The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-20
AN INVESTIGATION AT ONCE
MOTORMtN' SAYS TRAIN HAD
NO SAND rO DROP on RAILS.
lie Heard Something Kissing After tine
SMASH. ''us Csuidnr TEN what II was
Hes Arrested and ParOlesi- Em-
p(pyees Qui1geli as to Dynamite.

District Attorney Whitman and Deput.
: Police Commissioner Driscoll went q
the East Fifty-first street police station
after surveying the scene OF the disaste
and started an investi CATION in the room
OF Capt. OConner. Others who me
them there were Assistant District At
torneys Rubin. Strong and Marble
Coroners Feinberg and Holtzha,iser.
Polio. Inspector Richard Walsh Inspecto
Aiurtha. in command Of the ira ffic squad
and Foreman Moore Of the Grand Jury
In addition there were attorneys and
officials Of the New York Central Railroad
and "A dozen Central Once detectives.
The witness Of greatest interest wa.
Albert Seagroatt. the motorman Of tn.
train which ran into the pier and is sup
posed to have severed the gas pipe hall
an hour before the explosion occurred.
Seagroatt said that he was alone In
the train. which had six steel cars and
had been sent out to have ia brakes
tested on a track used for that purpos.
Starting from the southern part of the
railroad ward he tried his brakes at the
customary place and found that they
did not work properly. They set partly.
but not completely. He then tried. h.
I
another effort To set them tightly and
| found that he could not even release them.
While he was running the train under
power II had had speed Of between
eight and ten miles an hour. Seagroatt
was not sur. whether or not IL went
faster after he shut of the power and
tried To apply the brakes. He finally
reversed his power and found that that
IFal faal. aeu b.. 4. L..
was still working TO stop the train u
smashed into the bumpers. carrying them
OF To one side, seemingly without much
sla Ckrning the speed Of the train and then
| bumped into the pier.
Seagroatt said that he knew that the
collision had broken some sort Of pipe
he could hear something thar he thought
might be escaping steam. although he
could not see H. He Immediately re-
ported To the yardmaster what had
happened and was assigned TO another
train. This first accident. Seagroa,t said.
occurred at so; he knew the time be-
cause one 81 the towermen took his time
~ he went under the tower just below.
Sea groatt said that he used no sand
because the train h. was driving was
not supplied with IL n. said that loco
motives were so equipped. and so were
some Of the electric motor cars he had
driven The questioners tried To find
ont whether the witness Thought that
sand would have prevented his collIding
with she pier Seagroatt said that at
least sand on the slippery track over
which he was driving would MT hav"
don. any harm
The qtiest'oners tried To find on, from
sea groatt and from other witnesses why
no'hlug had been done 20 stop the flow
81 III" gas. or whatever II was that could
be heard escaping. for tn. whole half
hour that elapsed between Saagroart'-
collision with the pier and tn. explosion.
Sea gr"att -aid he understood that a fore.
~ men on it, way Ia the spo,
when IN" explosion occurred
Tn. investigators tried To learn xh.ther
Or not any dynamt. was stored in Vh..
wrecked building and whether there
WIS any explosion Of dynamic. Tn.
inquiry did not se't I. this TO tn. salts
faction Of District Attorney Deputy
Police COMMISSIONER or Coroner Tn.
fuTrm-n Of several dynamite gangs as
we'll as the foreman of IN" pailroad's /
magazine "A little south OF the point AZ
which the explosion occurred all CAV.
testimony. but when they had go; through
TN. qliestion.rs declared that they still !
didn't know wh"'her there was any
dynamite around or not. Tn. force Of
the explosion made some Of the investi u
gators sceptical whether tn. gas aIon.
could have caused such damage Sea
groat said that somebody along the |
tracks shouted to him just aft er he col
Ided with the pier, Now you're in for |
Among other witnesses examined were !
Clinton l.. Bardo. superintendent Of
the transformer station which was de- /
stroyed: John A. Jennings Of 55a
Third avsnus. keeper OF the maga-
zine between For: seventh and Forty-
eighth streets jeremiah Clancy Of is2
Fast Forty eighth street. a blasting fore
man. Edward Flynn Of 52s Am-t ardnm
gang at Fort eighth street Patrick
D'Connor Of sg7 West iGi'h street blasting
foreman: William + Jordan of I?i Fisher
avenue. White Plains. manager of the
ia charge ~ the whole work Of .xcavating:
Matthew Mcdonald OF IB9t Amsterdam
avenue. blasting foreman. in chnrg. of n
gang between Fifty second and Fifty
thIri streets Whaley. superin-
tendeni III the electric zone. and Jarne- r.
Boyer. foreman Of the gang which carries
In. dynamite from the magazine TO the
various blasting gangs as II IL called for
farh foreman told hOw many sticks Of
dynamite h" had sent for from ths, rn.sga-
zine and how many he had used and " bar
became Of the remainder
When his examination had been con-
cIIdesi Seagroaft was arrested on "A b,
Charg. Of homicide AZ IN" Instance of
Coroner HoltZhaiser and was TAX 81 b..for.
Magistrate D'Connor III I'll. loikvilIa
court. where h" was promptly discharged
Coroner HoltzhaiiseT then rearrest.d him
and took him 10 the District Attorneys
Office. At first the Coroner said hc wins
going TO remand the mot rnan 10 the
rOmh% without bail and then added thnt
IL the railroad company was willing TO
put up 81. fsD bail he woul,i release him on
that District Attorney Whitman. how.
ever. recommended that the prisoner he
paroled IN IN" custody 81 counsel for the
TsIlrond To this Coroner fc,nh"rg
agreed and released Seagrontt
Bui when Coroner HolilhalI-er heard
thar 'he man had been released he called
rhc District Attorney on IN" tciephone
and said that n" intended 20 have seq
grOai' arrested again. because the motor
man was running train that bumped ito n