The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-03


thirty-two Mexieans4 were,s thirty of
whom were killed or burned to death.
Cameron IS emplcT7cd. by the Brown
News company.
You know he said, "the news COM
pany that has a contract with a rail-
road has the right to two double seats
at the front end of the smoking car.
There is no business for news agent
at night and it has been my custom to
turn the seats to face each otfier pull
my -1per between them and spread
ing the Navajo blankets which I have
for sale, sleep as comfortably as If I
were in bed started to do this Tues
day night s.nd- even went so far as to
rout out four Mexicans and get partly
READY. A good many of the Mexicans
with their interpreter had been drink
ing and some of them were making
good deal of noise. / thought the mat
ter over for a moment and decided that
l would spend dollar and get a berth
in tourist car where 1 could stretch
out better and have less noise.
80 1 went four cars back, that being
the fifth car from the engine. and took
a lower berth. I have no doubt that
that is how I happened to be alive to-
day. You know that when the con-
ductor- felt the air go on he locked out
of the window. and. seeing the danger,
jumped and got off with broken collar
bone. But he wouldn't have had time,
to aiken me, ana / would not have
got awake fast enough to act. anyhow
1.-THE first thing I knew after going
to sleep was that my head seemed to
have suddenly been driven into my
body, and l was stunned AS / came
to, I found that the car was at a stand
still and that all was confusion l got
outside as soon as could, in spite OF
the fact that I had mighty little on,
and then I realized what had happen
ed. The front part of the train was
afire rush back into the chair car
and pulled on my trousers and got my
coat and hat and went out again. :
ct met Jack Slater, our engineer,
and with the aid of some of the other
passengers, we began the work of res
cue There was no mail car on our
train, but the baggage car had been
driven up and through the smoker,
and it was there that the horror was.
Slater worked like a hero to get those
Mexicans out, and L helped him. We
carried out five or six who were alive,
but that was the best we could do as
flames beat us to some of them and we
simply had to stand by and see them
burn alive. r.....' 4
I'm getting sort of tired of this
risk, anyway, and think I'll quit the
business before 1t gets me- I've made
a little at it and thing I'll go to farm
ing" -.lI
In the sixteen. years that Cameron
has been "newsboy'' he has made
and saved enough money to buy clear
TWO me farms near MS old nome,
Muscotah, Kan. and another in west
ern Kansas. Besides that he owns
town property and has money out at
interest and in the bank
Dispatcher May Share Blame.
Many people familiar with railway
affairs are of the opinion that the
train dispatcher is equally to blame
with the operator at VolIand for the
Rock Island wreck Wednesday morn
ing. s ''
]. H. shumate of Topeka was the
dispatcher on duty at the time the
wreck occurred. and who gave the or
ders for the handling of the. trains tina.
met in head-on collision
Practically all of the leading Ameri-
can railways have in effect an order
following copied from the rule book OF
the, Rock Island railway company:
Strain orders must not be issued for
a train to meet sbr wait for another
when avoidable.I7 When unavoid-
able, such orders unjust be issued only
at a point where the train has al
ready stopped or is scheduled or has
instructions to stop, etc.
Ordinarily train No. 20 would have
received orders at Alma to meet 80 in
addition to the orders to meet No.
IA at Volland, at the same time that
orders were issued to 80 at Alta Vista
to meet 20 at Volland. On account or
tie peculiar circumstances surround
ing this condition. of affairs, (the run
ming of % in two sections, the second
section being. late) 1t was impossible
to observe the first clause of the above
rule. The dispatcher received word
from Operator LyneS at VolIand that
No. % was on the side track, where it
had headed in to let No. II pass, ana
the Rock Island officials say the dis
hatcher can not be criticised for as
Stunning that Operator Lynes would
IAI 40 O - I,
received, thereby making it entirely
proper for the dispatcher to allow No.
80 to proceed east from Alta Vista.
From the facts at hand it appears
that the blame Will rest almost entire
ly upon the shoulders of the operator
at Volland. The facts do not bear ouc
his preliminary statements that the
mechanism of his soma phore signal
board was out of order
His board was in perfect working
CrGer just the moment prior to No.
GAS arrival at his station, because it
was thrown to danger. and the east
bound board was released for No. IL
TO pass. tF
board was in use all day Wednesday,
and that no repairs were made upon
the mechanism. This being true, 1t
necessarily follows that Lynes failed
in his duty In not manipulating his
signals al he should have done
Engineer Slater, Conductor Gaines
and Brakeman Whitfield of train No 20
all declare that they noticed the soma
pkore and noted that both signal
boards, for both east and west bound
trains hung down. thereby giving au-
thority for the train to proceed.
Block Signals Ready
The Rock Island railroad is gradually
establishing the block signal system of
train dispatching on all of the main
lines of the road.
The telegram denartTnanf had nre-
pared "a wire and had turned it over to |
the operating department on January
1, the day prior to the day the accident
occurred for use in the block signal dis