Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-09-05
PERISH IN A COLLISION.
Thirteen Persons Are Crushed to
Death in Railroad Accident.
FIFTY ARE INJURED.
Locomotive Plows Through Two
Coaches as if They We're
Eggshells.

| train and milk train. The disaster oc-
cured few minutes before { o'clock at
Hatfield, twentyseven miles northwest
Of this city, A dense fog prevailed at
this section of the railroad is operated
without the block-signal system. The
dead are:
MISS ANNIE SHERRY, South Bethle-
ROBERT MILLER. South Bethlehem.
RICHARD BACHMAN, South Bethlehem.
IRA EHRET, South Bethlehem.
WILLIAM EHkET, brother of Ira, South
JOSEPH MORDAUNT South Bethlehem.
CHARLES M'FONIGLE, Allentown.
THOMAS DAY, Allentown.
MISS MAMIE KAELIN, Teford.
GODFREY KAELIN, father of Mamie.
WILLIAM BLACKBURN, Amber
HAROLD LANDS, Hatfield.
- ACKERMANN, Philadelphia.
The injured:
cursion train, skull fractured; critical.
Albert j. Wagner, Philadelphia. fireman
excursion train, confusion Of chest and legs:
serious.
Wilson Crosland, South Bethlehem, bag
gagemaster of milk train, head lacerated;
Wilmington H. Roseberry Lonsdale, Penn
sylvania representative, jaw broken; con-
ditiOn serious.
Michael j. Tfghe, Allentown, legs crushed
and burned; serious
John German, South Bethlehcm foot
crushed
John McHugh. South Bethlehem. leg and
thigh injured and hurt internally: not seri-
Gus.
Abraham Transue, Jr., South Bethlehem,
deep scalp. wounds, confusion OF pach ana
internally injured: serious.
Mrs. William Burknardt, South Bethle-
hem injured internally.
Miss Gertrude Burkhardt, South Bethle-
hem both legs broken.
Z. j. Mcmahon, South Bethlehem, ankle
broken.
;,,to al
ly injured.
Mrs. George Harrison, arm broken and
confusion of body.
Irwin Newhard head badly cut
Mary Newhard South Bethlehem,
Miss Carrie Bachman, daughter of Rich
Miss Brennan, South Bethlehem. arm
L. T. Hartzog, South Bethlehem, arm
| broken.
Harry Schlott. South Bethlehem, leg con-
fused.
Mrs. s. Haber, Allentown, both legs brok-
John Schantz, Allentown, toes crushed.
William Schantz, Allentown, thigh IN
Miss Schaeffer Allentown, legs broken.
Mary Koch, fractured legs.
Lewis Knecht, Bethlehem, confusion of
legs.
Mrs. Alfred Schmoyer, Bethlehem badly
lacerated.
Annie Miller, South Bethlehem, hips
crushed
William Wilmeyer, South Bethlehem, bad
ly laceratod.
Mrs. Wilmeyer, legs crushed
Loaded with Excursionists.
The wrecked train consisted of ten day
coaches and was the first section of
large excursion made up of people from
Ill and .lyrr U
towns to Atlantic City. The section left
the Union depot in Bethlehem at 600 a.
M exactly thirty-tive minutes behind the
milk train. The latter train consisted of
two milk cars and two passenger coaches
and had stopped at every station on the
road from Bethlehem en- route to Phlla-
delphia. At 6:54 the milk train drew up
at the milk platform at Hatfield, and III
less than two minutes the special eXcur-
sion train, running at the rate Of thirty
five miles an hour, crashed into the rear
of the milk train. The locomotive ploWed
through the two passenger coaches and
crushed them as If they were eggShellS.
The milk car Immediately in front was
also badly wrecked. -Four persons-God-
frey Kaelin, his daughter Mamie, Harold
Lands and William Blackburn-On the
passenger car of the milk train were al
most instantly killed.
The excursion train was picture of
indescribable horror. The locomotive
was a mass of bent and broken iron,
and firmly held the bodies of it's engin-
eer and fireman beneath its great weight.
Behind the engine six OF the ten cars
were also mass Of wreckage. The first
car was broken in twain, and the other
five cars were thrown on their sides,
completely demolished.
Pinned Down by Wreckage.
Nine persons were killed in the first two
cars and the others in these coaches We're
badly manned. AS soon as the crash
came a terrible cry rose from the smashed
| ears, and those who had not been injured
quickly crawled or jumped from the cars
and went to the assistance of the injured.
Many were pinned down by wreckage
and had to be freed by the liberal use Of
dead were killed instantly, the. others
dying on their way to the hospitals.
There are conflicting stories as to re
sponsibility for the accident. One version
is that the engineer OF the excursion tram
had been warned at Souderton, the sta
ton above Hatfield, that milk train was
a few minutes ahead of him. Anoth ar
story is that the train disratcher's office
in Philadelphia was at fault. The train
men refused to talk of the accident.
iured to fifty. Some Of these were taken
to their homes and their names could not
| be ascertained.
Linefeld Wilder, the agent and tele
graph operator at Hatfield made state
ment today in which he said the excur
sion train was scheduled to arrive at
Hatfield at a. NJ, and the milk train ar
rived at 6:55. The excursion train, he
! says, was a minute ahead of time. 1t
was very foggy, and he was stamping
tickets when he heard the excursion train
coming. He first saw it when it was
about 100 yards north of the station,
| travelling at the rate of about forty miles
an hour, and it was then too late for him
| to do anything to avert the awful acct
/ dent.
/ Somebody Made Mistake.
Supt. Sweigart of the Reading railroad
today stated the company was not yet
prepared to issue a formal statement as
! to the cause of the accident.
''From partial investigation" he said,
81 think that mistake has been made
the responsibility for which can only be
placed after a thorough investigation.
'"Train Dispatcher w. S. GreEes in the
Reading terminal station in this city may
have waited too long before issuing or
ders to hold up the excursion train which
| Voc ranidlv catchinp I'm TO the milk