The times., 1899-06-21
DUE TO NEGLIGENCE.
Verdict of the Coroner's Jury in the
Bowers Case.

| teruIct oil the SOrOner's
Bowers Case.
The coroner's jury at the inquest held
at the Sixth precinct station TO enquire
| into the circumstances surrounding the
death of George Bowers the canal boat
man who was killed by an electric shock
from a wire of the Potomac Electric Com
pany under the Aqueduct Bridge Sunday
night, returned a verdict yesterday to the
effect that the death was due 10 negli-
gence en- the part of the electric company
and an error of judgment on the part of
the District inspector of electric lighting.
| The jury was convened at o'clock Mon
day afternoon. but owing TO the fact
that it was deemed advisable to hear ad-
ditional evidence a recess was taken until
yesterday morning. The verdict OF the
| jury as rendered was as follows:
We find that the said George II. Bowers came
! to his death on n boat the Chesapeake and
! Ohio Canal, under the Aqueduct Bridge, June
| Is, about lO:S0 O'Clock p m, from an electric
/ shock received by coming in contact with live
! wire of the Potomac Electric Light Company.
| We find the accident due 10 negligence on
! the part of the Potomac Electric Light Company
in placing their wires in dangerous way, and
through an error of Judgment Of the inspector OF
the electric lighting OF the District Of Columbia
in passing the wires as safe We recommend
that the wires be enclosed in sealed cables and
sNIunS on DEANS Oui oil the way.
Four witnesses were examined Monday
among them being Deputy Coroner Glaze
brook. who performed the autopsy. He de-
scribed the burns on the hand of Bowers,
and gave the cause of death as due 10 an
electric shock.
Captain Magruder, who had charge Of
the boat on which Bowers was killed, re-
| lated the manner of the death. He stated
that his boat was being turned around in
the basin under the bridge when the avn
ing which shades the deck became caught
in the hanging wires Bowers was sent 10
release the awning, and in doing so caught
wire which was in the way AS he did
so blue flame shot from the closed fist
which grasped the wire, and the man fell
to the deck. Witness stated that he was
afraid to touch the man at first. fearing
that he. too, would be shocked. The testi-
mOny of Captain Magruder was corro-
borated by Frank Donaldson, who is en-
ployed on the boat, and by H. W. Ballen-
ger, who was on the boat at the time of the
accident.
The most important witness examined
yesterday was F. c.. Eddy, an inspector in
the District Engineer Department. He tol |
the jury that he had charge of the work
of inspecting electric light wires, and that
he had inspected the wires under the
bridge Monday morning, as he had pre-
viously done on several occasions. He was
always of the opinion that the wires were
| not properly insulated, and so stated to his
superior, although no official report had
been made of the matter. While he con-
| sidered the wires safe for all practical pur-
poses, he had recommended that they be
| encased in lead cables, thus making them
absolutely safe. He had passed the wires
as practically safe, though he never
itb hnx- Ha +f,b
| bare hand. Witness said that the wire
grasped by Bowers was insulated, though
not perfectly so. 1t was not bare. Wit
ness thought the wires should have bsen
made safer.
In answer 10 a question witness stated
| that he knew the particular boat on which
Bowers had been killed, but he thought
it could pass under the wires without diff
| Guilty. He did not know until after the
accident that it was customary to turn
boats in the basin under the bridge. Wit
ness had seen canal boatmen standing on
the decks of their boats as they passed
under the bridge and did not think they
| could reach the wires with their hands.
The particular boat in question had a
higher deck than the ordinary boats, but
it did not occur to the witness that 1t
would not pass under the wires.
| l.. Sinclair, Superintendent of the Poto-
| mac Light ana rover Company stated
| to the jury that he thought the location
of the wires was safe. The wires, he said,
had been put up practically under the
| direction of a representative of the Dis
| trict Commissioners. They were put up
subject TO the orders of the Commission
| ers and had been inspected and approved.
A month ago changes were made in the
wires, and made taut. where they sagged
The wires had been in position for about
two and one-half years. The accident to
Bowers was the first to have occurred
Witness stated that though the wires were
insulated it was not safe to touch them
| with the bare hand. Employees of the
company when handling the wires wore
| rubber gloves. The insulation on the
wire from which Bowers received the
shock was covered with a better insula-
tion that was generally used on wires
strung on poles. Witness admitted thai
a lead cable covering for the wires would
have made them absolutely safe, bu
stated that such a covering had never
been suggested to the company.
The body of Bowers is still at tn,
morgue awaiting preparation for burial
1t was understood last night that 1t woult
be removed TO West Virginia by relative!
and there inferred