Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-29
Express Plows Through Local, Carrying
Death and Destruction to Many.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC ALSO PILES CARS
Twenty Bodies Taken from Debris
of sunset Limited and others
are Supposed to Have Per-
iHhed In Collision.

BIlbOUtu IN lue utDTlb anu TOdbleu 10 ubdln.
B. LANE Of Vail, Ia. pinned down by
wreckage and burned to death.
A. A. AMEY OF Scranton, Ia. badly
burned; died an hour later in the station
at Lafox.
J. PETERSON OF Battle Greek. Ia, badly
burned and died before medical aid ar
rived
Seriously injured:
II. Johnstone. Clinton. la.
William Kochslms. Schleswig, Ia.
Evers Nelson. Schleswig, la.
Albert Playman, Dunlap, la.
The trains came together in a dense fog
The killed and injured were for the most
4 part stockmen IN charge Of stock on the
way to Chicago and the east.
Train Runs Into Funeral Car.
CAIRO ILL.,, Jan. 2s.-On the Illinois Gen.
trial railway near Pulaski early today the
Chicago fast train No. 3 crashed into the
rear OF st. Louis train No. 203, which is
due here at 4:17 a. m.
Both trains we're late on account OF the
dense fog and the Chicago train was run
ming at the rate OF sixty miles an hour,
while the St. Louis train was making
thirty miles an hour.
The last car on the St. Louis train was
the private car OF the late Judge w. G..
Fentress and family of Chicago. Judge
Fentress, who died in Chicago Monday,
was the head counsel of the Illinois Cen
tral and his body was in the car enroute
to Bolivar. Tenn, for burial.
The rear half OF the car was demolished
and the coffin broken open. The family OF
the Judge was badly shaken up. Three OF
the train crew we're injured, but none will
die. None Of the passengers were hurt.
Twenty-One Dead ON Jersey Central
NEW YORK. Jan. 2s-one OF the most
appalling railroad wrecks that has occurred
in the vicinity Of New York for many years
took place last night at Graceland, on the
Central Railroad OF New Jersey, when an
express plowed at top speed into the rear
of local train.
Up TO noon today the total loss Of life
was believed to be twenty-one. OF these
fourteen bodies had been identified ant
seven were held at Planhed for identi
hcation. From the wreckage twenty bodies
were taken, and Thomas Mccarthy, fire.
man, died in hospital today.
More than fifty persons we're injured
some OF them severely. The hospita
reports today were, however. that will
perhaps one or two exceptions all woulC
recover.
ho bAohAV AoA INC dCNluthl 10 pldCtu Dy
the railroad officials on Engineer Davis
of the Philadelphia & Reading express, and
according to policeman who took Davii
from the smashed cab. Davis admitted tha
he had taken chances and disregarded thu
danger signals because he expected to SCI
the red and green lights changed TO white
as he neared them. They did not change
but II was too late to stop and in an in.
stant the crash came carrying death e
more than score
A policeman who aided In the work o
rescue made this statement today concern
ing Davis:
II assisted In carrying Davis, the en-
Vgineer, from his engine He was terribly
injured He said: 4 am responsible for tn,
accident l saw the danger signal but ex
pected IL to turn white"
The statement made last night that 4
was Royal Blue express that ran into tn,
local express was erroneous. This trair
was not in the wreck.
Statement OF General Manager.
w. G. Heller vice president and gen
eral manager OF the Central Railroad o
New Jersey, who made an investigation
OF the wreck, gave out statement toda!
IN which he said the accident was due t
the element Of human fallibility" II
railroad operation.
"The company" he said, has installe,
what is known as the eleetric- pneumatic
automatic system of block signaling tn
signals working before, during and afte
accidents.
THE signals were working all right be
fore and after the accident, as we foun
on investigation. 1t seems then that alon
came the Philadelphia express, one OF ou
hourly trains between New York an
Philadelphia. and, flying past all the warn
ings, was driven by Its ENGINEER int
the local train with such force as to tele
scope three Of its coaches.
so far as I can ascertain. the onl
explanation Davis, engineer OF the eS
press, gave is that he did not see an
red lights. But he was in such a critics
condition that he barely knew what h
was saying. Davis was a thoroughly CON
petent engineer and had a very good reoor,
"Soon after the wreck the Somervilu
local came through on another track an
its cars we're scratched little, but th
reports that this train ran into the wreck
age and caused further loss OF life ar
bSholly false"
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 2S.-A number
Phlladelphians who were on the expires
train arrived here today. Their storis
describing the scenes which followed n
collision were pitiful.
NJ. NJ. Hardt, a travelling salesman. said
was I'm a day coach: my coach was n
second In the train. We We're going
sixty miles an hour when I fet a terrif
shock and l was thrown from my seat,
were all the others In the car. The hTl
shock was followed by a second, almost
hard as the FIRST. and when We came 10
stop We We're on the side OF a car that ha
HMera!ly plowed through our car BefOl
IL could get out train from Philadelphi
passed IN the opposite direction on the Il
track blowing through the wreckage
cur train and the one We had run int
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