The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-07
SEVENTEEN DEAD.
Victims of Rock Island Disaster
Up to Date.
All Are identified Except One
Boy.
FRIENDS ARE ARRIVING
Son of Mr.. and Mrs. w. s. Mar
tin Is Here.
Father and Mother Both Died in
Wreck.
CORONER is AT WORK.
Official Investigation of the
Causes Being Held.
Willard Operator Listened for
the Crash.
Son of Mr.. and Mrs. w. s. Mar
tin Is Here.
Father and Mother Both Died in
Wreck.
is AT WORK.
Official Investigation of the
Causes Being Held.
Willard Operator Listened for
the Crash.

the Crash.
Those among the Willard wreck VIC
time who have been positively identi-
fed and claimed by relatives are as fol-
lows:
MRS. MARTHA HILL, Greensburg.
w. S. MARTIN, De Kalb. Mo, sc
years.
JAMES GRITTY, Claremont. Mo.
E. E. MOYER, Kansas City, news
agent on the Rock Island train.
GAIL FULLER, Blockton. Ia, Z
years.
WILLIAM ]. WELLS. Jacksonville,
Illinois.
Those whose names have been ascer-
tanned but who have not been claimed
by relatives are:
MRS. MARY HARV1LLE,C Chillicothe,
aged about 30 years.
BEN HARVILLE, Chillicothe, aged ID
years
TOT HARvILLE, ChiIlicothe, 8 years.
MRS. SUSAN REED. Chillicothe. 45
years.
GRACE REED, Chillicothe.
LENORA REED, Chillicothe.
. boy, unidentified, about years.
Seventeen is the correct number of
the dead from the wreck of Rock Is
land passenger train No. 8. westbound.
near Willard at 1870 a. m. Wednesday.
The bodies of the dead are all at To-
peka, eight at the undertaking rooms
of j. T. Barclay and nine at the De-
Moss & Penwel establishment and at
these two places the coroner's jury is
holding adjourned sessions today. The
responsibility for the disaster has not
yet been fixed.
The work of Identification went ON
until late last night and this morning
all but the body of a little boy had
! been claimed by friends. It is supposed
that the relatives of the small boy are
in one of the Topeka hospitals, where
all the wreck victims are reported to be
doing well. All of the injured will re-
cover.
Rescue work at the scene
of the wreck continued from immedi-
ately after its occurrence until a. IN.
None of the dead, save one or two who
died on the relief train, were brought
to Topeka until noon yesterday. Since
that time grief stricken relatives have
been arriving in Topeka to find their
own among the dead. AS soon as the
coroner's jury disposes of Its task most
of the bodies will be removed from To-
peka to be sent home for burial.
Among those who have come to look
for relatives is a son of Mr.. and Mrs.
W. S. Martin of st. Joseph, Nc, both
of whom were killed outright. A sister,
Blanche Martin, ten years old, is in
Stormont hospital supposed to be in
ternally injured. The four little chill
dren of Henry Kaiser, the German, are
at Stormont hospital although none of
them were seriously hurt. The body of
Mrs. Kaiser will be removed immedi-
ately after the completion of the in
quest. She will be buried at Durham,
Kan, to which place she was on her
way from her former home in. Ger
many.
The coroner's jury, which will today
complete its work of fixing the respon-
sibility for the wreck is composed as
follows: ]. N. DolIey, Charles Hoseacl<,
DR.. C. E. Menard, DR.. ]. NJ KempeT:
Charles Paine, and George Oliver, all
residents of WabaunSee county.
The circumstances of the wreck make
it appear that some one is criminally
and culpably responsible FOR the DIS
aster 1t is believed that the coroner
will be able to sift down the evidence
and fix this responsibility In case this
is done the person on whom the blame
is land will doubtless be hableto criminal
prosecution under the Kansas statute
for the punishment of manslaughter at
tributable to culpable negligence Speak
ing of the wreck, County Attorney Otis
Hungate said today:
Some one has doubtless been criml-
nally careless and is certainly liable to
be prosecuted for it. In my opinion
punishment should be dealt out in full
measure IN In1S instance Inc Wreck
having occurred in Wabaunsee county,
the prosecution Of the responsible per-
son is of course out of my power.
Among those who were on the wreck
ed train but were unhurt was Miss
Helen Hewitt of Elgin, ILL.,. who was
en- route to Pochuca, Mexico. Miss
Hewitt has been for four years teach
er in Mexico under the Women's For
eign Missionary society of the NJ. E.
church
Miss Helen F. Barnes of Chicago ma
tionaI secretary of the Young Women's
Christian association, was on the train,
on her way to California to spend the
winter on account of i'll health. Miss
Barnes was in the sleeper and escaped
injury She lent active aid in the re-
lief work. Miss Carolyn L. Patch Of
Chicago, secretary Of the Y w. c. A.
of that city, was accompanying Miss
Barnes. She also was unhurt.
ROCK ISLANDS WORST WRECK.
With one exception, the recent wreck
on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, in
which about sixty-five people met their
death. the Willard wreck is the worst
that has occurred in this country for
many months. Old railroad engineers
and conductors express themselves as
being of the opinion that nothing like
| it has occurred in the history of the
Rock Island railroad. James Johnson
| who in his twenty years of service as a
railroad man has seen many bad
wrecks, said yesterday after looking at
| the coach end smoking car which had
| been telescoped in the accident and in