The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-12-11
OILERS KEEP OUT.
oonclusions Based on Testimony TAX
+ en- in Connection With "McMas-
ter's Curve" Accident. =

~NSAAASSVASAA
81 ter's Curve" Accident.
Ihe railway commission in a report
ISSUED yesterday strongly condemned
ne alleged lax methods in the Office
- raln operators and dispatchers
pAcn allowed general entrance into
inces and permitted an examine
w ol u she books used for copying or
.%Ms' The report, which will be filed
! "ltN the general assembly, condemn
ed tlSe present system of issuing Or
ders t2 conductors which, it stated,
was responsible for the wreck on
Sunday, wet. Id, near Winnsboro, in
which fohE. men were killed, The IT,
port is as Follows:
1t was shown that the wreck was
in the naturk of head-on collision,
between fast through freight "a,
northbound, anda light engine, 1926,
running extra. .'NThey came together
on McMaster's curve, two miles north
Of Winnsboro, the extra s entire crew
Of three being killed and two men,
bers of the regular train s crew SER
iously hurt. Both locomotives were
badly damaged, nine box cars were
totally destroyed and between $50
and 200 feet of track torn up.
The killed we're: D: M. Dixon, con-
duotor on extra; James r. Mcpherson,
fireman of extra; Henry Pyle, en-
gineer on extra.
The injured were: James g. Price,
engineer on "a; Charles D. Weir,
brakeman on IA; Henry Gates (color-
ed), fireman on "a. (Henry Gates af-
ter wards died from the effects Of the
injuries.)
In response to summons of the
commission there appeared at this Of
flee, on the morning Of the 9TH OF
November, at 10 O'Clock, Assistant
General Superintendent j. N. Scale,
Division Superintendent H. A. Will
liams, Conductor E. L. Murphey, En-
gineerJames G. Price, Brakeman c..
D. Weir, Telegraph Operators II. E.
Bolick and J. M. Daniels, E. P. Beard,
E. w. Bellenger, S. H. Mcclure and
others.
After full examination of the wit
nesses the opinion Of the board is that
the said collision was due to Operator
Daniels at the train dispatcher's or
flee at the union depot not pursuing
order No. Cd, given Operator Bolick
at telegraph Office at Blanding street,
until he received signature to said
order for No. "a, and that Operator
H. E. Bolick having received order
No. Cd for train No. ID in some way
allowed this order to be lost or other
wise misplaced, and therefore did not
deliver said order to the crew Of No.
"a and it is therefore evident that
these facts are the prime cause Of the
accident.
While it was not brought out by
the testimony in this particular ac-
cident, Operator Bolick stated that
there was often great confusion in
the Office of the telegraph operator be-
cause he could not keep the call boys
and other employees Of the railroad
company out Of the Office, and that
was one way he may have lost sight
Of order No. Cd.
We desire to emphasize the fact
that the railroad authorities should
make it the duty Of some especial Of
ficial to inspect the office of telegraph
operators to see the strict privacy of
this Office be maintained without any
exception.
J. H. Wharton,
Chairman.
B. L. Caughman,
Jno. II. Earle,
Commissioners.
The report is by far one Of the
strongest papers yet issued on causes
Of wrecks. It is along the line Of
testimony brought out at the hearing
and, according to Southern railway
officials, will result in radical changes
in office rules for train dispatchers.
The Pity of It.
In New York day or two ago
young poet Of the name of Lawrence
Lewis committed suicide in one Of the
hotn1c IT. ;c Iocor;bol oc l>o;yo. ,bo,,s