The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-22

OF the seats ana found F1lySeI IN the I
darkness among the struggling and |
lshrieking mass of human beings. There !
was a frtghtful roaring and Kissing OF /
steam and L seemed to be sitting IN a |
blindly and felt what seemed to be |
q window frame. With my hands |
broke the glass and managed to drag |
myself through the window.
There was such a cloud of steam /
everywhere that 7 scarcely knew |
which way to run. but I had the IN |
stinct to stagger away from the blind |
ing, singing steam that could feel |
was scalding my flesh.
He Lost Consciousness.
Il must have lost consciousness
about this time for 1 have only a con- |
fused recollection of people coming to |
help me and the impression that my /
hands and arms were bleeding where |
had broken the glass. Then I re-
member nothing until I was on board !
the train coming to Cleveland
William Barclay Parsons, of New |
York city, who was chief engineer of /
the construction of the New York sub |
way when the same was built, was |
on the train but escaped injury. He |
had been in Cleveland at the invitation |
of President Andrews, of the Cleveland
Electric Railway company, and had |
4 spoken before the subway committee
of the Chamber of Commerce.
A quantity of first class mail mat
ter was destroyed by the fire. which
consumed all except the two rear
coaches The mail was largely coma
posed of through pouches from the
west and destined for eastern points
Just how many pouches were de-
lstroyed, the railway officials were I'M
liable to say at the present time.
Says Speed Is Not Unsafe.
New York. June 22.-President New
man of the New York Central does not
regard as unsafe the rate of speed
which must be maintained by the 49,
hour Twentieth Century Limited and he
does not believe that last nights acct
dent was due in any sense to that
cause. He said today, however, that
the future of the new train would rest
entirely upon the investigation which
is now in progress.
If we find the 1S-hour train unsafe
he said, we will take it off in ten sec
onds. We do not think that speed I'M
safe now If I or any of the officials
of the road had thought the train UNI
safe it never would have been put on
believe however with all railroad
men that all trains go little too fast.
! I felt from the beginning that slower
train would be more comfortable for
the passengers. They appeared to no
tice no difference in the speed between
the 20 hour and Is hour trains, how
ever, and seemed to be very well sat
isfied. Any change now will depend
entirely upon the investigation which
is being made by Vice President Brown
of the Lake Shore road
Mail Was Important
Chicago, June PA highly import
ant class of mail matter was carried
by the wrecked Twentieth Century
Limited. Numerous inquiries were
received at the pOstoffice here today to
discover whether any of the mail had
been saved. The train carried nothing
but first-class matter, Usually of an
urgent character. and the postof1ce de-
5 paFtment made special provision daily
to catch the train in order to
: reach the larger cities east of here in
/ the quickest possible time.
! Erick Probably Dead
, Cleveland, June 22.-It is now believed
to be almost certain that L. NJ Eirick,
: manager Of Keith's theater in this city.
2 lost his life in the wreck. A gold watch,
! partially melted, was found in the ruins
of the burned cars today, bearing in
scriptions which indicate that it was
the property of Mr.. Eirick.
{ General Manager Marshall of the
{ Lake Shore road expressed the opinion
! today that the wreck was deliberately
planned by some unknown person
/ throwing the switch at Mentor
: Fireman (foI ham, who suffered seri-
? Gus injury, declared to Mr.. Marshall to-
day that the signal light showed white.
The switch was found to be in perfect
condition Immediately after the wreck.
All the Dead Were Men.
= Cleveland, O., June 22.-The fatality of
the Mentor wreck had been fixed al 81
! lives. All the dead were men and all
We're passengers on the buffet car. OF
I the y, Is have been positively identified
/ and the other three are in doubt. It is
believed that all the dead have been re-
moved from the scene of the wreck,
! the railway company lending every eff
l fort toward moving away the wreck
age as soon as possible. This work has
proceeded so far by this time that the
possibility of there being additional
: bodies buried in the debris is very
: slight.
$. G. Recl1With Widely known.
New York. June 22.-S. c. Beckwith.
? who died today as a result of injuries
sustained in the wreck. was well
r known in newspaper advertising cir
Giles. He was president of the S. G.
Beckwith special advertising agency,
7 which has offices in this city He was
: born at COrnersville. Md, fifty years
ago, and is survived by a widow and
I two brothers.
+ Official Report.
4 Chicago, June 22.=The following
t official report Of the wreck was tele-
I graphed today by Vice President W.
= line, to President Newman at New
D York:
''Train NO. 10. eastbound. passed
e Mentor at S:35 2. m. at which time
] the switches were all set for the main
line No. 266 followed No, 10 fifty
minutes behind her. and no trains
- passed Mentor in either direction be-
i tween the time No 0 passed there
! and the arrival of No. IS. The opera
+ tor was on the platform with two
] men, named James Collins and w M.
LEADERS, both of whom live in Mentor,
t when No. 10 passed. after which the
S operator went into the Office and re-
2 NAMED until about the time No. IS
t was due. when he again went out on
S the platform and saw No. 26 coming
r two or three miles away.
f 1.-The operator says that he looked
b at the switch lights and they were
e white and the switches were properly
T. | set for the main line. He then re-
turned to the Office If this is correct,
between that time and the time No.
&c headed in on the side track. some
/ | one threw the switch for the side track
= - IL :