Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-05

President Newman and the Central
Directors Must Answer to
Grand Jury.
NEW YORK, March 5.-The New York
Central Railroad Company was found by
the coroners jury, which brought in its
verdict last night, to have been "culpably
negligent in not having taken "all the
necessary possible and proper precautions to
safeguard its passengers at the Wood
lawn avenue curve in the Bronx, where the
White Plains express was wrecked and
twenty-three persons killed on the night OF
February 16. The jury also made several
interesting recommendations with view
to obtaining better protection for those who
travel on railroads in this state.
Upon hearing the verdict Coroner
Schwannecke held the company. President
William H. Newman and the members of
the board of directors to the grand jury,
saying that he would parole the officers in
the custody of their counsel until this
morning at 10 o'clock, when he would
fix bail.
A. H. Harris, vice president and general
counsel of the company, was on his feet
the moment the coroner made that state
ment.
Il submit, your honor" he said, that
under the verdict of this jury you have
no power to make any SUCH
But the coroner pounded hard on his
desk, and shouted:
This case is adjourned.
But your honor, insisted MI. Harris.
Il say this case is adjourned. repeated
the coroner as loudly as he could, and 1t
is closed
With another rap on his desk he rose and
left the room.
Newman's Responsibility.
The objections which Mr.. Harris had
been unable to voice, and which he ex-
planned later, was that the jury had not
said where the blame was; that it had
declared that the responsibility seems to
be divided between the construction and
the operating departments
Neither the evidence nor the finding or
the jury said Mr.. Harris 'Justlhes the
holding of either the president or the poard
of directors, as the board has not peen
mentioned in the entire investigator, ana
the assistant district attorney in his ad-
dress to the jury said that the evidence qua
not point to Mr.. Newman as responsive.
The coroner and Assistant District Attor-
ney Smyth said, however, that 1t was me
company that had been declared by the
jury to have been responsible, ana that,
therefore, IL MAS llS " io'N go p
and the directors, as the officers Of the
company, responsible.
The verdict, which was ready forty min
utes after the Jury retired, described the
train in which the persons whose deaths
the jurors were investigating were riding,
and said that the train was running at
proved to be safe for such train on the
track laid to the existing curvature at tnat
point The jury expressed It's conclu-
sions as follows:
No Precautions.
THAT the New York Central and Hudson
River Railroad Company did not take all
the necessary, possible and proper precau-
tons to safeguard its passengers at this
point and. consequently, We're cu!pab.y neg
ligeM and that the responsibility for the
existing condition seems to be divided be-
tween the construction and operating de-
partmentS.
In its recommendations the jury said:
I'VE recommend that the New York Cen
trla and Hudson River Railroad Company
and others operating railroad lines in this
state be compelled to reinforce the fasten-
ings of the outer rails on all curves on their
lines constructed as the one in question
has been proved to have been, by additional
spikes, rail braces and Increased super
elevation, as from the testimony given we
feel that unless such precaution Is taken
similar accidents may be expected.
I'VE further recommend that until the
above strengthening has been completed
over curves not SO reinforced, the New
York Central and Hudson River railroad
and other operating railroad lines be re-
quired to lower the speed of trains over
such curves to so-called equilibrium speed, or
one that is absolutely safe to protect the
lives of passengers and employees. and that
instructions to this effect be given those in
charge of trains
ployeS and representatives of the New YORK.
Central and Hudson River railroad as to
determination or exactness of the speed
of the electric trains. we recommend that
they be compelled to install such recording
instruments make such tests to deter
mine the speed as will enable their motor
men to know with reasonable eXactness' the
speed at which their trains are travelling.
This information should cover speeds at the
three different positions of the controlling
lever handle, and be properly tabulated and
placed in a prominent position in the cab
of each electric locomotive
The Final Session.
The final session of the inquest had been
an unusually spirited one. 1t began at
o'clock in the afternoon. Vice President
Harris and Austen G. Fox, the latter APP
pearing as special counsel for w. J. Wilgus,
vice president in charge of construction,
took an active part, and fought for the adj
mission of certain points of evidence. Coro-
ner Schwannecke excluded much testimony.
He prevented Mr.. Harris from cross
questioning Prof. Lowell of Columbia Uni
versity, the district attorneys expert. say
ing that he had been chosen at the recon-
mendation of the officials of the New York
Central and that he therefore would not
permit the Centrars attorneys to impeach
him.
Prof George F. Swain of the Massachu-
sets Institute of Technology was ques-
toned as to his theory of the cause Of the
wreck He didn't have any, he said, but
he was certain that he could tell of one
thing that didn't cause it. He was not per-
mitted to state it.
Vice President Wigus, General Manager
Smith and Gen. Superintendent Mccormack
were the other witnesses of the day.
When all of the testimony had been taken
Assistant District Attorney Smyth said that
he had been present throughout the inquest,
not as prosecutor, but as investigator and
he desired to review the evidence for the
jury. Mr.. Harris and Mr.. Fox wanted to
sum up, too and there was a long confer
ence of counsel. The coroner then an
nounced that he would let counsel speak
for the company provided they would speak
first. To this Mr.. Harris and Mr.. Fox OBJ
jected, and a recess was taken until s
o'clock. By that time the coroner had
changed his mind, and announced that only
the assistant district attorney would be al
lowed to address the jury.
After the verdict was returned Mr.. Harris
sold 70 hot he