The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-01-30

New York. January 2S.-The total loss
of life by the last nights fearful collis-
ion on the Central railroad of New Jer-
sey at Graceland. n. j.. is up to to-
night twenty. In addition to these
Engineer Davis and Fireman McCar-
thy, of the Philadelphia and Reading
VkDress. who are in the hospital at
Plainfield may die at any moment and
it is believed that several of the injur-
ed passengers cannot recovered. The
number of those known to be injured is
upwards Of fifty. of whom thirteen re-
main in the hospital.
The blame for the disaster is placed
by the railroad officials on Engineer
Davis. who. according to a 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 on,
till it was too late to check 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 moth
ing"
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
l. xI,o
train thundered by at upwards of six
ty miles an hour and the crash follow
ed 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 fif-
teen lived in Plainfied and in the long
list of injured. Plainfield is given as
the home of a majority. Nearly every
block in the town seemed to have one
Or more of wounded in it today but
the city's facilities for caring for it's
stricken people were ample.
w. G. Besler. vice president and gen.
eral manager of the Central railroad
OF the accident forty minutes after it
occurred and has since made an inves-
tigation gave out a statement today in
which he said the accident was due to
the element of human fallibility," in
railroad operation. The company"
he said. " has purchased and installed
what is known as the electro-pneu
matic-automatic system of block sig
mailing, the signals working before and
during and after accidents. At Grace
land where the wreck occurred, the
track is straight for eight miles. Last
night was so clear that the engineer
could see signal lights two miles, or
through three signal blocks. In APP
proa ching a block, the engineer first
faces. under our system. warning or
green signal, If the block Is occupied.
This warning signal is three quarters
OF Il mile from the main signal which
shows red when the block is occupied.
The train which was run into was half
a mile or more from the main signal
and about mile and a half from 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 inveStiga-
ton. 1t seems then, that along came
the Philadelphia express and flying
past all the warnings was driven by its
engineer into the local train with such
force rs to telescope three Of its coach
es. The only explanation, Davis, the
engineer of the express gave was that
he did not see any red lights. But he
was IN such a critical condition that he
barely knew what he was saying
The statement made last night that it
was Royal Blue line express of the Ral-
timore and Ohio Company which ran
into the local train was erroneous.
There was no Baltimore and Ohio train
in the wreck.
a jury was called at Plainfield today
to hold an inquest and adjourned until
| tomorrow morning when an exhaustive
investigation will be begun in order to
| fix the responsibility for the disaster.
| The grand jury, which was to have been
dismissed tomorrow, will be held in re-
cess in order that the evidence taken at
the inquest may be submitted without
! delay.