The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-29
TWENTY LIVES LOST
VICTIMS OF THE WRECK REACH
THAT NUMBER.
OTHERS CANNOT RECOVER.
UPWARDS OF FIFTY KNOWN TO BE
INJURED.

Heed the SignaIs-NOt Until Too
Now Means That He "saw Moth
fng'' - List of Those Who Were
KiIIed-An officials Statement.
New York, Jan. 2S.-The total loss of
life by last nights fearful collision on
the Central Railroad of New Jersey,
at Graceland, N. j., is, up to tonight,
twenty. In addition to these, Engineer
Davis and Fireman Mccarthy of the
Philadelphia and Reading Express, who
are in the hospital at Plainfield, may
die at any moment, and it is believed
that several of the injured passengers
cannot recover. The number of those
known to be injured is upwards OF
fifty, of whom thirteen remain in the
hospital.
The blame for the disaster is placed
by the railroad officials on Engineer
Davis, who, according to policeman
who took him from the shattered cab
OF his engine, admitted that he had
seen the red and green danger lights
displayed, but, expecting to see them
suddenly change to white, rushed ION
until too late to check the speed be-
fore he plunged into the rear of the
train ahead.
No statement has been obtained from
Davis in the hospital, but in intervals
of semi-consciousness and delirium he
means, II saw nothing"
Tried to Hold the Express.
According to the statement of the
station agent at Crawford, an attempt
was made to hold the express at that
point by telegraph, but almost at the
instant the message was received the
train Numbered by at upward of sixty
miles an hour, and the crash followed
two minutes later.
Most of the passengers on the local
express, on which all of those killed
were riding, were well-to-do residents
of Plainfield, N. j., and neighboring
towns, who were returning to their
homes from their places of business
in New York. OF the identified dead
fifteen lived in Plainfield, and in the
long list of injured Plainfield is given
as the home of a majority. Nearly ev-
cry block in the. town seemed to have
one or more of wounded in it to-day,
but the city's facilities for caring for
its stricken people were ample.
The Jersey Central tracks had been
cleared before daylight, and the only
signs left to-day are three black
patches on the snow, where the wreck
age burned.
But one body remains to be identi-
fed. The list of identified dead is:
Chandor, Rowland, Plainfield.
Currid Edward Plainfield.
Cunning, Thomas A., Plainfeld.
Flynn, Edward, Plainfield.
Giles, Eeas, Plainfield.
Hallet, Joseph r., Plainfield.
Hand, Horace c., Elizabeth.
Happerson, r. W., Plainfeld.
Hardingham, Fred, Dunellen.
Hoger, Henry, Plainfeld.
Linbarger, Lera, Plainfield.
Mahan, Henry L., Plainfield
Patterson, Harvey M, West Dunel-
len.
Reed, Charles b. Plainfeld.
Smith, F. A., Plainfield.
Thayer, c. t., Plainfield.
Tomlinson, Harold W., Plainfield.
Waldron, Craig, Plainfield.
Williams, Edgar W., Plainfield.
Two persons are still missing-James
Beekman of Plainfeld, and Harold LIE
Deateaux of this city.
OF the wounded, it is probable that
four or five will die within a few hours.
The statement made last night that
it was a Royal Blue Line express of
the Baltimore and Ohio Company which
neous. There was no Baltimore and
Ohio train in the wreck.
BesIer Makes "a Statement.
w. G. Besler. vice president and
general manager of the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey, who was at the
scene of the accident forty minutes
after 1t occurred and has since made
an investigation, gave out a statement
to-day in which he said that the ac-
cident was due to the element of HUI
man fallibility" in railroad operation.
THE company" he said, "has pur-
chased and installed what is known
as the electro-pneumatic automatic sys-
tenn of block signalling, the signals
working before, during and after ac-
cidents At Graceland where the
wreck occurred. the track is straight
Tor eight miles. Last night was
so, clear that the engineer could
see signal lights two miles
or through three signal blocks. In APP
preaching a block the engineer first
races, under our system, a warning, or
green, signal, if the block is occupied.
MS warning signal is three-quarters
OF mile from the main signal, which
sbows red when the block is occupied.
Inc train which was run into was
half a mile or more from the main
signal and about a mile and half
Irom the first or warning signal, and
the local had red lights in plain view
on the rear platform of the rear car.
The signals were working all right
before and after the accident, as we
found on investigation. It seems,
then, that along came the Philadel-
phia express, and flying past all the
warnings, was driven by its engineer
INTO the local train with such force
as to telescope three of its coaches.
Ihe only explanation Davis, the engi-
neer of the express, gave was that he
dld not see any red lights. But he
vas in such a critical condition that
ne barely knew what he was saying"
A jury was called at Plainfield to-day
10 mold an inquest, and adjourned un-
VI tomorrow morning, when an ex-
haustive investigation will be begun in
order to fix the responsibility for the
disaster. The grand jury, which was
10 have been dismissed tomorrow, will
De held in recess in order that the evil
uence taken at the inquest may be
submitted without delay.