Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-17
PICTURE UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
Railway Employees Interfere With Star
Photographers Work.

Acting under unprecedented and unlaw-
full orders from the superior officers of the
company, two uniformed men in the service
Of the Washington Railway and Electric
Company, operating the City and Suburban
line, attempted to interfere with a star
photographer of The Evening Star this
morning when the latter appeared at the
scene of the lexington accident to take a
picture of the overturned car.
This high-handed attempt to control the
actions of a citizen on a public thorough
fare was accounted for this afternoon by
Mr.. Frank j. Whitehead Of the general
offices of the company, in a manner wholly
as remarkable and unusual as had been the
ignorant and imbecile movements of the
conductors or motormen who attempted to
hide fact boldly and indeibly written by
death upon the minds of the travellers on
this road as well as the general public. 1t
was not until the official photographer of
the police department arrived upon the
scene that the officials realized it would be
impossible for them to hush up or sup
press one of the most serious disasters the
street railway. history of the national cap
ital has known.
When asked If the conductors who had
interfered with The Star photographer
were acting on their own responsibility or
under orders from the company Mr.. White
head said:
yes, they were acting under orders"
From whom" he was asked.
From the company" came the reply.
Mr.. Whitehead was next asked what pos
sibe reason could have been found in the
minds of the companys officers for such
an unwarranted attempt to exemplify the
claim often made by irate citizens that 1.-The
street railroads own the streets and every
thing else in sight"
Without the slightest hesitancy he re-
piled:
1--WE thought it was not a matter of suffi-
Client consequence. There was no need for
lot, IN no ia
Then. after a moment, he added what
was undoubtedly the cause leading to the
outrageous attempt to interfere with the
proper publicity to be given the accident.
1t was this:
1.-THE public is already wrought up enough
over this street car business, and it
wouldn't do them any good to have pic
ture of the wreck Anyway, photographers
would interfere with the work of the COM
pany.
What blind folly could have suggested the
possibility of preventing full information
reaching the public with regard to the de-
tails of the wreck, when the overturned
car was crowded with scores of people,
when nearly every one in the Inflated
vehicle found it necessary to receive hos
pital treatment, when a family was called
upon to mourn the loss of it's dead. when
the police were on the scene investigating
the causes of the disaster, when coroner's
Jury must be summoned to still further
press the inquiry, can only be imagined by
a public which has been called upon to use
its powers of Imagination for many years
in picturing the promised time when better
traffic conditions would prevail on the very
line which furnished the tragedy of today.
The story Of the attempt to interfere with
The Star photographer VIII be read with
unusual interest. The interference Is vivid
ly pictured in the accompanying illustra-
ton. The large hand shown in the center
Of the photograph was that of the man
hired by the company to wait upon the
public After submitting to the insults OF
the uniformed men for a few minutes in
the belief that they were ignorantly using
a supposed authority, the photographer
gave the two burly minions push and sent
them Keeling from in front of his camera.
AS he did so he grasped the pneumatic bulb
which controls the lens and snapped 1t.
While this operation was going on one OF
the men had sufficiently recovered from the
picture-taking instrument and attempt to
blur the photograph with his hand.
The hirelng was not true to the wonder
full trust placed in him by his superiors.
The photograph not only shows the over
turned car, which was hurled many feet
from the tracks and the company's right
of-way but 1t also shows the important
feature of the company's unaccountable eff
fort to prevent picture of the death-car
from appearing in the papers.
The Star photographer was early on the
scene of the accident, while the crowds
were still viewing the wreck in amazement.
the southwest corner of 4th and I streets,
where he could command view of the
entire scene. He had selected a place some
distance from the crowd on the embank-
ment formed by the public parking at this
point. Not dreaming of any possible In