The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-09-09
The Fishing Creek Disaster.

Yorkville, Sept. IL. W. Louthian,
coroner of York County Immediately
after the wreck at Fishing Greek last
Thursday, impannelled a jury charged
with the duty of inquiring into the
cause of the deaths of Henry G. Brick
man. Fred Rhine. G. j. Smith, Bob
Burriss and Richard Wagner, who
lost their lives by reason of the dis
aster. The jury did not complete its
work until Saturday afternoon. A
number of witnesses, including several
employees of the railroad, were ex-
amined. The verdict is in regular
form, and after naming the victims,
saws "came to their death in train
wreck on the Southern Railroad at the
aforesaid trestle, which trestle was in
dangerous and unsafe condition, this
dangerous condition being due to gross
careIessness on the part Of the officers
of the railroad
INSPECTOR LUM'S EXPLANA
TION.
Inspector Lum, who came down from
Washington to inspect the ruins, is
quoted as having accounted sfor sthe
accident by saying that an inspection
of the engine wheels shows that a
fange had broken and thrown the train
from the trestle, carrying the bridges
down with it, as is otherwise evident
from the "bunching' Of the ties at
that point on the bridge where the
engine went over; that according to
recent examination of the bridge the
structure was strong enough to carry
an engine of O,Oo0 pounds, whereas
the wrecked engine weighed only some
5000 pounds. Among the 5000 or
more people who have visited the scene
cf the disaster none has been heard OF
who did not condemn the railroad
for the terrible results and say that the
timbers were outrageoasly rotten and
insecure.
The condition of this bridge has been
twice reported to the Legislature by
the railroad commission, though Com
missioner Garris said yesterday that so
far as he knew the bridge had never
been reported to the commission as
unsafe. Members of the commission
saw that ex-Commissioner Wilborn,
whose home is within few miles OF
the bridge, went over the structure
with one of the company's officials a
wear ago and told him that it would
have to be overhauled at once, and
that the official promised that this
would be done without delay.
AS result of Mr.. Garris' investlga-
tions at Yorkville yesterday a number
of prominent railroad officials will be
summoned to appear before the com
mission and the cause of the wreck
looked into from every standpoint. Mr..
Garris hopes to complete his report IN
time for the meeting of the board today
and should such be the case the re-
port and the finding will be given to
the public. Among the officials who
will be summoned are j. A. Heether,
superintendent of the division at Char
lesion, Roadmaster Maxwell, at Blacks
burg, Bridge Inspector Dillon and the
section master. 1t is curious fact,
however, that although the board has
the right to summon these officials and
make Investigations, they have ao-
solutely no power to take other action,
even should negligence be proven. and
the only thing they cansdo.is to report
this finding to the legislature.
NEW TRESTLE AT FISHING
CREEK.
Yorkville, September 6.-The wreck
ed trestle over Fishing Creek, which
went down Oh Thursday, has been re-
placed by new one. The first train
passed over this afternoon. George
Hardin, member of one of the trestle
gangs engaged in repairing the Fish;
Inc Creek trestle, was seriously and
possibly fatally injured yesterday aft,
ernoon. He was struck on the head
by an axe, which came off the handle
in the hands of another workman, after
it had fallen about thirty feet. Mr.
Hardin's home is near Shelby n. Z.
"Ohu' exclaimed the fair summer
boarder as couple of calves scamper-
: ! oro,e tbo meadow what pretty