The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-09-16
THE RECENT WRECK
At Fishing Creek Being Investigated
by the Commission.
WHAT ONE OF THEM SAYS.

WHAT ONE OF THEM SAYS.
Mr.. Garris' Trip 70 Scene Fails to
Reward Him With Decision
aSto Where the
Blame Lies.
Chairman Garris Of the railroad
commission wednesday completed and
gave out for publication his report on
the Fishing creek disaster. The report
discovers nothing new as to the cause
or the consequences of the wreck it,
self, but enters into an elaborate de-
fenSe of the generalities of the statute
giving the board authority in such
matters and ridiculing the i6ea that
the boards inspections Of bridges can
be regarded as any sort Of guarantee
against danger. The report in full is
as follows:
Columbia, S. c., Sept. s, 1903.
70 the Board OF Railroad Commission
ers, Columbia. S. G.
Gentlemen: Ia accordance with law
/ went to Rock Hill and thence to
Fishing creek to Investigate the re-
cent disastrous wreck on the South
Carolina and Georgia Extension Rail
road compasy's tracks at that point.
| found the wreck cleared away and
burned. From the the best informa-
tion that could get (without actual
measurement the 5restle over Fish
ing creek was so feet high. 1 found
about $50 people engaged in the re-
placement OF the destroyed trestle.
or course, it was quite impossible for
me to acquire anything like accurate
or detailed information after my ar
rival two days after the catastrophe,
but | feel that it is due the board and
State as we'll to report just what !
found. But before l do so I wish to
refer to the provisions Of law which
requires that in accidents Of this kind
the authorities report the facts to the
commission within 81 hours. This was
not done. l got my first information
by what is commonly known as bear
say on the evening Of September 4th.
\ day elapsed before l could reach the
scene so that my visit to the place Of
wreck was delayed until Saturday,
September 9TH.
NR. GARRIs AT THE BRIDGE.
The newspaper reports of this fear
full occurrenc; were, I found, in the
main correct; that is to say from the
standpoint OF casualty. I devoted my
entire stay at the wreck to an exami-
nation and I found that the remain
ing trestle, consisting Of about so feet
contained unsound timber, but I did
not find more than two consecutive
cross-ties to be worthless, or entirely
decayed. "A part Of the under struc-
ture I found in a condition Of decay.
The treStle lies along tangent where
the spreading of the rails is quite un-
usual. And I examined all the track
wheels that I saw and found them in
tact save one which was Of the four
under the front of the engine, the
tlange on one Of these was broken
off for for about 20 inches and
it was pointed out to me by
the superintendent that the frag-
ments Of this wheel were gathered up
about so feet to the rear OF the point
where the engine lay. The remainder
of the trestle with the cars, which
were total wreck, were burned be-
fore reached the scene, therefore l
had practically no opportunity to ex-
anime the timbers in that part OF the
trestle which went down. [ cannot,
therefore, with the evidence before me
say just what the prime cause Of the
wreck was, but have no hesltancy in
saying that if it is a fact that the
wreck occurred from broken fange,
that the trestle in it's condition Of
partial Decay offered less resistance to
a derailed engine than it would if it
mad been sound.
1 found that the people Of Rock
Hill, Yorkville and the county Of
York generally in a state of intense
excitement, a very natural conse-
ouence of such fearful disaster when
you remember that the victims were
The friends and kindred Of many Of
the best people Of the county. | met
a great many Of the citizens of the
county who had visited the wreck
earlier than I, and there was no ex-
ception to the belief that the sole
cause Of the disaster was directly
traceable to the unsound structure Of
the bridge.
INSPECTIONS NATURALLY INEFFICIENT
While there is no Jaw looking to
the punishment Of any transportation
company by the commission for accl-