Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-07-18
Thirteen Persons Killed in Wreck
on the Burlington in Chi
cago Suburb.
TOWER WOMAN C0LLAPSES
Sure Signals Were Set Right
Ghouls Rob the Dead-Only
o. Dime Left on Any Of
the Bodies.

Chicago, July 14.-Thirteen persons
were killed and Is to 90 were Injured
in a wreck on the Chicago, Burling-
ton & Quincy railroad at Western
Springs a suburb of Chicago, at $3.50
a. m. to-day.
Running through fog with sup
poscdly clear track ahead, train No.
8, n fast mail, ran at full speed into
the rear of train No. 2. known as the
Overland express from Denver. which
was standing on the track, telescope
ing two of the Overland Pullman cars.
Railroad officials refused to fix the
blame until after the wreck had been
investigated thoroughly. Mrs. f. A.
Wilcox. who was in charge of the
tower from which the block signals
were controlled. said she was certain
the block was thrown against both
trains She collapsed after the acct
dent and still is in a highly nervous
condition.
The dead are: Francis A. Barclay, 81
years old, Billings. Mont; George Brown
son, 81 years old, Galesburg. ILL.,, engineer
train No. s; a. +. Bunch, 30 years old
Chicago. negro porter OF Pullman car or
train No. :; Mrs. G. NJ. Hart. wife of q
physician at Canton, Ohio; Mrs. L. G.
Pohlmann, San Francisco: NJ. L. Stern
80. Chicago; G. w. Tudor, 40 years old
Lacey Iowa; Miss Lillian Kelley; aged %
Boise. Idaho; two unidentified women
two unidentified girls. one identified
boy.
REAR CAR CUT IN HALVES.
Among those injured were: II. o. Grain
IN ncI, .,f 1af,
hand and right foot injured: Warren p
Dudley. IA Oak street. Belmont. Mass.
Mrs. Bessie NJ Dudley, wife of Warren
p. Dudley. compound fracture of right
leg; ]. W. F7ach. Cincinnati. right lee
lacerated. scalp wound; Mrs. Flack. Gin.
cinnati, severe scalp wounds Frank II
Hughes Hinsdale, H.. conductor train
No s; +. T. Pohlmann. San Francisco
right arm and leg broken: the Rev. h
H. Scholz, st. Francis hospital. Columbus
Ohio. back injured and scalp wounds
Mrs. Z. w. Francis, Bedford. Ind. severe.
~ bruised about the body; Mrs. ]. G
Krehl, Gerard. Ohio, spine hurt severa
ribs broken; Miss Ethel Cakes. Boston
collar bone broken and injured internally.
All of the dead except Brownson were
taken from the rear coach of the Den
yer train. The engine of No. ploweC
through this car, halving 1t and crushing
out the lives of helpless passengers
many of whom still We're in their berths
On into the second coach the engine Their
sped. Half way through that car 1t veer
ed to the left. derailing the sleeper. The
engine was entirely stripped when Il
stopped.
nrti yc tIA Itch L.
the slcepers, then broke out. Many vic
Tins. pionioned down by heavy timbers
and iron pleaded for death. Member!
of the fire departments of Western
Springs and Lagrange Were on the seen,
few minutes after the wreck occurred
and they put out the fire with lines o
hose.
Ghouls are believed TO have robbed tn,
dead before they reached the morgu,
| in Lagrange. More than dozen large
diamond Gets are missing from jewelr,
and although most of the dead appeared
! to have been persons in comfortable cir
cumstances. a dime was the largest sun
of money found on any of the bodies.
Coroner HOFFMAN ordered all OF tie
bodies cmbalmcl Immediately and EN-
wreck
Mrs. Wilcox hid herself from visi
tors throughout the greater part o.
the day Finally she said
After thinking the whole affai
over. ! have decided that l was not ir
any way to blame for the accrden
know that the blocks were SCI
against the train 1t was not l tina
| erred
! Three trains instead of two passed
the signals in violation of all rules
although it may have been that the
engineers dii not see the boards
First heard No 4, "A tram in NJ
way connected with the wreck. pass
Then in Il few minutes No. came by
I thought something was wrong an'
began to try to think of somcthinf
to do to stop the trains from running
by the board. But before l could ge
my wits together No. s had sped by
| The crash followed"
SAY TORPEDOES ON TRACK.
Another story of how the wreck oc
CURED was that No. .. having beer
blocked by signal, had sent brake
man to set torpedoes to warn No. s.
No. was coming down grade whei
the crash came. Persons responsible
for the story of the torpedocs SAT-
that No. 8 had been given sigma
that the track was clear and that tn
crew had either failed to hear thu tor
pedoes or had believed they had
clear track,
A statement issued by T.. 5. Eustis
passenger traffic manager of the Chi
cago, Burlington q quincy railroad
tonight substantiated Mrs Wilcox
assertion that she was not to blam
and also corroborates the story tina
ltorpedoes were set by the brakeman o
No. 2.
II. o. Grain of Galesburg, Ill, fire
man on No. s, escaped with slight In
juries. At local hospital here h
was able to tell story OF the wrec
and of how Engineer Brownson Wen
TO his death trying vsiniy to save tn
passengers
I'VE were travelling about 20 mile
an hour whom Brownson and ! hear
some torpedoes explode" he sale
"rhen I saw haGman on the tract
about $50 feet from his train. ahead.
"'Crain,' said Brownson. there's
train ahead am afraid | can't sto
in time to save us, but I am going I
try
DIED WITH HAND ON THROTTLE
He put his hand on the throttle a nd lool
cd straight ahead. When decided to jurn
turned and looked at him and like III