The Topeka state journal., 1897-10-21
FERGUSON
MAY SUE.
The Discharged Santa Fe Con-
ductor Will Fight
Unless the Santa Fe Company
MOdif1es Its Decision.
is PREPARED TO BRING
Suit for Damages and Defama-
tiOn of Character.
He is in Town Today Consult
ing With Officials.

Unless the Santa Fe company con-
cludes to enter into some kind of a
compromise, the unprecedented occur
renee of a conductor, charged with
jointly being responsible for a wreck
in which eleven persons lost their lives,
sueing the railway company for per-
sonaI damages and defamation of char
acter, will be seen.
Conductor Alexander Ferguson, who
with the other members of the crew of
California train No. L which collided
with fast mail train No 118 on the
evening of September 8, was held to be
responsible for the wreck by Assistant
General superintendent Avery Turner,
came to this city this morning at the
invitation of Mr.. Turner for the reason
it is said, that the company desired to
talk over matters with the discharged
conductor.
That he came to this city at the invi-
tatiOn of Mr.. Turner to discuss matters
pertaining to the responsibility of the
wreck Conductor Ferguson himself ad-
mitted today. Further than this he
would say little, except that he had an
interview with Mr.. Turner in the morn
ing, and that he had not decided on the
course which he would pursue.
What little he did say, however, was
significant. He stated that he was still
in the service of the company and that
the full official decision in regard to the
responsibility of the wreck had not yet
been announced. To State Journal
reporter last week Mr. Turner stated
that he held the crew of train No. 1 re-
sponsible for the wreck and that on
last Monday he was notified Of his dis
charge by Division Superintendent c.
T. Mcclellan.
But one inference can be drawn from
these statements of Conductor Fergu-
son. That is, that he anticipates a COM
1n # 1pS7 nd
that he is to be restored to his position
as conductor.
When asked if he had taken any steps
toward instituting a suit for damages,
Conductor Ferguson said that he had
not, because he had not made up his
mind as to what course he would pur-
sue.
TT will all depend on the way the
matter of responsibility comes out" he
said. Il have the best possible grounds
on which to bring suit against the COM
pany, and unless they decide to do the
right thing that is probably what will
happen. There is absolutely no justice
in q decision placing the responsibility
on the train crew, and I have plenty of
grounds on which to show this to be
true"
The story of Conductor Ferguson's
visit as it is rumored among railroad
men today, is to the effect that imme-
diately on receiving notice of his dis
charge, Conductor Ferguson consulted
an attorney in Kansas City with a view
of ascertaining the strength of the
grounds which he had for bringing suit
against the company.
The consultation was satisfactory to
Conductor Ferguson, and he then let
the officials of the company in this city
know about his intentions in a round
about way. The knowledge of his in
tentiOns brought the invitation from
Mr.. Turner and the attitude of the as
sistant general superintendent will de-
eide the future course of the discharg-
ed conductor.
Assistant General superintendent
Avery Turner of the Santa Fe denied
this afternoon that he had called Con-
ductor Ferguson to Topeka to discuss
matters pertaining to the responsibility
of the wreck and prevent him from
bringing suit against the company. Il
called him to Topeka but on an entire
ly different matter" said Mr.. Turner,
.'and for this particular matter I form
ally discharged him from the service of
the company today. We did not discuss
the possibility of a law suit, and want
to say that no matter if he meant to
bring $4,000 law suits against the COM
pany 1 would not put him back in ser
vi