The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1911-12-28
CONDUCTOR BLAMES
fLAGMAN FOR WRECK
CORONER Is MAKING INQUIRY
INTO THE CAUSE OF THE MIL
WAUKEE ROADS WRECK At
ODESSA, MINI.

inquiry int the cause OF Tao dis
as'rors wreck ut Odessa OF the
Hastings & Dakota division of he
Milwaukee ROAD on Monday us
brought a ccterie e railway mon
and experts 10 this city. The pro-
ecedings were resumed soon after .
q. M. al the courthouse, with Core
nor Bolsta and County Attorney
Kacrchor in charge.
It was madc pretty clear at the
cGt9et that the officials believe and
VIII Try TO show that the railway
company. as wlll as its employees.
was culpablc, in that a night opera.
Tor vas not maintained at Odessa
and that moro safeguards were not
provided in the dispatching OF trains.
Conductor accused Flaeman.
Only four Witnesses were cyamin-
iod. They were Martin Shocn. IN UNI
lGcrtakcr of %Ortonvilic, Who testified
TO receiving the bodies OF the dead
and gave their names; X. NJ. .Ion-
ltiel, ;he operator ct Junction switch:
Lawrence Chick, conductor of the
Columbian which was partially tolo-
acopcd b. the second section. and
Ray Law, the 0aGman. Chief inter
est conferred in the testimony OF the
last named.
CONDUCTOR Gillick placed rcspon-
,sibility Tor the wreck uron his flag
mar. RIA y Law. All his testimony
went to show that had tho fiagman
gone back ana displayed signals, IS
ne was directed to do, the accident
would never have occurred. He said
the 1agman appeared before MIN five
or six minutes after no collision,
tut would make no explanation Tor
his failure TO carry out his orders.
Gave Him Orders to Flag.
Ttie conductor saiG tire FIRST sec
ton cached Odessa at $50 a. m.
lie found the block signal was
against him and so stopped his train.
There was no one in the station. He
saw a MAJ standing car by and ask
cd Kim where the operator lived.
The man then started with Ii OF
the brakemen 10 arous the operator
and Gillicf vent to the end OF the
train and found Law standing at
the end of the rear sleeper.
II told him to go back and flag
the seconA section" said Gillicck,
and he started off, | Their went 10
the station office and the operator
arrived in about twenty minutes. !
asked him what the board was up
for. and he said he was sure ne set
it to clear when he went home. lie
then gave rae a clear which meant
he had no ORDERS for my rain.
II asked him il he did o want
to give me an order for my train.
Then he asked if | had a flagman
out ANA notified me that the second
section had left junction switch.
Did you undertake to leave Odes-
sa?" asked the county attorney.
Yes, at l:25 a. m
so you stopped in Odessa thir-
ty-fve minutes?"
No; thirty-two minutes
IIagman on Stand.
The examination Of Law, the flag
man had not been completed when
the noon recess was taken.
Some OF his evidence was at radical
variance with that OF the conductor.
The switch, he said, was 500 ieet
from the train, and not but 200, as
the conductor stated. Tho silk train
came up at sixty miles an hour, he
said, when the engineer and fireman
have said it was making only about
twenty-five or thirty miles an hour
when the collision occurred.
After the train stopped SAID
Law, n passed down the end and
took a position on the track about
twenty-five feet distant. | had been
there five minutes when the conduc-
wv t'IllIt up anu SdiI tIi "itI y
heard the whistle OF the second sec
ton of No. is TO go back and flag
and throw the switch. ! went TO the
switch and then out as far as the
Ecattleguard. which was about 1900
feet away. l could sec the soma
phore board show clear and | re-
turned TO about my original position
behind the train.
In a few minutes the head brake
mar told me the second section had
left junction Switch and soon
heard its whistle and started back
as fast as | could. But before |
could get TO the switch, which was
500 feet away, the train vas upon
me. 1t was running at least sixty
miles an hour"
Had Orders From Aberdeen.
The evidence of Montiel, the ope-
rator at junction switch, went to
show that the mistakes which such 4