The Elbert County tribune., 1906-03-29
CORONER'S jury
FINDS NEGLIGENCE BUT NO GRIM.
INALtTY.
CASE OF D. ar. G. ACCIDENT

operator Lively was NsscSP WneH
Train Passed-NIght Operator Van
puesen censured for Absence from
Duty.
Denver.-A Canon City dispatch
says: The coroner's jury which inves-
tigated the Denver & Rio Grande
wreck at Adobe last Friday a week
ago, which resulted in loss of about
forty lives. Monday evening returned
the following verdict:
IAN inquisition holden at Canon City
In Fremont county, state Of Colorado,
on the 10th, 18th, goth and
26th OF March, 1906, before
w. c. Stephenson, coroner OF said
county, upon the body of Enod
Mcfarland and w. Cosslett and others
meeting death in the Adobe collision.
there lying dead, by the jurors whose
names are hereunto subscribed. Said
Jurors, on their oath, do find the de-
ceased came to their deaths as the re-
suit of a collision between Denver G.
Rio Grande trains Nos. 3 and 16 near
the station of Adobe, in the county OF
Fremont and state of Colorado, the
10th day Of March, 1906, and that said
collision was the result Of negligence
on the part of one S. f. Lively, an
agent of the company, who was sta
toned at Swallows, but that said neg
ligence was not wilful, malicious or
felonious, and is not of such a nature
as to render the said Lively or the
said railroad company liable to Grim
inal prosecution under any statute in
the state.
That the train dispatcher in Pueblo
gave orders that the aforesaid train
pass Adobe, which orders were deliv-
cred to No. 16 at Canon City and to
No. at Pueblo; that after giving said
orders the dispatcher inquired of said
Lively whether or not No. had
passed; that said Lively replied in the
negative, and the dispatcher immedi-
ately gave the order that said trains
pass at Beaver, station between
Swallows and Adobe, instead of
Adobe. That said order for passing at
Beaver instead of at Adobe was deliy-
cred to No. 16 at Florence. and was re-
ceived by said Lively for No. 3 at
Swallows.
THAT the fact was that No. 8, before
the receipt of said order, and before
the making of the aforesaid answer TO
the train dispatcher, passed Swallows,
whose passing had not been observed
by Lively, because he had been asleep
at the time of its passing; but the jury
believes that the said Lively believed
said train had not passed.
1--WE condemn the action of the night
operator, w. Van Deusen. in deserting
his post of duty.
"The jury further finds that one OF
the rules of the Denver G. Rio Grande
relating to signals given in the opera
tions of it's trains is numbered 524,
and reads as follows:
ga fixed signal must be used at
each train order office, which shall dis
play red when trains are to be stopped
for orders; when there are no orders
the signal must display white
"This jury condemns said rule as
unsafe in the operations of trains on
such system as the Rio Grande, and
says that in the judgment of this jury
said rule is responsible in a measure
for the aforesaid collision.
"This jury believes that said rule
should be at once revoked and a rule
be adopted in its stead requiring all
stations to display danger signals and
no train be permitted to pass until the
operator in charge of station, after
call from the approaching train,
changes in view of the engineer the
danger or stop signal to clearance
or proceed signal, thus giving to the
trainmen guarantee that the agent
is both alive and awake and discharg-
ing his duties. as positive guarantee
that he knows the train is passing and
| positively has no orders for them.
I'VE commend this change in sig
nails at this time as inexpensive and OF
such n nature that 1t may be immedi-
ately promulgated. We commend the
ultimate adoption by this great railroad
system, for which we entertain great
respect, because it is great system as
doing much for the commercial devel-
opment of our country, of either dou.
BILE tracking it's line or adopting some
approved automatic lock signal sys-
tem."