The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-10
BOTH CANNOT BE RIGHT.

Shortly after the terrible wreck on tn
Southern Railway at Fishing Creek il
South Carolina, the Associated Press cor
respondent and the correspondents of tn,
Charleston News and Courier and othe
papers said that the accident was caused
by rotten cross-ties.' Were these lair
minded and disinterested correspondents
having no inducement to misrepresent
telling the truth?
Yesterdays Charlotte News has tw,
first page is an interview with Mr.. ]. S
B. Thompson, agent of the executive de-
quote from the News:
Mr. Thompson arrived in Charlotte
this morning from Columbia. where he at
tended on yesterday the hearing of test
mony before the South Carolina Railroad
Commission in the matter of the Fishing
Creek wreck.
"Mr. Thompson denies most positively
caused by rotten ties and bridge timbers
He informs The News that according
to the testimony of witnesses before the
Railroad Commission of South Carolina
the cause of the wreck was broken whee
under the trucks of the engine
MIR. Thompson states that among tn,
wreckage at Fishing Creek, one of the
small wheels to the front trucks of the en-
CINE was found. There was broken place
on the rim covering space of 10 to 1:
inches. The fange was broken for 81
inches.
I'm the excitement incident to The
wreck the people saw the twisted anc
broken timbers of the structure and sale
it was rotten timbers that caused the &C
cident.
Mr.. Thompson states that some, IL
their desire to establish the fact that The
accident was caused by bad timbers in the
structure, have gone so far as to say that
some one. in the interest of the railroad
had taken a hammer and broken the
wheel. In this connection Mr. Thompson
states that it would be matter of impos
sibility for any one to break the whee
in the manner described He is thoroughly
of the opinion that the broken whee
caused the track to spread, thereby bring
ing about the dreadful disaster"
On the third page of the News is &
special from Rock Hill. S. c., giving ar
account of the investigation, from which
this extract is taken:
The following witnesses were sworr
and testified: Henry Massey, w. H
Wylie, Rev. w. L. Lingle, j. M. McFad
den of Rock Hill. Messrs. T. L. Carol
and S. NJ. Grist. of Yorkville. The test
mony of all those was about the same in
substance, that they had examined the
timbers of the trestle and found them very
rotten. Two of the witnesses gave as theil
opinion that the decayed condition of the
timbers was the cause of the wreck One
said he thought the cause of the trestle
falling was probably due to the rate Of
speed at which the train went upon the
structure, but he was satisfied the weak
ness of the timbers on account of decay
was such that the wreck would have oc
Cured some other day The other two
witnesses did not express any opinion
as to the cause Of the wreck
The public will await the finding of the
Railroad Commissioners with interest.
In the meantime, in view of the numer
Gus wrecks in North Carolina, the North
Carolina Corporation Commission should
make thorough investigation as to the
wrecks in this State with the view of pro
tecting the lives of the people.