New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-08-29
OFFERS $500 REWARD
New Haven Road Says Wreck
Was Caused by Pulling Spikes.
VICTIM DIES IN HOSPITAL
Middletown Authorities Scour
Countryside, Then Deny
Story of Wreckers.

>-ev, Haven. AUG ga reward OF SZooV
uas offered to-day by the New Haven KAN
road for the arrest of the person or persons
x,bo caused the wreck Of the express tram
ON the valley division OF the road ABOVE
Mi6dletown Sunday evening The COM
rop,.s announcement was as follows:
The New York New Haven & He1uoT rG
Railroad Company hereby OFFERS a . lS" O. 90 -
- tu,entv-fve hundred dollars lSSoWl ioi
Incarnation which shall lead TO the cohNlc,
zion under Section llS Of the Hehei a,
- orr az August 1911 caused the deralI-
Inent Of a passenger train AT Mluuitsoo% rr ~,
Conn. by pulling the spikes fastening nv
rails OF the track 10 the ties anu lei'''Ni'e
the angle bars from the rails ,.r,>- r.
THE NEW YORK, NEW HAN IN
HARTFORD RAILROAD COMPAN1 u
nv {. y. Woodward, superintendent
The official report of the wreck, made
from the general offices Of the road SAID
The derailment was caused by every
snike being pulled on both sides or the
inner rail Of the curve ana angie paIs
removed. Spikes and spike holes IN the ne
ties show absolutely that the Work VIZ
done prior to the wreck and eVidentN
rnsuciously Another rail on the OUTSIDE
Of the curve a little further along hau
also been tempered win but 20 wmJ,
Ohliterated some Of the evidence oul ,ie
evidence furnished by the pulled spikes
and clear spike holes ana oy the ahEle
bars which had been taken out on the
inside rail OF the curve is absolute.
Abram p. Brown. Of Hartford. whose
SHINE was injured in the wreck, died yes
terday afternoon in the Middletown hos
pitaI. The hospitals reported that the other
patients were doing we'll.
During the morning Chief 1nglis Of the
Niddletown police had conference With
Sheriff Thompson. and Immediately there
after both went down the river in an
automobile.
Chief Inglis and Sheriff Bert Thompson
both said tonight that they had found
nothing to lead them 10 believe that the
accident was the work Of wreckers. and.
in fact everything seemed to point to the
opposite
1t seemed 10 be the opinion of the ch1er
and Sheriff that the engine was large
one, necessitated by the length of the TRAM
and was heavier than the roadbed unoer
the conditions could stand.
The wreck followed a hard rain of sew
eral DAYS. and il is the opinion of those
who made the investigation to-day that the
heavy engine, going at high rate OF
speed. struck the slight curve al that point
and that the rails spread.
Many of the passengers were outspoken
in their belief that the accident was not
the work OF a train wrecker.'
Everett c. Geer. president Of the Hartford
Printing Company. who escaped with
severe shaking up, is one of the most Dit
ter I'm his denuncation Of what he terms
a desperate attempt 10 shift responsibility
1.-THE wreck was not due 70 train wreck
ers. and that statement is lie" he said
you can put that in big, black type. 1t Is
time that the people Of the State Of Con-
necticut rebel at this sort Of thing
Coroner Davis Will hold an inquest. which
will probably not be before Wednesday Of
possibly a day later
The wrecked train was carrying foui
hundred passengers. The smoking car was
demolished, the roof being ripped off, sides
\ knocked In and all the windows broken. il
III lay al right angles with the track until a
" late hour to-day. Strange 10 say. all the
passengers in the smoker were unhurt ex-
cept an unidentified foreigner, who appar-
emily was thrown through a window. All
were violently jolted however, and dozens
Of them we're hurled into the forward end
of the car.
smoker bore the brunt Of the shock. These
cars ploughed along on the ties. then
toppled over on their sides. shattering the
window glass and causing many of the
passengers to get bad cuts on the face and
hands. Two Of the four cars that remained
on the tracks We're taken 20 Saybrook and
two were left standing on the track
The baggage car, which was next to the
locomotive, went fifty feet down the en-
bankment and paused a few feet away
from the Connecticut River. The scene
was one Of the greatest confusion. II was
pitch dark and mistinC, and The only light
was that from a few trainmen's lanterns
which had survived the shock of the
wreck. With handkcrchiefs and the torn
clothing OF the passengers the two doctors
bound up as best they could the cuts and
bruises on the more seriously injured. as
sisted by Harold King. of this city. medi-
cal student. who was himself badly hurt
about the head and body Despite long
scalp wound and two broken ribs, King
Iabored strenuously for several hours
among the injured