The times., 1898-07-13
CARS NOT WELL EQUIPPED.
yerdfct OF the Coroner's jury on the
Accident at AnacOstfa.


Accident at Anacostia.
The principal fact developed by the
continua fsesI OF the coroners investiga-
tion of the Congress Heights street car
accident yesterday was that the cars of
the Capital Railway Company are INSULT
GENTLY eqnipped.
1t appears from the evidence that there
was no secondary brake or other appi-
ances that could be used in case OF an
emergency like that of Sunday night, and
that without such an attachment the
suburban. trolley lines, which run over
the hilly- country in the outlying dis
tricts. are decidedly unsafe.
The jury was not long in reaching
verdict. in which il held that Frank c.
Hosner died at Providence Hospital,
Sunday, July 10, from injuries received
in an accident at Anacostia, in which
car No. 4 of the Capital Railway Com
pany ran down Asylum Hill and was
wrecked through the breaking of a brake
chain. The verdict further stated: I'VE
believe that this accident would
have been prevented if the cars of this
line had been provided with secondary
OF safety bIdhcSr anu VIC
that the Commissioners of the District
of Columbia use every means at their
disposal 10 bring about the use of eff
cient safety brakes on all street cars op-
Grating in the District of Columbia, and
TO have appointed by Congress an in
spector, whose duty it shall be to exam
inc all steam and street railway cars,
crossings and appliances as to their safe
Ill. 1rrn Dah
report thereon TO the proper authorities
I'VE also recommend that some law or
regulation be enacted against the over
crowding of cars and that this be done
Immediately, and we recommend all mo-
tormen TO be more fully instructed in the
running OF their cars"
A number of new witnesses We're in
troduced at the final session, but their
evidence was about the same as that
given by the preceding witnesses.
George Carter. a young man who was
q passenger, said he heard the brake
chain snap, and saw the motorman
jump Immediately from the car. There
were 80 10 $50 persons on the car, ne
said They were standing between the
seats and on the dashboard and foot
ways"
James Shearer, a machinist, who was
on the third seat of the car. said the car
u
had been In order no human being could
have stopped it. He heard the bell ring
three times. and the conductor started
for the rear brake.
Arthur Marks, 1l09 Fifth Street. south
east. said: The car ran all right 20 the
top Of the hill. The motorman did not
slacken up until he was at the brow of
the hill. I jumped off about half way
down the hill. and the motorman did so
froa I was sitting the
front seat"
George Thorpe said he heard the chain
snap The car was running at the rate of
fifteen or twenty miles an hour on the
level stretch. He said: Il heard the
motorman shout that the chain was
broken and then ne went through the
air. / followed him
fCharles A. Cooper, sl9 Sixth Street
southwest, said he saw the m0torman
! JUMP off. -sr
B. H. White. Congress Heights. said
he knew nothing Of the accident. He is
I a former employe of the Capital Rail
way Company. He said that TO reverse
/ the current going at a speed Of twenty
| five miles an hour would not start the
/ car backward.
| Mr.. White was asked about the use Of
auxiliary brake chains, and replied that
/ they We're used on the Metropolitan line.
/ but not on the Capital Railway. The sin
! gle chain used by the latter company he
testified, was thicker than those in gen.
! eral use.
! George r. Jackson, Fourth and n
! Streets southeast. SAID he was on the seat
/ near the motorman. 1t seemed that the
! brake was not working and some remarks
were made about the chain breaking.
/ He continued: The motorman remarked:
| IF the chain does break you had better
! jump. He had hardly said this when il
snapped. Half way down the hill the
! motorman shouted for me to jump, and
4 he leaDed out l did so at the same
! time.
/ while we were nearing the top of the
! hill il was noticed that the brake did
/ not act, and I heard the motorman say,
| This old brake amt no good, anyway.
! Mr.. Jackson said he had worked on
| electric lines in Baltimore. He said most
roads had what is known as a track
brake. He thought that if the motor
man had reversed the. current the moment
the chain snapped he might have gained
control OF the car.
| Jefferson D. Newton was the next wit
| ness He said he saw the chain the
! night OF the accident. 1t was broken.
What caused it to break?' he was
asked.
'WelI. it was considerably worn
''Is that the chain?' asked Coroner
/ Carr, exhibiting a chain.
| ''Yes, sir. 1 remarked that night that
| IL was not strong enough TO use on a car
with such heavy load, and with no
safety chain or track brake"