Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1904-01-14
THE WILLARD WRECK
Carelessness Said to Have Been the
Cause Of the Collision.
SEVENTEEN DEAD, MANY OTHERS HURT
The Smoking Car Driven Through q Day
Coach-A Formal Inquest Being Held
by Coroner Doliey. of wabaun-
see County.

II
Topeka, Kan, Jan. 7.-SeventeeI
dead and 81 injured is the result OF the
Rock Island passenger wreck at VII
lard yesterday morning. Most OF the
injured are In hospitals in Topeka
The dead are: Mrs. J. H. Hill, Of
Greensburg, Kan; Mrs. W. 8. Martin
Of st. Joseph, Mo-; Mrs. Mary Harville
Of Chillicothe, Mo-; Ben Harville, son
Of Mrs. Harville, aged 10; Tot Har-
VILE, daughter Of Mrs. Harville, aged
three; Mrs. Susan Reed, sister Of Mrs.
Harville; James Griffin, Of Claremont,
Mo-; e. E. Myer, of Buffalo, N. r.;
Raymond A. Martin, Of Chillicothe.
Mo-; w. s. Martin, Of st. Joseph, Mo-;
e. r. Rankins, Of DeKalb, Mo-; Will
liam J. Wells, of Jacksonville, ILL.,; Mrs.
Mary Kaiser, Russian, address I'M
known; Gale Fuller, aged seven, Of
Brockton, Ia; Grace Reed, Of Chilli
cothe, Mo-; Lenora Reed, of Chilli
cothe, Mo-; unidentified boy, aged
eight.
The single word "carelessness" will
sum up the reasons for the tragedy.
Instructed to meet special freight
train at Willard, the engineer and con-
ductor of the Inflated passenger, not
ing that a freight train stood on the
sidetrack at Willard, rushed through,
thinking that the cars they had seen
were the ones which they had been
instructed to pass. Failure to scru-
tinize the number of the engine was
directly responsible for the wreck.
Had the engineer compared the num-
Der of the train at Willard with his
orders the catastrophe would have
been omitted
Upon seeing at Willard freight
train on the siding Engineer Benjamin
threw open the throttle and the i'm
petus of the full steam passenger
train leaped out into the darkness
and crashed along at rate which the
passengers declare to have been fully
65 miles an hour. Not note Of warn
ing of the fearful impending disaster
ever made itself known to the suf-
ferers.
The greatest fatality was in the third
car from the engine. This was a day
coach and 1t was full Of passengers.
ahead Of 1t was the smok-
Ing car and between that and the en-
CINE was the baggage car. The smok-
Ing car contained only few passen-
gers. The shock drove the smoking
car through the coach and all the peo-
pie in the front half of the coach were
killed. This coach was SO crowded
that some men were standing. There
we're perhaps 80 persons In the car
and 80 or more Of them were killed or
injured. From the middle OF the car
he manned persons were taken out
live. In front of them all were killed.
Behind them the passengers were
thrown into a struggling mass. Some
we're wounded and others were trying
10 get out.
The special freight train, too, accord
ing to the cattlemen who were taking
stock to market, was making almost
he best time In its command, probably
10 miles an hour. Midway between
willard and Maple Hill is sharp
curve, and It was here that the colli-
sion occurred. The freight cars were
BADLY wrecked and probably go cattle
we're killed.
General Superintendent Gruber, Of
he Rock Island, makes this statement
. The Associated press:
9 engineer Of the passenger train
lad orders to wait at Willard for the
'pecial stock train. He passed on, mis-
aking a freight train on the siding at
hat station for the extra stock train.
This caused the wreck. Nobody else
S to blame SO far as our Information
,oes."
A formal inquest was held at the
wreck yesterday by Coroner Dolley, of
Nabaunsee county. The investigation
will be continued to-day. Until YER
Iict placing the blame is returned no
ction will be taken against the train