Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-01-03

Washington, Jan. 1.-THE Baltimore
& Ohio wreck at Terra Gotta Suni "
night grows in magnitude as the hours
pass. The most conservative est.
mate of the dead is now SO, with three
score injured. Several of the most
seriously injured are expected to die
during the night and the death list
may reach so or more.
Heart rending and pitiful were the
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 shrieked, sobbed
and tainted as their relatives or
friends We're found among the -
corpses strewn about the floor. COT
fins, wicker baskets and winding shee
were found on all sides. 1t was a day
never to be forgotten.
Officials 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 Superinten-
dent Todd exonerated Milton ". PnA-
lips, the operator at the Takoma
block station, the last signal station
the equipment train passed before
crashing into the passengers at Terra
Gotta. The superintendent declared
Phillips was obeying instructions
when he went home at $50, leaving
a double green signal burning.
While making no positive charge, Todd
intimated that the burden of tie
blame would fall upon the engineer
and crew of the extra Five members
of the crew, arrested shortly after
the accident, are now being held to
await the result of the official inyes-
tigation. They are:
Harry H, Hildebrand, engineer
Ira c. McClelland, fireman.
Frank F. Hoffmeier, conductor.
Ralph Rutter brakeman.
William A Norris, baggagemaster
Engineers Statement.
Engineer Hildebrand said Monday
night:
1t will all come out at the investi-
cation. don't believe that there is
anything for me to say and | couldn't
say 1t If there was"
Before he was arrested, the engi-
neer made statement TO the Associ-
ated Press in which he declared that
If danger signal light was displayed
at Tacoma he failed to see 1t on ac-
count of the fog.
Took Block Against orders.
Melton w Phillips, the operator,
who is also under arrest, said that
the equipment train ran past his dan
ger signal at speed of from so to
60 miles. He says there was a heavy
fog but not enough to hide the red
light. He declares that he immediate
ly notified the operator at University
station that the train had taken the
block against orders. His statement
is corroborated by the University sta
ton operator, who says he received
the message. Policeman Kennedy,
stationed at Takoma park, will tes-
tify that he saw the signal light in
its proper place and that hlldebrand
drove past the signal. Fred Lem
kun, gatekeeper at Takoma, makes
similar statement.
c. w. Galway, general superin-
tendent of transportation for the Bal
timore & Ohio railroad, exonerated
the company from all blame, and put
the responsibility on the engineer of
the equipment train or the operator
at the Takoma block
Commission May investigate.
Chairman Knapp of the interstate
commerce commission Monday night
said to the Associated Press that the
commission considered the advisable
ity of making a special investigation
into the cause of the wreck. No de-
cision has been reached, he says, as
to when this investigation will be
made.
}. w. helIy, tIdlnIHdSlSF Oh the bdI-
timore & Ohio for this division. is in
Washington to make an investiga-
ton into the cause of the wreck. He
declared that to locate the responsi-
bility at this time was an utter i'm
possibility
The police hare all the trainmen
locked up" he explained, and Until
we can get at them, ask questions
and compare the stories, it will be
impossible to determine anything
Meanwhile would not make a state
ment simply because have not the
facts"
AS a manifest .tion Of the sorrow
and sympathy fol al afflicted by the
disaster at Terra Gotta, the district