The San Francisco call., 1899-07-18

Newman disaster. The lhFesH-
cation clearly demonstrated that
fbe Southern Pacific's system OF sig
Mailing by semaphOre ana "nlSIie
should be instantly revised 10 one en-
gineer a white light, changed from reo
to white. means a clear track ana 10
another it means something else 1t Is
9 source Of qualification that the Jury
finds some living persons connected
with the Southern Pacific responsible
for the disaster. A train dispatcher
whose orders were vague and an en-
eineer whose experience was limited
are held accountable for the crash.
! NJ WalthaI. District Attorney OF
Stanislaus County, came over by team
from Modesto this morning, accompanied
hv Assistant L. l. bennett, Deputy Coro-
ner W. S Bowker and n. +. Leek, official
stenographer, TO conduct the inquiry. Inc
Jury impaneled Immediately after the
disaster was convened at Fisher nan
al 10 o'clock The District Attorney d1-
rected that all witnesses, except the VII
ness on the stand. be excluded from the
room The jurors were enjoined 10 give
their undivided attention TO the testimony
regarding the death of the women IN the
wreck and were Informed that II "aS
their duty and privilege TO ask queSIi Iioi.a. f
Z. D. Luckey, principal OF 81 LOUIS
school, who had charge of the speclat eA-
cursion party. was the first witness Cdileu;
He described the crash, the hiss!nSS S,;, VI
steam and the scenes oil the "IeCh, leititlS ne
how the car was filled with tlmbtIS dIIu
iron wrapped around the bed clolhihs- IlS
designated the sections OF IIe I "a 5000 80
their respective occupants he teStLIeu
that Mrs Thomas was dead Wnen ne went
TO her assistance. Miss Harms aIsq was
dead when taken from the wreck. IN rG- re
plv to questions asked by Juror "a. VI,
Williams the witness said there was no
baggage car between the engine ana HISI
sleeper from Ogden on ne tb a9ATe faTa,,,oe3 CrsF
car in the center Of the tram, put lhe
request was not granted II was disclosed
IN the testimony that FireIn5h il Oie4e-i
took Miss White from the wreck.
DIR. h V Armistead, Southern Paclhc
physician at this place, testified TO having
cared for those injured in the wreck. he
@a6a an autopsy in the case of the two
women killed. Mrs. Thomas neck was
broken and Miss Harris was killed by con-
cussion.
u+v constable at Newman, heard the ap-
Droaching special and noted the TWO
Whistles signifying that everything was
right Presently be heard the crash and
went to the wreck to help he ASSISTED III
extricating the passengers He tesune9
that Mrs. Thomas neck was sS;a o3Tplgu 2nrrI
was covered by timbers and clothing Inc
night watchman testified positively tnat
he heard the long whistle OF the speclal,
two whistles signifying answer TO clear
track signal. In reply to Juror sturgeon,
T. Madden
on the freight train. 1here We're ho
lights on the rear of the freight train.
C E Hartwel, telegraph operator Tor
the Southern Pacific Company at New
man. was called. He testified that he had
worked as a dispatcher and operator Tor
thirty-four years. The witness produced
a memorandum of all trains that passed
Newman after midnight OF the morning
of the wreck. He explained the red iignt
as the standing light. Unless white light
IS shown the signal is orders. Inc
light signifies no orders.
mo orders were given me regarding
this extra train, he said onIy khe"
from messages over the wires that the eX-
ira was coming. Train 245. the freight,
arrived at 2:32 A white light was dis
plaved for 245 The freight stopped. IT
stood on the main track. An extra mas
no time and is never due. The extra that
was in the accident got orders west OF
here. I did not know the time tnat the
train would reach here. 1 could only
guess from the time that 1t left Tracy;
The freight, being a regular train, had
the right of the main track, ana the eX-
ira should have approached Slowly; .
Mr.. HartweIl requested the District At
torney to read TO the jury rule 50, which
requires all extra trains TO SLOWLY ap-
proach all watering and coaling stations
The rule was read Is requested. Ihe VIII
ness testified further that emphaucally II
was the duty of the extra 70 slow down
u heard the whistle of the extra be-
tween 2:37 and 2:38,'' he continued. "When
the extra came 70 Newman a whl5e .ie;nt ngnt
was displayed. The signal showed Whlte
to indicate that there was a train at the
station. The white signal was showing
when the whistle of the extra was heard.
! changed to the red disk for an instant,
and then showed the white.
District Attorney-Where were the conductor
and brakeman Of the freight train?
Mr.. Hartwell-The conductor was entering
the telegraph Office with his register l do
not know where the others were. 1 heard the
crash lust as the conductor was entering my
Office. He exclaimed: They have struck me.
did not go TO the scene OF the wreck. My
duties required my presence in the office 1
received no orders for any of the trains. have
no means OF knowing whether the extra had
orders TO pass 245 at this point. The extra must
have known that the freight here The
semaphore showed that train at the sta
tion for white must stand while the train is at
the station On the arrival OF the freight L
eignaIed white. The signal does not undertake
10 show the condition Of the track.
Ouestion-E you had shown the signal red
would not the extra have stopped?
Answer-The train would have stopped and
the conductor to the office. 1t would
not have stopped sooner than it did. The white
signal simply told the extra that there
no orders When the Owl passes the signal
changes from red to white and back TO red
when the train passes The light at the switch
pronounced the rails standing for the main
tine | had no orders for either train and my