The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-01
The adieha AaIy Eaee ghursaay gHorume, July l. 1887

relieve the 0uI0etete. 4uc iWo IiVtSsv III
West Chicago were turned Into hospitals
and able DhyGciars. were promptly In at
tendance.
The sections following those which
met disas.er-s. Z. and s-carry:ng p
500 people. were delayed upward OF
| three hours. Finally the north track
was cleared and they were enabled to
proceed
| AS soon a. the wreck was reported to
the local officers Of the Chicago and
Northwestern. Superintendent ]. G.
Stewart Of the Galena division ordered
a special train and proceeded to the
| scene.
Other oficials dispatched messengers
for tie oompany's doctors and Assistant
| General Superintendent W. A Gardner
and corps of surgeons left Immediate
ly for West Chicago.
| Owing to he crush caused oy the rush
of Christian Endeayor business all
schedules were abandoned and trains
were sent out as fast as filled Nine
sections left the Northwestern depot at
I intervals Of fifteen minutes, beginning
| at 1890. to say nothing OF trains sent
out earlier in the evening. Sections Nos.
! /. and 3 got through West Chicago
| safely. Section was made up OF
| baggage car. day coach and seven sleep
ers containing 800 passengers
WHAT THE OFFICERS SAY.
Assistant General Superintendent Will
| liam Gardner said this morning that he
could give no tangible reason yet as TO
the cause Of the accident
THE road is run on a semaphore
block system all the way to Turner
Junction said Dir. Gardner. This
| blocks train every 1900 feet, and in
| addition We were using last night what
| we call the positive block system. This
consisted in the operators at haywood,
| wheaton and Turner running the trains
| by wire and keeping a close tab with
| the dispatchers as TO the time tach
| passed a station.
Then the dispatcher regulated the
speed and distance between trains. OF
course, he was compelled to rely entire
| ly On the accuracy Of the time-checking
| done by the operators at the stations
! named, and unless one Of these made a
| mistake and transmitted the wrong
cneck time, either to the next station
| or to the dispatcher. cannot imagine
| What could have caused the wreck.
I'VE had taken every possible precau-
ton to guard against delay and acci-
dent. and. as said. worked the positive
| block as well Of as regular semaphore
system"
The road between Chicago and West
Chicago is protected by the Hall block
system and immediately after my ar
rival last night tested the signals and
found them To be in perfect order" said
Assistant General Superintendent Stuart.
Engineer Courtney must have been in
sane 10 pass without seeing the two
| danger signals. These signals are
placed 1000 feet apart and when at
nights cars pass over the place where
are situated red light shows and any
train following the one which released
| white light shows. There can be no
doubt that the scarlet signal for caution
was exhibited"
Naturalization papers recently taken
out in New York show the dead tramps
name TO be Rode, native OF Germany.
He was about As years old.
WHAT COURTNEY SAYS.
Engineer Courtney declares that the
signal denoted clear track He also
says that he was 1unning carefully and
that there was ample time to stop his
train after he had sighted the train in
front for some reason the air brakes
refused TO work. AS they were in good
order at Dixon, five miles back. he be-
lieves Tramps, Intentionally or accident
ally, tempered with them.
ABOUT MRS. COOLING.
Milwaukee. Wis, June 30.-Mrs. Good
ing, killed IL the West Chicago wreck,
is not a resident Of Appleton. Wis, as
reported Her home is n Austin, Ne
vada. She and her husband have been
visiting their son, Attorney J. II. Good
ing Of Fond du Lac, Wis, and took ad
| vantage OF the excursion rates 10 ie-
turn to their home IN Nevada
WRECK ON THE vANDALIA.
Indianapolis Ird.. June 30-Trafn
No II on the vandalia road, which left
this city az O'Clock last evening. con-
I tafciug a large number Of Christian En-
deavo-ers. collided with train No. 6.
| bound east from ST Louis, at 500 o'clock
near vandalta. J. J. Turner. general
| manager @: the vandalia, telegraphs
| the following statement TO this city:
KILLED AND INJURED.
r. SHERMAN. mail clerk on No. s.
| 1ndtanap polls.
W. P. COON, beggagsnraster 32s
| East Louisiana. Indianapolis. No. II.
| Samuel Parkinson, mail clerk, Colunn-
no ov,d
! fatally injured
| Train 20. II left Indianapolis in two
sections on account Of the heavy San
| Francisco travel occasioned by the
CHRISTIAN Endeavor meeting Orders
were given to meet No. 6. the eastboun3
| passenger train. at Vandalia, these two
| trains being due 70 meet at that place
apou. 100 O'Clock this morning.
At O'Clock further information was
received which confirmed the first re-
port Of the accident.
| II seems from the best information OBJ
| tainable that the westbound train
pulled out OF vsndslia without waiting
Cor the train from ST. Louis. The head
| Ugh; OF tne westbound engine was ex-
/ tinguished for some time before the
I crash came.
, Horace Kerns of this city was con-
| ductor en- train No II and Tom Mana
| fee OF Terre Haute was the engineer.
! Meme OF the passengers Oh either train
were injured
! ONE on THE SHORT LINE
! Salt Lake. Utah, June 3o.-The west.
| bound passenger train on me Oregon
| Sho-. Line rozd vent into the ditch near
! Gienn'S Ferry. idaho. list night. owing