New-York tribune., 1902-01-21
JEROME TO CALL NEWMAN.
CENTRAL PRESIDENT WILL. TESTIFY IN
TUNNEL INQUEST
DISTRICT ATTORNEY SHARPLY CRITICIsES
THE RAILROAD MANAGEMENT AND
INTTMATEs THAT CRIMINAL Law
CAN MAKE CHANGES.

INTTMATEs THAT CRIMINAL LAW
CAN MAKE CHANGES
More railroad officials and employees were on
the witness stand yesterday IN the coroner's in
quest to determine the responsibility for the
disaster in the Park-ave. tunnel. and an ad-
journment until Friday morning was taken with
The understanding that testimony by William
H Newman. the president of the New-York
Central and Hudson River Railroad Company,
would close the inquiry. District Attorney
Jerome declared at the inquest yesterday that
he wanted TO get at the facts regarding official
responsibility in the New-York Central man
agement- He said that the testimony of officials
regarding the management indicated "disor-
tanized. slipshod system. where nobody is
spoasible''
His statement objected to promptly by
c C. Pauldins. Of the New-York CentraTs law
department. who said the officers OF the rail-
road company were doing everything in their
power to get at the facts. and the District
Attorney withdrew his remark and said the
officials hed rendered every possible assistance
in the investigation. The adjournment of the
irquest TO Friday morning made on account
of the statement by Mr. Pauldng that Mr. New
man could not appear as a witness to-day.
Robert II. Myrtle fagman in the tunnel,
testified yesterday that the morning of the
disaster he near the red signal light at
Fifty-eighth st. and got ont of the way Of the
Harlem train that ran past the signal He
heard the torpedo explode and the gong ring,
but the train did not stop and the crash at
Fifty-sixth-st followed. He said one out Of
twenty OF the torpedoes in the tunnel failed to
explode as a rule. He saw nothing of the brake
man who was said TO have been sent back from
the New-Haven trAn
f. C Fyler who was the fireman on the
Harlem train. testified that he made his first
run in a locomotive with John NJ. Wisker, the
engineer. on the morning of the accident He
had been through the tunnel as fireman for other
engineers hundred times. There was so much
fog in the tunnel. he said that he could not see
the signal lights until the locomotive was close
70 them.
AT Sixty-third-st' he testified. 81 a
green light and shouted 'Greenr 1 saw the red
light at Fifty-eighth-st. were abreast of
it. and I believed that wsker saw it, for he
applied the emergency brakes"
oAre sure the emergeney brakes dS wers APP aP;
hard, but made jump for the tender ,.,.o.
were applied A.-There was a psetty hard shock;
Odd the engineer throw sand on the rails?
Whether there was sand in it or not.
3 the ss5 spspeeT @ ree hsaF you At 6 a sar
the collision that he had not heard me.
District Attorney Jerome questioned Fyler
closely about the conversation the engineer and
fireman had after the accident According to
the witness the first words of the engineer
were, I've done it." Fyler said he had made
statement Miles Bronson. the superintend-
ent Of the Harlem division Of the road. and Mr..
Jerome told Mr.. Paudng that he wanted a copy
of the fireman's statement to Mr.. Bronson.
The next witness Mr.. Bronson. who said
he made an investigation in the tunnel few
hours after the accident, and had questioned
the engineer and fireman. THE engineer" he
said told me that he had been two minutes
late in the tunnel. and that smoke from north
bound train obscured the signals 1 examined
the airbrakes and appliances. and found them
all right"
9-Thss The ira, tracks ks were sMiiP%pery? y % Yes -, -,
tracks? Al did not
The witness said he asked the engineer IL he
had reversed the lever Of the locomotive and
wisker said he had not It was perhaps better
judgment not TO reverse the lever. The engi-
neer had said he going at the rate Of
twenty-five thirty miles hour before the
collision. District Attorney Jerome warned the
witness not 10 conceal any facts and in
nection with that he made his remark about
disorganized and slipshod management which
he withdrew when Mr.. Paulding objected
Samuel W. Simonds, master mechanic OF the
Harlem division. described the method of
amining engineers. He said he considered
wisker a competent engineer. The assignment
or wis1er TO the locomotive of the Harlem
train had been made by an engine dispatcher.
Spencer T. Case. a master carbuilder, said the
ear at the end Of the New Haven train that was
teiescoped by the locomotive of the Harlem
train a good car. but 1t ten years old,
and did not have longitudinal steel beams such
are placed in private
William Campbell, who conductor of the
Harlem train at the time of the accident, said
ne did not feel any application of emergency
brakes before the collision occurred
Michael Sherwood. the dispatcher who as
signed wisker 10 the locomotive of the Harlem
train said that Wisker knew the tunnel Well
and had run a work train through it before
being engineer Of a passenger train. Wisker's
first run through the tunnel as engineer of the
White Plains local the morning OF the
Gay before the accident
William J. wilgus chief engineer of the New
York Central. said he responsible for the
signals in the tunnel. but he could not change
the signal system there He could make recon-
rnendations to Mr.. Franklin, the superintendent
Of terminal. and to General Superintendent
Bio6gett. of the Harlem division. The recon-
nlendatons of all three could not take effect
without the sanction of President Newman he
said For two months so'' the witness had
received complaints about obscuration of signals
In the tunnel. and he had instructed Mr. Kinch,
the signal engineer TO investigate. Mr.. Kinch
reported that the signals obscured by
smoke and steam times. Nothing had been
done TO improve the signal system in the tunnel.
he said.
20 improving the signal system in the tunnel? A
think the signal system in the tunnel, sir, is up
10 the best practice
Il did not ask you what he practice was"
oroke IN District Attorney Jerome impatiently.
This thing has shown what the practice is, God
knows And il criminal law can change this
practice it win be changed"
MI Nilgus mad no suggestion TO make regard
Ins any improvement of the system 1t