The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-11-21
The WILSON INQUEST,
The Jury Found Verdict That He
Died from an Explosion, Due
to Unknown Sauses.

to Unknown Sauses.
The corOner's jury empanneled by
Coroner Roberts to-. inquire into the
cause of the boiler explosion on Sun
day morning at Van Bergen 4 Co. 8
foundry which resulted in the death of
David Wilson, held their inquest ves-
terday morning in the board of health
office i'm the city hall. Coroner Rob-
erts presided and the jury was made
up of the following well-known citi-
zens of Carbondale: ]. Norman Gelder,
Alexander Wyllie. William H. Broken
shire. Edward Morgan, Michael Moran
and Edward McHale
The first witness placed on the stand
was John C. Ulmer, the night watch
man at the foundry. He testified that
he had been employed there for forty
four years and for the last six years
as night watchman and that Mr.. Will
son relieved him in the dav. Wilson
was very seldom absent from his place.
On Sunday morning Wilson came to
work about GAO o'clock, a little earlier
than usual. He had had little chat
with him. He testified that Wilson'S
first act on coming to work was to
look at his water gauges. Finding
them all right, he talked a few min
utes with Ulmer and then Ulmer went
home. Ulmer said that he never al
lowed the steam pressure to rise above
sixty pounds on Sunday and on this
day it was a little below forty pounds
when he left. He said it was CUSTOM
ary for the master mechanic to ex-
IJ a hn a RI
formed no opinion as to what caused
the explosion and had not made an ex-
animation of the boiler since it oc-
CURED. He had been in the habit Of
cleaning out the water column every
day.
Charles Q. Mellen. secretary and
treasurer of the Van Bergen company,
was the next witness. He said that he
had been with the company for thirty
nine years. He said he was not we'll
posted on the construction of machin-
cry. He was not at the foundry at the
time of the explosion, but was at home,
about half a mile away, sitting in his
library when the telephone rang. His
Wife went to the phone and came back
in great excitement, telling him that
the boiler had exploded and killed the
engineer. He went right down there.
Mr.. Mellen knew Mr. Wilson very we'll
and had known him for seven years,
the time that Wilson had been in their
employ. When the new boiler was set
up in the works Wilson was the first
man to try it. 1t was new seven years
ago and made expressly for the COM
pany. He knew Wilson to be very
careful man and felt perfectly secure
to have him as engineer. 1t had been
his custom to stop in the boiler room
nearly every day on his way to the
office, and he had always felt perfectly
safe in there. He said 1t was the GUS
tom to give the boiler thorough eX-
animation on every holiday. Wilson
had examined it himself on Labor day.
Mr.. Mellen said he had placed Wilson
on duty as day watchman on Sunday
because he knew him to be trustworthy
and he felt that the works We're safer
under his care than under any man in
the employ of the company.
Frank Colvin, the foreman of Van
Bergen & Co.'s foundry, was the next
witness. He testified that he had been
employed there for fourteen years. 1t
was customary for him to examine the
boiler on holidays. His last eXamina-
ton was on Decoration day last. The
boiler was in first-class shape then. At
that time he got in it with lamp and
wrench and tried the staybolts and also
sounded for fractures, and then took a
hose and gave 1t a complete washing
out. The safety valve was always in
good order, and six weeks ago he took
it off, examined it and found 1t all
right. The water gauge was also all
right.
There had been a new glass put on
the water guage ten days ago by Will
son. Asked by one of the jurors IL
there was any probability of Wilson
blowing the water off on Sunday morn
ing he answered that there was not
the slightest When he got to the
scene after the explosion he found
plenty of evidence that there was
water for the valve was still running
where it had been broken off. The
company had never had a bit of trouble
with the boiler. 1t was filled between
6 and I o'clock, and the fire was kept
banked on Sunday. He also had failed
to form an opinion as to how the ac-
cdent happened. The blow-off was
from tive-inch pipe and there was
no chance for the steam to rise above
so pounds when the blow-off was 60
ing. He had fired the boiler himself
many times. He considered it safe to
Ill the gauge up to 75 or so pounds
of steam and then so back in the shop
and work an hour or so and not go
near the boiler or tend to it in the
meantime.
Frank Dix, extra engineer of the
electric light plant, testified that he
came to work at TAO on Sunday morn
ing. He was In the electric light plant
at the time of the explosion. He had
passed within twelve feet of Wilson on
his way to work. Wilson had some one
talking to him that he did not know.
He heard the explosion and rushed
back and was the first on the scene.
He did not see him at first, but Sec
ond or so later he looked up the canal
bed and saw Wilson. Wilson was ly-
ing on his right side with his face
buried in the dirt. Dix rolled him over
on his back so that he mighs breathe.
The injured man gasped once n twice. |
Dix thought there might he another
man killed, ON account of Weing a
man In the boiler room talking to
Wilson, and went back to the ruins
to look for him, but he was told that
the man had escaped. Only two min |
utes had elapsed between the time he |
spoke to Wilsons and the explc,don. |
clothing was badly torn when |
he was found. |
Then came a witness whor, ,Ase !