The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-01-07
Seventeen We're Killed Outright
and Thrfy-SeVeR Injured,
One Of Whom Viii Die
ENGINEERS HAD ORDERS To
MEET THE STOCK TRAIN

County In Which the Accident
Occurred, But No Verdict
Was Rendered.
Topeka, Kan, January 6.-Seventeen
persons were killed and thirty-seven in
jured in the Rock Island wreck at Willard
this morning. Most of the injured are in
hospitals in Topeka. The doctors announce
that all will recover with the exception Of
Mrs. NJ. A. Hill of Greensburg, Kan.
Carelessness of trainmen caused the
wreck. Instructed to meet a special freight
train at Willard. the engineer and con-
ductor of the Inflated passenger train.
noting that freight train was 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 scrutinize the number
of the engine was directly responsible for
the collision. Had the engineer compared
the number of the train at Willard with
his orders the accident would have been
avoided.
General Superintendent Gruber of the
Rock Island makes this statement to the
Associated Press:
1.-THE engineer OF the passenger train
had orders to wait at Willard for the
special stock train. He passed on, mis-
taking a freight train on the siding at
that station for the stock train. This
caused he wreck. Nobody else Is to blame,
so far as our information goes
A formal inquest was held at the wreck
today by Coroner Dooleys of wabaunsee
county.
The investigation will be continued to-
morrow. Until a verdict, placing the
blame is returned, no action will be taken
against the trainmen.
Was Twenty Minutes Late.
The train which left Kansas City at 10
o'clock last night, WAS twenty minutes
late at the time of the accident. and was
running at the rate Of thirty miles an
hour.
The train carried many persons for Ok
la.homa. who had taken advantage of the
homeseekers' rate. 1t also contained
through sleepers and chair cars for San
Francisco and Los Angeles.
The wreck was one or the most serious
that has happened on the Rock Island
system in years. Between Kansas City
and Topeka, the Rock Island uses the
tracks of the Union Pacific, and as there
are no general offices of either road In
this city, the details of the disaster was
obtained with difficulty Several report
ers who boarded the relief train as it left
Topeka early this morning, were put off
the train shortly after 1t started, and the
first details of the collision came from PEI
sons on the wrecked train after they had
been returned to Topeka
Occurring, as 1t did, at small station,
with few facilities for aid, thets was
much delay in extracting the dead and lii.
1ured The train was composed of com
bination baggage and mail car. ressldr
baggage car, a smoker, tourist sleeper
and a standard sleeper.
The Dead.
Mrs. J. H. Hill. Greensburg Kan.
Mrs. w. S. Martin, st. Joseph, Mo.
Mrs Mary Harvaille, Chillicothe, Mo.
Ben Harvaile son of Mrs. Harvaille,
aged 13
Tot Harvaille, daughter of Mrs. Har-
vaille. aged B.
Mrs. Susan Reed. sister of Mrs. Har-
vaille.
Grace Reed, Chillicothe Mo.
Leba Reed, Chillicothe, Mo.
James Griffin, Calremont, Mo.
E. E. Meyer, Buffalo, N. Y.
w. s. Martin. st. Joseph. Mo.
Raymond A. Martin, Chillicothe, Mo.
Z. r. Rankins, Dekalb, Mo.
Williams Wells, Jacksonville, Ill.
Mrs. Mary Kaiser, Russian, address un-
known.
Gale Cutler. aged 7, Brickton. Ia.
Unidentified how. aRed e.
List Of Injured.
The following were injured:
G. w. Sherman, Mcfarland. Kan.;
Blanche Martin. st. Joseph, Mo-; u. Tott-
man, Harlan Mo-. back and head in
jured; Molly Fuller. Blocton. Iowa, head
and back; G. A. Pried, Everest, Kan,
sprans; Mrs. II. B. Ropske, Louisville;
Mrs d. F. Fuller, Blocton. Iowa; Hattie
Ellinger, Lindsborg, Kan; Gail Fuller.
Everest Kan; II. Wadsworth, Armour
dale, Kan; Clarence Fowler. Hanson,
KY; Mrs. Alice Rosebro. address not
given; II. A. Jones, Everest, Kan; J. c..
Nagle, conductor. Kansas City; T. Allen.
porter Topeka; Frank Harville, Chilli
cothe, Mo-; c. w. Wright, Kansas City;
" Frazier, Kansas City; j. Veneman,
Pullman conductor, Kansas City; o.
Swanson, Lake, Kan. F. l.. Beatty, Penn
est, Kan; Mrs. Rose Bulb, Atchison,
Kan; Mrs. Bertha Shubert. st. Claire, ILL., /;
Ola Harver, Lynne. l. r.
Dr.. Bells Account of Wreck.
DR.. Bell, the hero of the wreck. was
induced finally to give his version of the
relief work. He said:
when the collision came, we were all
of course In our berths. l was thrown
from mine and Immediately got into my
clothes to see what was wrong. l saw
that medical assistance was the first
thing needed. There were two young wo-
men in my car who offered their services
and they worked unhesitatingly with the
injured / did not really do much, but
these other people did wonders. The
people In the sleeper were bundled out
to make room for the injured In the
wreck We did not have much in the way
Of medical appliances, but tore up sheets
for bandages. stopped wounds as well
as we could and made the injured as
comfortable as possible.
with one exception the people In the
sleepers devoted themselves unselhshly to