New-York tribune., 1907-12-19
COURT FREES N. .Y.C. MAN
"ACQUIT SMITH" 1T SAYS.
Tells Jury General Manager Is Not
Lioble for Woodla1cR Wreck.

The trial of Alfred H Smith. vice-presdent and
general manager of the New York Central Kali
road for nsnslaughter in the third degree IN con-
nection with the wreck az Woodlawn- On the Har-
lem division Of railroad, in February came 10
ar abrupt end yesterday when Justice Kellogg
announced that there was enough evidence
against the vire-president TO warrant sending the
case TO the Jury and directed that body 10 return
a verdict Of mot guilty. After the prosecution had
finished its case on Tuesday afternoon Delaney
NIcou counsel for Mr.. Smith. made application TO
the Justice TO dismiss the case. and the justice
announced that he would consider the matter until
yesterday morning.
Justice Kellogg said that the prosecution hac
failed TO show personal negligence by the defendant
and decided that the evidence Of the expert en-
gineers employees Of the Central. Offset that
offered by Professor Earl B. Lowell, Of Columbia
University upon whom the prosecution de-
pendent for success. Mr. Smith shook hands with
the Jury, the members of which assured him that
had the case gone to them It could not have been
decided otherwise.
Justice Kellogg spoke Of the frequency with
which railroad accidents occur, and advised Mr.
Smith to go back to the Central and add TO the
railroads present precautions all that he could de-
wise for the protection Of the people.
The justice assumed from thesevidence that the
wreck caused by excessive speed, and then
went TO say that testimony had been adduced
TO show that speed of ffty-seven and half miles
an hour around the Woodlawn curve was safe,
while two engineers had testified that speed of
seventy miles hour absolutely safe There
many the road he said. which have
greater elevation which over at just as
high speed, while evidence had also shown that
trains had frequently passed over the curve where
the wreck occurred at a speed Of sixty miles an
hour.
Justice Kellogg then criticised the testimony given
by Professor Lowell He called the professors
calculations abstruse, and said that he thought
Yfarx- l1fa71Tl e-SS- nj or
and practical railroad men.
TT seems to me- said the Justice, that no jury
OF reasonable men could bring in verdict against
this defendant such grounds those presented
by Professor Lowell It is said that the defendant
guilty OF gross negligence in not employing
trained engineers for the motors The inexperience
and Incompetence OF Rogers. the motorInan DID
enter into the unless IT could be proved
that there defect il the locomotive. On
the other hand. Rogers had testified that the ma
chine running smoothly and obeying his every
snove-it under full control
However you must remember that We are
dealing with general manager. He had control
Of 5000 men, 1909 miles Of track and 15O0 miles
a curve The defendant could not humanity be
expected TO give personal supervision every inch
of it. OF necessity the most that he could do was
provide a general scheme for traffic and the
safety Of passengers. He must delegate some du-
ties 30 others.
This defendant is not crirninally liable. except
for his omission 10 act. Yet Ballet the engineer.
has testified that IL il were necessary to impose
any regulations as 10 speed, It was his duty, and
he did not make any regulations for the Wood
lawn curve deerning it unnecessary. It seems to
me that in the nature of things Mr.. Smith could
have had nothing 10 do with this.
Il think this case has brought about good re-
suits in that 1t has brought the attention of
the railway officials the need for more care es-
peciaIly in the Of the restrictions Of speed
The railroad company has already compromised
most OF the suits that arose out of the Woodlawn
disaster for sums aggregating nearly 100000.
There remain eleven suits be tried, which the
cor,sT5aTty vas unable to compromise.