The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-04
SOMEBODY BLUNDERED
READING RAILWAY HORROR PROB
ABLY DUE TO NEGLIGENCE.
Excursion Train Was One or Two Min
utes Ahead Of Time and Running
Forty Miles an Hour.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Sept Sit seems
to be the generally accepted theory that
the wreck yesterday on the Philadelphia
& Reading Railway at Hatfield. twenty
seven miles from this city, which re-
suited in the loss of thirteen lives and
more less serious injuries TO fifty-three
persons, was due TO negligence or direct
disregard of signals. While the Reading
Company will not be prepared to make any
formal statement until tomorrow, the
principal line of investigation is being
drawn about W. S. Groves. the train dis
patcher at Philadelphia, and ID. b. Beid-
Ter. the operator at Souderton, two and
one-half miles from Hatfield. and John
Davis, engineer of the colliding excursion
train, who is dying in hospital at Beth
lehem.
According to James Benner. fiagman at
Souderton station. the milk train passed
that station time, and following the
rule of the company. which requires any
train coming after another within five min
utes to be stopped. he placed red flag be-
tween the tracks. In three minutes the ex-
cursion train came laundering along with
Davis at the throttle and the train max
ing forty miles and hour. Davis made no
effort to stop and waved Benner TO one
side. The latter had only time to secure
his flag and spring out of danger as the
train swept by Looking upward he saw
that Beidler had a clear signal set. Beid-
ler when questioned, said he had received
no orders to stop the train. This would
seem TO conflict with statement made
by General Superintendent Sweigart, that
all agents must stoD train, orders or
no orders, If there is five minutes time
L..
indicated that Train Dispatcher Groves
made some effort to hold the train up
before ii reached Souderton, but said ii
was yet TO be learned whether II was be-
cause of his neglect or bad wires, due to
heavy fog prevailing at the time. that
the train was not stopped.
Linfield Carter, the agent and telegraph
operator at Hatfield, made statement
to-day in which the excursion train was
scheduled to arrive at Hatfield at a. m,
and the milk train arrived at 6:55. The
excursion train, he says, was minute
ahead of time. 1t was very foggy, and
he was stamping tickets when he heard
the excursion train coming. He saw IL
when il was about one hundreds yards
north of the station. travelling at the rate
OF about forty miles an hour and IL was
then too late for him to do anything 10
avert the awful accident.
Superintendent Sweigart stated the COM
pany was not yet prepared 10 issue for
NAL statement as to the cause of the acct
said, 81 think a mistake has been made,
the responsibility for which can only be
placed after a thorough investigation.
Train Dispatcher w. S. Groves, in the
Reading terminal station in this city. may
have waited too long before issuing orders
to hold up, the excursion train, which was
rapidly catching up to the milk train. The
station agent at Souderton, two and one
half miles from the scene of the wreck,
where the excursion train was three min
utes behind the milk train, may have failed
TO display the stop signal, which the rules
of the company require when trains are
five minutes apart, or the engineer Of the
excursion train did not see, or disregarded
the signal" In addition to these possible
causes Mr.. Sweigart said that the wires
of the company were working badly. due
to a heavy fog, and interfered with the
transmission of an order from Philadelphia
to hold the excursion train. When asked
il this order finally got through, he said
he could not say until after the investi-
CATION.
Reports from Bethlehem and Allentown
indicate that none of the injured i'm the
collision yesterday have died, although sew
eral are not expected to live. The railroad
had a force of men at the scene OF the
wreck early to-day clearing away the de-
bris. The wrecked were burned and
all evidence of the accident We're destroyed
as far as possible.