The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-07-23
80 PERSONS KILLED
Excursion Train Crashes Into
Freight
MORE THAN 70 INJURED
Crew of FREIGHT Train Responsible
q. for Accident
Excursf ion Train Running at Rate
of SO Mites an Hour-Freight
Engine Turned COmp1 eteIy
Around by Force of Collision
Not Enough Left of Baggage Car
to Show Where It Had Been
Thrown.

ATOVAs
Salem, Mich, July 20.-Tnirty peo-
pie are dead and more than seventy
injured many of them seriously, as a
result of head on collision today lie
tween this village and Plymnuth when
a Pere Marquette excursion rain bound
from Ionia to Detroit cras led into Il
VS. bound freight in III located in
Il sharp curve of the eerC .,,arQuette
rad about mile east IT S4lem.
The passe Ser train ( elr."I "ar.:,
Carrying the Pere Mar eft, shop e.,-
ployees of Ionia and their families to
the Michigan metropolis for their an
nual excursion was running at high
speed, probably fifty miles an hour
down grade 1t struck the lighter
locomotive of the freight train with
such terrific force as to turn the freight
engine completely around
The wrecked locomotives this after
noon both lay side by side, both head
ed eastward.
Only few of the freight train cars
We're smashed and it was only a few
hours work to remove all traces OF
them from the scene. But behind the
two wrecked locomotives two wreck
ed locomotives six cars Of the Dassen-
ger coaches remained on the track un-
damaged and were used to convey the
dead and injured to Ionia; one coach
was entirely undamaged with only it's
forward trucks off the rails. These
were the rear five cars. The two
coaches next ahead telescoped The
next car forward stood almost on end
after the wreck, it's forward end rest
iag on the road bed and the rear and
high in the air upon the two telescop-
ed coaches that had been Following it
Two coaches were thrown crCsswis0
the track, and lay suspended from
bank to bank of the cut five or six feet
above the rails.
Of the baggage car not enough re-
manned to show where it had been
tossed.
Portions of the baggage car and OF
the locomotive tenders ;dnd freight
cars were piled in an undescribable
mass of debris.
The % dead bodies first taken from
the wreck were shipped to Ionia and
the injured were placed on two trains,
one of which headed for Detroit and
the other for Ionia. There were about
35 injured people on each train.
Later in the day the body of Ed
German, the head brageman of the
passenger train. was taken out Of the
wreck
Fireman Knowles died on the reliet
train en- route to Detroit, bringing the
list of dead to thirty, with a possibil-
ity that more bodies might be found
in the wreckage and that several OF
the injured may die
Responsibility is placed sQuarely up
to the crew of the freight train
by the officials of the road Officials
who arrived at he wreck soon after
the accident secured from the freight
orders under which it was running and
which clearly showed the position OF
the passenger excursion train, and that
the freight had encroached upon the
other trains running time
The special was due at Salem at 9:1O
a. M and at Plymouth at 9:2O d. m.
1t passed Salem on time The time
card of the special was telegraphed to
the freight crew in form of a train
order and this order with the sig
natures Of the freight trSin crew at
tached was recovered by the officials
of the road.
The freight crew left the scene early
but the railroad officials said that they
explained simply that they had for
gotten.
The collision occurred at 9:13 o'clock
and the freight train should have reach
ed Salem at 9:10 to be within their
orders.