roadbed broken away for 100 feet on the down
track; the rails were in the water In a tan
gled condition; the cars were in the river,
and the engine wa3 out of sight; there was
an oblong hole in the embankment and the
sea wall had disappeared. On the land side
the edge of the hole was perpendicular, as IL
cut by knife, and l saw no indication OF a
Slide
Michael Clare the former section boss. was
called and testified: "a new wall was built
last fall outside of the retaining wall for the
purpose of widening the embankInent and
thus Strengthening the curve by throwing
the tracks further out into the river. A part
of this wall fell one month after It was built
The wall was not rebuilt during my time
About sixty feet of this wall fell out at one
time about 120 feet north of where the ac-
cident occurred. The new wall was built
close to the old one, and some Of the latter
was torn out to get stone for the new wall
I had trouble with the rCadbed. Some
weeks the outer wall would sink below the
surface line three four inches. / have
seen it go three months without settling and
then again it would stand only for a week
or two. The embankment back of the wall
was filed in with blue clay, cinders, stone
and gravel. The water at this place is from
forty-five to sixty feet deep. The company
has dumped carloads of stones to get a solid
foundation, but they would seem to disappear
as fast put in.
oliver Clark, Harry Robbins and Anthony
section hands under Glare, testified that they
had at that time heard Clare say that il was
tine worst section of track On the road and
that more men should be assigned to work
on it, The inquest adjourned to Nov. r. at
1880 D. m.
In an interview tonight General Manager
Toucey said that the wall which Clare had
described was not a retaining wall, but a sea
wall intended simply to keep the water from
washing out the gravel He further said that
the fact that the track settled Is Of no spe-
cial significance, because all track, he said
settles more or less.