The Mena weekly star., 1907-01-10
4 BLOCK SIGNAL INQUIRY
The Interstate Commerce Commis. sion Begins an Investigation
 at Washington.
RAILROAD OFFICIALS MAIN WITNESSES
A Train Dispatcher Tells How the System Is Worked on the Balti- more & Ohic-cause of Recent Disastrous Wrecks to be Gone Into.


 Washington, Jan. 5.--An inquiry in to the operation of the block signal systems of the Baltimore & Ohio rail road and of the Southern railway was instituted Friday by the Interstate Commerce commission. In making the inquiry the commission is acting under authority of a resolution of congress adopted at the last session calling for report on the working of the railroad block system generally. Specific instances of what appears to have been failure of the block signal device-or, as one of the commission- CTS expressed it, the failure of the human end of the device--to prevent property, but life, were afforded by the recent disastrous accidents on the Southern railway at Lawyers, Va, and on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at Terra Gotta, D. c. These accidents the commission determined to investi gate so far as they had relation to the operation of the block signals.
 Officials of both the Southern and the Baltimore & Ohio were sub. poenaed to appear before the commis, sion If, after the officers of these lines have been examined it is deemed desirable, the commission may call officials of other lines cn which wrecks have recently occurred, on ac count nf tl,e onnorapt dicrauard Ot the block signals or the failure of the system to accomplish it's pur- pose.
 Commissioner Clements was the only member of the Interstate Com merce commission present. Attorney Walton acted as interrogator of wit nesses for the commission
 A number of important points in connection with the Baltimore &~ Ohio wreck at Terra Gotta that were not brought out at the coroner's inquest will be gone into in the commission hearing. Representative Esch, of Wis consin, was spectator at Fridays session.
 iC AtolAiiOhg VI |. AftiAlt - bll dispatcher of the Baltimore & Ohio brought out the statement that the movement of trains is accomplished by two wires, one of which is known as the train wire; the other the block wire. One operator has tc work both these wires MT Dent said that 1t sometimes happens that an operator cannot be reached foi half an hour MT. Walton asked the witness:
 Have you ever called operators over the block wire and been unable to reach them?"
 Well, I have. Not for a great length of time, however, MT. Dent re piled
 MT. Dent has only one wire under his control, and said that it some times happens that he is very busy and that operators along the line could not reach him for several min. utes.
 Have you any other instances where wire men have not been prompt in answering" asked Mr. Wal ton
 Mir. Walton admitted that he had some trouble at times, but nothing oi a serious character. He said an oper ator could not answer him if he was sending a block wire message. He said that one man was reprimanded because he failed to answer the wire
 Mir. Dent admitted that operators often violate the rule in regard to the closing of offices. He was asked whether he ever reported them and whether 1t was his duty to do so. He said. T should report it"
 He said there was a given hou when each of the block signal sta tions should be closed and that 1t was the duty of each operator to report tc hin when the office was closed. He said that it sometimes happens that the operators are required to stay longer than the required time If some thing irregular happens.