The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-09-12

away the police were compelled to use 1 their heavy night sticks on a number of men who were attempting 10 TOD me dead. The officers had no time 10 make 1 arrests. c0ntenting themselves with drubbing the miscreants as heavily as they could. Coroner SchOler. soon on the scene of the wreck, ordered the ar rest of those immediately concerned.
 Search was made for the motorman, Paul Kelly, who secured a position on the elevated lines six months ago. He came here from St Louis Kelly could not be found, and at late hour to- night was still missing, although 1t was stated that he had spent the afternoon at the house of a friend.
 The switchman in the tower at Ninth avenue and Fifty-third street, Cornell jus Jackson, was first arrested. Then Conductor J. W. Johnson and Guards Timothy Higginson, J. McDavitt, W. L. Berry and B. Clarke were taken into custody. At a preliminary hearing this evening all the men waived exam ination.
 Two versions of the cause of the wreck were told to the coroner. One of these was that the switchman had set the tracks for a Sixth avenue train, and then when he saw his mistake had lattempted to rectify it while the train was on the curve, the change throwing lthe second, third and fourth cars off the track. The switchman, however declares the wrecked train had Sixth 1avenue signals set and he expected it to slow down to take the curve. Instead lit maintained the. speed usual with Ninth avenue trains on the direct line The officials of the road further de- clare that it would have been a physi- lcal impossibility for the switchman to have thrown the switch after the for ward car had passed on it.
 The curve at ,55th street is sharp and lit is intended to be run slowly and is lnot constructed for a higher rate of speed than six miles an hour. Conduc- tor Johnson this afternoon made de- tailed , statement to Police Inspector Flood. He said:
 T was on the first platform of the second car. We had just left 59th street and were going at a fair rate of speed, as it is long run to 50th, street. The lear was pretty well crowded. There were number of men on the platform and in the aisle of the second car there were a number of shop girls who were Laughing and joking.
 When we reached the curve the first car went on and the second and third cars went together like iackknife. sticking right up in the air and prac- tically closing against each other. In consequence, from where I was on the first platform of the second car at the Istart, I was dropped to the rear plat form of the first car.
 T held onto the iron rail like death, ani was straight up in the air. I saw girls and women climbing over the seats of the car that they might escape.
 Being an old railroader I pulled out my watch and looked at 1t. It was ex- actly 7:o5 a. m. Tho signals were set wrong. That waSF the trouble. They were set green and yellow which is for a Sixth avenue train. think that both motorman and switchman are equally to blame"
 Statements tending to fix the blame for the accident were made by officials lof the company after several hours investigation. E.5Pao Ryan, of the com pany, speaking of the switchnan who set the switch SO that the train turned loff on the Sixth avenue track at near ly a right angie to it's natural course made the following statement in Jack sCn's name:
 ''The Ninth avenue train which met with the accident displayed Sixth ave- Enue signals. On the assumption that the signals were correct I gave the ltrain the Sixth avenue track
 General Manager Hedley of the h. terbonough Rapid Transit company, ex- Iplained the wreck as follows:
 "The wrecked train was a Ninth ave- nue train, south bound. The signals in the switch tower were set for open track for the Sixth avenue south bound. The train went down Ninth avenue at a rapid pace, and struck the switch. The curve at this point is not banked. The train took the switch at rapid speed, and the first car held to the rails simply through the weights of the cars lbehind. The strain was so great than Iwhen half way around the curve the Icoupling broke between the first and Isecond cars and the second cars front Itrucks damned the rails.
 There was nothing left to guide the second car and 1t kept on in a straight Eline, without turning, and went over the side of the structure, falling to the ground directly in front of the south east corner of 53d street and Ninth avenue. It was a physical impossibility flor the switcnman to have turned the awltch while the train was moving rap idly over it. Statements to that effect lare absolutely incorrect"
 General Manager Hedley said that after the wreck the switch was found set for Sixth avenue train. Detect ives learned that Motorn1an Pulkley spent a large part of the day at a friends house, but he disappeared from that place before the police arrived to arrest him. Statements were issued by the Elevated Railroad company to the effect that the switchman under arrest has a clean record ever since he enter ed the company's employ ten years ago, and that the motorman had several years experience has a motorman in St. Louis.
 A man who went suddenly ravinG mad in A subway train q few hours