The San Francisco call., 1907-01-03
SAYS FLAMES TOOK
LIFE Of BOY
Fireman Testifies in Mitch
ell Case That the Vic
tim Was Roasted Alive
PARENTS BREAK DOWN

startling evidence was introduced by
the plaintiff in the trial of the damage
suit OF the father and mother of little
Jimmy Mitchell against the California
and Oregon Coast Steamship Company
before Judge Graham yesterday. Ex-
perts testified that the oil tanks and
general boiler equipment of the schoon-
er Despatch were in deplorabIe con-
dftion when the lad met his death in the
fire, and that in direct violation of the
Federal law open lanterns and torches
had been used in the hold. Captain
Theodore B. Kensdall of the San Fran
cisco Fire Department, who picked MP
the dead body of Jimmy Mitchell, stated
ON the stand that the boy did not die
from suffocatiOn, but had been actually
roasted alive.
The mother and father of the boy,
who had been sitting together in court,
both broke down and wept when the
fireman told of the horrible death of
their son, and for the moment silence
fell on the courtroom until the sobs of
the grief-stricken mother and the tears
of the father had ceased.
BOLGER GAVE WARNING
Captain Bolger, boiler inspector for
this port, was the first witness called
by Costello & Costello. the plaintiff 8
attorneys THE night before the Des-
patch caught fire." said Bolger, II no.
titled Captain Weber of the vessel that
his oil tanks in the hold were in very
poor condition and that it was not safe
to use open lights on board" In spite
OF this warning not only open lamps,
but flaming torches were taken into the
hold and were being used by the work
men at the time that the fire broke out.
James Murray, a fourteen-year old
boy, who, along with Mitchell and three
other boys of about his own age were
working in the boiler of the Despatch
at the time of the fatality, told in a
graphic manner of his own narrow es-
cape from the flames, with which the
place where he was working was filed.
The witness also created quite a stir
by stating that he had applied for an
electric torch with which to see to
work, but had been told that the vessel
possessed but one good electric torch.
MOTHER TELLS OF HER BOY
The father described his last meeting
with his son when he bade him good
night on the evening before the boys
death. James was always good
boy" said the mother, when her turn
came to take the stand He wanted to
work; in fact, was too eager to work;
he always gave me his earnings
With the reading of a letter from
Sister Mary l. Melder, who had been the
unfortunate boys school teacher for a
year, stating that Jimmy had been an
unusually bright and dutiful pupil the
plaintiffs case was rested
Attorney w. f. Williamson made the
opening statement for the defense He
said that the steamship company would
prove that it had complied with all the
Federal statutes and that the fire in
the hold of the vessel was not caused
by the ignition of gas by the torches.
The attorney declared that the fire was
due to the carelessness of carpenter in
dropping a plank down the gangway
breaking off a pipe leading to the oil
tank and allowing the oil to run into a
fire maintained in the donkey boiler.
With the testimony of Robert A. Nc