The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-05-14
TO FIX The BLAME
CORONER AND RAILWAY Of
FICIALs INVESTIGATING THE
WRECK AT EXETER
AWFUL RESULT OF ACCIDENT.
Twenty-Eight Are Dead and Fifty
Injured-Many of the Latter Are
So Badly Hurt They Cannot Re-
cOver-BIockade of Trains on
Main Line Is Said to Have
Brought on the Mishap.

cOVer-bIOckade or Trains on
Main Line Is Said to Have
Brought on the Mishap.
READING, Pa, May 13-The wreck
which occurred last night on the Phila-
delphia & Reading railway at Exeter,
six miles south of here, was probably
the worst that has ever occurred in this
state. Twenty-eight dead and fifty In
jured, some so badly that tkey may not
recover, is the awful result OF the acct
dent
The cause of the disaster is still in
volvcd in mystery, and officials of the
road are investigating in order to place
the blame. The man in the signal tower
at Exeter station claims TO have hal
the signals properly displayed. In a
statement made today General Supcriu-
tendent I. A. Swigard, of the Reading
railway, said the prime cause of the ac-
cident was block of a train of cars on
the main line, which were taking siding,
and which caused the express to stop at
Exeter.
1t is not known as yet whether a signal
man was sent back to notify the special
or second section. The express from
Wiliiamsport, known as No. r. and also
as the Cannon Ball, leaves Reading for
Philadelphia at $3.50 p. m. 1t did not leave
on time last night, due to waiting for
Harrisburg connection.
The travel from Harrisburg Vas very
heavy, owing to the large number of peo-
pie who attended the Hartranft monu-
ment unwilling ceremonies. special
train was brought in to requisition to ac-
commodate the crowds At Exeter the
first train stopped briefly for orders, and
had just started when the special crashed
into 1t.
Many prominent men were passengers
on the forward train, among them Sena-
tor Boise Penrose, Col. Henry D. Pason
of Philadelphia; Gen. John w. Schall, of
Norristown, and Col. George g. Schall,
the generals brother, who was killed.
On the second train were some twenty
veterans of Hartranft's Fifty-first regi-
ment, which he commanded in the Civil
war, and a company of the Seventh Penn
sylvania infantry, national guard, a few
Of whom were injured.
A strange feature of the disaster was
the fact that not one woman was killed,
and only one injured.
Norristown is in mourning, as the great
est number of dead and injured were
residents OF that place.
This afternoon Coroner Wilson H.
Rothermel empaneled jury. and, visit
ing the different 1norgues they viewed
the bodies. The jury adjourned to as
semble at the call of the coroner. When
asked when he would hold the inquest,
Coroner Rothermel replied that he
thought it would be Tuesday afternoon,
but that he could not state definitely.
They left Reading on a special train at
l p. M and view the scene of the wreck.
Supt. Wilson. of the main line division,
when asked If it was not a mistake for
the train to back to the station, replied:
ST think the train should have been
left where it stopped, but l cannot speak
of the cause until the matter is thor
oughly investigated
The corrected list of killed and injured
is as follows:
KILLED.
John slingluff, H. Thompson. William