The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-26
Opinion Expressed that ,. Since the Directors Rep resent the Corporation Finding Will Compel
 Prosecuting Officials to Proceed Against Them.
Prosecutor Delaney Says that He Has Not Yet Re- ceived a Copy of the Find ing - Does Not Know What He Will Do-Rec- on1mendation to Put Two Engineers in Cab of Fast Trains.

Much interest existed today in the finding of Coroner c. B. Wilson, that the New York, New Haven & Hart ford Railroad Company is guilty of criminal negligence in causing the death of Engineer Arthur M. Curtis in the wreck of the Federal Express on July Il.
 Since a finding of criminal negli- gence in such case amounts to a charge of manslaughter, and since mansiaughter is a criminal charge, some question was raised as to how criminal negligence imputed to a cor poration can be reached.
 case of conviction for murder. It cannot be imprisoned, following con viction for manslaughter.
 The opinion of an able attorney, who was consulter is thought to be representative ot', the general legal view.
 For the purposes of such finding the directors of the corporation are the corporation and the fnding of criminal negligence has the effect of a finding of criminal negligence against the directors. Said this law yer:
 'I do not see how the prosecuting authorities can escape proceeding against the directors of the railroad in this case. It would have been much better procedure if the coroner had found criminal responsibility ed guilty, instead of against the cor porat1on, which throws the responsi- bility of finding the guilty per- sons upon the prosecuting authority"
 The same authority points out that it was within the power of the cor ho to of11fo tf, fix the guilty persons ,but to cause their arrest upon his own warrant
 Coroner Wilson is said himself to entertain the opinion that his finding is equivalent to finding against the directors of the accused corporation.
 It is also pointed out that the prosecuting authorities need not be limited in their proceedings by the finding of the coroner, who deduces criminality solely from the fact that the, company maintained an inher- ently dangerous and short cross over on fast express trunk line and in relying upon a rule governing the use thereof, notwithstanding the fact that it operates fast passenger trains upon this location, when a longer and more gradual crossover with its &C.,. companying diuinution in the degree of the angle would have. eliminated the danger of the situation
 The prosecuting officials it is said Will not be debarred by the limita- tions of the coroner's finding from in vestigating such clements as that a fast train more than an hour behind time was placed in the hands of a switch engineer, who was compara- lively a novice and that neither the engineer nor the conductor of the train has any notice of where it was proposed to take the crossover.
 Much attention was attracted to the portion of the finding in which the coroner says that two engineers ought to be in the cabs of fast trains
 The finding that the engineer, Cur tis, was also criminally negligent, be- cause he took a crossover of a dan gerous nature at high speed, is re- garded as conclusively showing that the coroner believes that the signals were properly set before the Federal Express had passed beyond the eau tionary and danger signals, and that he had time to slow his train.
 Coroner Wilson's finding in the death of Engineer Curtis is intended to cover the deaths of all IA of the Federal wreck victims. So far as he office of the coroner is concerned. the inquiry into the wreck is closed with the filing of his finding with the clerk of the Superior court and with the Prosecuting Attorney
 The text of the finding will be found upon page f.