The sun., 1903-09-02
May BLAME THE MOTORAAN
FOR DEATH or SCHOOLCHILDREN
~ NEU ARK HORROR.
Cross-Exa animation Indicates That Defence
win lrge That lie Lost Hh Head
and Turned on Pow cr Al Foot Of IIiil.
Hurting His Car Into Express Train.

and Turned on Power ~ ROOT OI ssui'
Hurting His Car Into Express Train.
A. j. C4ssatt president of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad; John ID. Crimmins OF New
York, DR. Leslie d. Ward OF the Prudential
Insurance Company, l., +. c Young bank
president and president OF the North Jersey
Traction Company; Dr. Gaddis and j.
Roosevelt Stanley, all OF them members
OF the executive committee OF the North
Jersey company, were again lined up before
the rail in the Circuit Court. Newark,
n j., Yesterday. while Chandler Riker.
Prosecutor for the Pleas for Essex county.
called witness after witness in an endeavor
to clinch with conviction the charge et
granddaughter under which these men
st and indict ed for having by criminal care
essness permitted, as alleged, state OF
affairs 70 exist at the Clifton avenue CROSS
ing OF the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western Railroad, in Newark. which re-
suited in the steam and trolley car collision
| Feb. 10 last whereby Erncstina Miller and
! eight others lost their lives.
| The court room and the corridors Of the
venerable architectural nightmare up on
| the Market street hill, which il the county
court house pending the completion OF
| the one now going up, were crowded
with witnesses and spectators yesterday,
as they were on Monday. when the case
against the above-named distinguished
men of affairs and five others directly
connected with the operation OF the North
| Jersey road was called. Chief Justice
| Gummers presided, fanked on his right by
Judge Vansyckel and on his left by Judge
| Dixon, who are to assist the Chief Justice
| with their counsel.
The case is being watched with intense
interest especially by members OF the
legal profession. There never has been
quite its parallel before in American courts.
Lawyers say that its result is likely to Ca
tablish a precedent Of perhaps far-reach-
ing consequences On the issue hangs
the constructive responsibility for negli-
gence Of railroad officials who are not IN
immediate contact with the operation OF
the road. In addition to superlntendents
and assistant superintendents, directors
themselves are indicted The directors
involved, however, are only such AZ are
members OF the railroads executive COM
mittee. No attempt is made to extend the
responsibility to members OF the board
who are not also members Of the executive
committee.
The proposition OF the counsel for the
State is that a notoriously dangerous con-
dition Of affairs existed at the Clifton ave-
nue. crossing; that representatives OF both
the North Jersey and the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western roads recognized the
danger; that they had a conferences OH the
subject; that device was agreed upon
whereby the peril would be averted; that
, this device was actually purchased and
delivered ut the crossing; that owing to
differences between the two companies 1t
. was never installed and at last was sent
away; that with the full knowledge OF the
persons under indictment the dangerous
conditions were permitted to exist; that the
fatal collision came. as tho logical sequence
Of those conditions, to a trolley car operated
in the regular course and with no unusual
circumstances except such as might nat
urally be expected in cold weather with
snow and ice upon the rails.
Thus far the prosecution, by its Witnesses
r has endeavored to establlsh that there was
snow on the track: that the rails were slip
perry; that the motor,nan applied his brake.
F.. but that although the wheels Of tho front
truck were locked and did not revolvo, tho
i heavy car, laden to It's full capacity and
n with front and back platforms crowded
s with passengers, mostly schoolchildrsn
= continued to slide along over the s1ppery
$ rails until it crashed through the railroad
. crossing guard and was wrecked by the
" swiftly moving Bernardsvills mail Strong
i testimony tends TO establish all 0 these
r points
4 So far as may be inferred from tho hne
. Of cross -e xamination, in which sx-oov.
Werts and Mr.. Lindabury led yesterday
the defence will endeavor to show that Just
before the trolley car reached the steam
y railroad tracks it came almost TO stop
and then suddenly shot ahead under re-
= newed impulse, the inference being that shs
d rnotorman, in the excitement OF the mo-
q ment and In tho din of shrieks from the
q terrified schoolchildren. lost his mental
y poise and applied the electric power with
n lila left hand while with his right he grasped
4 the brake handle. Toward this point and
+, toward an endeavor to show that while tbs
front platform had passengers tho motor
a. mans free movement Of his brake was not
W impeded all the cross-questiontng OF ths
:" defence thus far has been directed:
% This issue came out sharply at the Clos
ID Of Yesterday aftern oon's session Of IN
court The State had introduced nunbel
OF Witnesses VINO nN LeStlHcO goDu<SLss0Aj
the same thing-that the car had not stoppct
down the grade from Orange street tc th'
crossing; that the brake was applied sn6
that the car slid on the rails.
Chief Justice Gummere here interposed
ID II. ob lected TO continuance OF evidence
p that was merely cumulative. Mr. Rker
l.. for the People said that the defence II
So cross examination had apparently aiIne'
~ TO establish the Stacking up OF the car
he the crossing and then its sudden advance
pt at increased speed Chief Justice Gum
~ mere replied that II the defence advances
testimony to that effect the prosecution
w would ha We an opportunity To meet II wat
counter testimony. There the matte
rested at the adjournment Of court, ana
WAS understood that to-day the pfoseou
tiOu would introduce new line OF evidence
DH one of the most dramatic witnesses o
Yesterday wls Oscar IIarClif OF GladEtons
n. was the engineer OF the tram whlc
'' struck the trolley car. He sas badly IN
en ursd and was for months in tho hospitA
'Al His uppearan"o yests rday was that of
"a man " hose nerves we're utterly shattered
IN U,5 arm and hand ~ he rested them on th
hr rail by the witness stand shook as with
he. uulry The pointer with which he IN
dicutad on the map the spot where lie hr,
he saw the trolley, beat tremulos tatLD
In On the cuIIbOaT Yet his voice wa
er gtrouy and biz mind seemed clear. IN
"a. picture thHt, apparently, was burned Int
~ l,r brain IN the bret seconds that lhtei