The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-01
The Photographer Cannot
 Be Found.
DETECTIVES seoUR COUNTRY
Careful Investigation Places Fault
 on Ragoon Man.
oaae,als of Roaa spsaa Day "a steaisas- sniug Out Matters whlie spenser'. IEeune is FIsedea wlth
 Tsiearamn.

Iyncfburg. Va, Nov. 30.A-The cause of the awful wreck near Lawyers depot yesterday morning. ln which President Samuel Spencer and his party lost their lives, is laid absolutely at the door Of C. D. Mattox. he operator who was in charge of the block telegraph station at hanBOon.
 Mattox. who disappeared tess than an hour after the wreck, has not bsen found, despite the fact that railway detectives have secured the country around the wreck and his home at Sandy Level. forty miles from the scene of the accident
 An official of the Southern Railway late thls afternoon stated that the company Is desirous of apprehending M4tkox to secure a statement that might throw some light on the causes that led him to allow two trains in the same block at the same time. Thks official was not prepared to state today whether or not the company would take steps to prosecute the missing op- orator and he did not then know if he could be prosecuted under the laws of the state of Virginia
 An examination of the telegraph sheets kept at the Rangoon and Law yers block ofices. discloses the fact that Mattox allowed train No. 33 the Jacksonville express. upon, the block, the train passing his station and get ting a clear track from him at s:0s o'clock
 The operator at Lawyers. the next station ahead, claimed that Mattox did not ask aim for ~clear track" for No s3, and he, therefore. did not know this train had passed Rangoon.
 Bears Out Claim.
 The block sheet at Lawyers bears out thls claim. SinHneFed down. if Mattox, at Rangoon. had reported train No. s on the block te Lawyers then theFe would have been no accident, because the operator at Lawyers would have aeld No. S7 ct Ran8oon until the Jack sonville train had cleared the block at Lawyers. no matter how lcng the de.. lay might have been between the two
 Superintendent " $. Andrews of the DanVilIe dtviaiaas late this afternoon a4plaanaa mat lie report taat the esss zine of the forward train had gone some distance ahead of It's train when 1t became detached. vas erroneous and the fact is that the engine did not leave the train more than 20 feet, the air brakes applying immediately upon the engine as well as the train. The trouble, was the breaking of a knuckle, of the drawhead on the front end of the forward car Tue tratnnen were repairing this when the collision oc- cured,
 Assistant General Superintendent Copeland states that there is net the slightest doubt that the Aagman made every possible effort to protect the rear of the train but he could not set around a sharp curve In time to prevent the collision. As soon as Engineer Kinney saw the signal he applied the amer- gency brakes and stayed at his post Co the last
 Death ,List Reaches seven.
 The death of William Pollard. the negro portFr in President Spencer's pRi- vate car, and J W. Shaw, the negro fireman, both of whom died In the City Hospital here last night, swelled the death list to seven in all. The latest word from the hospital regarding the injured indicated that all of them are doing nicely and probably will recover
 The scene of the wreck is ten miles south of Lynchburg and to it many persons have wended their way out of curiosity 10 see the effects of the disaster. The work of clearing the debris is being carried on and some of the wreckage already has been remov- ed. County Coroner J. w. Davis is ex- peeted to take some action on the ac- cident today. He arrived at the scenv of the wreck yesterday. but hndine that the bodies already had been re- moved, he deferred until today as to deciding what steps he should take In
 The escare of E. A. Merrill of New York, private secretary to Mir. Speneer, the only survivor In the party on the private car save for a porter, was mi raculous. The injuries he sustained are not serious and he will be able to leave the City Hospital here probably by the first If fhe week