The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-01-01
DID NOT SE[.
IL A--- 49,
The Danger Signal, Says
Engineer hiIdebrand.
THfB.&O.HORROR
Grows in Magnitude, The Dead NoH
Numbering So, with About 60
Injured. Some Fatally.

Washington, Jan 1.-THE Baltimore
& Ohio wreck at Terra Gotta Sunday
night grows In magnitude as the hours
pass. The most conservative estimate
Of the dead is SO, with 60 injured In
the hospitals or at their homes suffer.
ing from wounds sustained In the
rear-end collision which completely
demolished the two day coaches and
the smoker attached to the local Fred.
erick expresc,, No GS. Several Of the
most seriously Injured are expected to
die and the death list may yet reach
so or more.
Heartrendlng and pitiful were tho
scenes at the city morgue Monday
where hundreds of persons flocked to
assist the police in the Identification
of the dead. Women, girls and even
men with iron nerves shocked, sobbed
and tainted as their relatives were
found among the 80 corpses strewn
about the floor. Collins, wicker bas.
kets and winding sheets were found
on all sides. 1t was day never to be
forgotten.
Oficials of the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad are conducting an investiga-
ton of the wreck In Baltimore for the
purpose of placing the responsibility
for the disaster. General Superintend.
ent Todd exonerated Milton w, Phil
lips, the operator at the Takoma block
station, the last signal station that the
equipment train passed before crash
ing into the passenger train at Terra
Gotta The superintendent declared
that Phillips was obeying instructions
when he went home at $3.50 o'clock.
leaving the double green signal burn
Ing.
While making no positive charge
Superintendent Todd intimated that
the burden of the blame would fall
upon the engineer and crew Of the ex
ira. The five members OF the crew
who were arrested shortly after the
accident are now being held to await
he result of the official investigation.
They are Harry II. Hildebrand, eng!.
neer; Ira C. McClelland, fireman;
Frank H. Hoffmeir, conductor; Ralph
Rutter, brakeman, and William A.
Norris. baggagemaster.,
Gazing vacantly between the iron
bars of his cell at the police station
Engineer Hildebrand is Zoo full OF
emotion to make any definite state.
ment. 1T will all come out at the In.
vestigation." he said ~ don't believe
that there is anything for me to say
and couldn't say II II there was
Before he was arrested the engineer
made statement in which he declar-
ed that II the danger signal light was
displayed at Takoma he failed to see
It on account OF the dense fog.
Milton w. Phillips. the operator,
who is also held prisoner, said that
the equipment train ran past his dan
ger signal at speed OF from 80 to 90
miles.
G. w. Galloway, general supe:in'
tendent of transportation for the rail
road, exonerated the company from all
blame and put the responsibility on
the engineer Of the equipment train or
the operator at Takoma block.
IF the coroner's jury fails to hold
the engineer or the block operator,
he said, I'VE shall not consider the
matter settled. We shall go to the
bottom of the wreck. This horrible
catastrophe could have been avoided.
Some one is responsible and we intend
to leave no stone unturned until the
responsibility has been fixed. The
Takoma block system was installed
two years ago and Is the safest known
to railroad men,"