Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-05-17
TWENTY EIGHT KILLED
Frightful Wreck on the Rail in
R Pennsylvania.
COLLISION AT EXETER STATION.

cident happened on the Philadelphia
and 1eading railroad at Exeter Station,
five miles southwest of Reading. in
which twenty-eight people were killed.
and it is believed fifty were injured.
Briefly, the accident happened in this
way: The train usually leaving Read
ing for Philadelphia at $3.50 p. m. was
about half hour late in reaching this
place. At Exeter Station the train
stopped for orders. A special train.
which left Harrisburg at Z o'clock.
carrying excursionists from the Hart
ranft unwilling, ran into the first train
with terrific force and fearful results.
The special was running at least forty
miles an hour. and the crash as the en-
CINE plowed itself into the train in front
was terrific. Those who lost their lives
were in the rear car of the waiting
passenger train. The smash up Of the
colliding locomotive and coaches was
frightful. The bodies of the dead were
frightfully mangled, and the horrors of
the scene were added to by the shrieks
Of the injured.
~ Signalman Neglected Orders.
At 10:15 p. N. a special train having
. number Of physicians and surgeons on
board was sent out from this city. Hun
dreds OF people were aroused from their
homes by the report Of the catastrophe
and rushed to the depot in this city. in
curing the fate Of friends
IT is said that the signal man In the
tower at Exeter was ordered to display
q red and green light, and it is alleged
he neglected to do this. The regular
train run into is speedy express
known as the Cannon Ball." Exeter
is merely flag station for fast trains.
and there is no telephone nearer than
Birdsboro, four miles away. The can
non ball train came through from Will
Transport. AN the cars of the colliding
special were filled With excursionists,
The second train. Il was stated, was
largely filled with people from that bor-
ough, including the Montgomery COM
pany OF Seventh regiment. and surviv-
ors OF General Hartranft's regiment
A number of undertakers from this
city were summoned to the depot here
to receive the dead that might be
brought to Reading
A List of the Dead.
1.-THE following is a list Of the dead:
Harry Neat of Buffalo. assistant super
intendent of the Wagner Car company;
Frank d. Shaner Of Norristown; ex-
Postmaster George w. Schall of Nor
ristown, aged 60 years; Captain S. T.
Stirk, 1853 North Twenty-second street.
Philadelphia; Miss Annie McCraw Of
Ashland. Other fatalities were: Harry
Hunchberger. Gulf Mills; Frank Sow
ers. Norristown; George H. Anders,
deputy county treasurer, Norristown;
Samuel Batty. Conshohocken: Hiram
Shelly; Thomas Lees, Bridgeport; WILL
lam Cramm, NQrristown: - Holmes,
n 13-year-oid boy; Luclen J. Custer,
Pottstown; two men unidentified, badly
mangled; - Taylor, residence un-
known, man not identified, A years old.
both legs cut off, another supposed to
be c. H. Hartman, probable residence
Philadelphia John Johnson, Mount
Carmel; another, supposed to be Lewis
Fisher, residence unknown; William
Stahler, Norristown,, body terribly mutt
lated; another, supposed to be Daniel
Yoder Of Pottstown: another body of a
man wearing ring with initials III.
L. H.; another body believed to be
William NJ. Keen, Norristown; Captain
George H. Coulston, Norristown.
Confusion and Death.
The rear coach of the first section, in
which most of the killed were riding
vas full of people, every seat being
occupied Some of them heard loud
whistling Of the approaching engine of
the second section, and there was an
attempt on the part of many to escape
from the car. but in a second all was
confusion and death 1t is stated that
ten minutes after the regular train left
the station here the second section or
special followed. After the special had
left 1t was learned that the coal train.
which was running ahead to Monocacy.
had not yet cleared the maintrack, and
the train dispatcher here decided to
send a precautionary order to the ex-
press train at Exeter. and the operator
at that place was so notified He i'm
mediately put up the or,Say signal, and
arm signal with a red light but il APP
pears that just as the express came
along the coal train had cleared. but
the express shot some distance by the
station and started to back up to the
station. The train was running fast
and the engineer says he stopped as
soon as he could.
Running Forty Miles an Hour.
In the meantime, the tower operator
Just below Reading was notified to dis
play precautionary signals against the
second section, but whether they were
observed by the engineer is not known.
At all events, the train proceeded and
when ii rounded the curve Just north OF
Exeter station, the red signals of the
rear car OF the regular express loomed
up before the engineer. He was max
ing rapid time, probably forty miles an
hour. II is evident from the speed that
the second train was making that the
engineer did not expect TO find the first
section there. but far below that point.
One of the passengers. in speaking of
the cause OF the wreck, said: 1T may
have been all right for the first train 10
back. but il seems to me that in view of
the fact that the crew was aware that
they were being followed by another
section, 1t would have been prudent 10
allow the train 10 stand where II had
stopped and send a signal man back,
and not attempt to back up in the face
of another train with equal right OF
way"
Iowa Bank Robbed.
Webster City, Ia. May l5.-The Els
worth state bank was entered by bur-
glars and robbed of s3.6S5 The vault