The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-09-05
FLIMSY CARS IN
WRECKED TRAIN
Rescuer Tells Of Roof OF Gar
CrumbIing Under Him
HEARING HELD IN SECRET
u Fell Through the Roof Of the Car
With Woman's Body" Was the
Startling Testimony of William F.
Clarkson.

New Haven, Conn, Sept. al
though the inquiry conducted by Cor
oner Eli Mix into the disastrous
wreck on the New Haven railroad at
Wailingford on Tuesday went on be-
hnf closed doors, the nature of some
of the testimony became public.
Testimony that the roof of at least
one of the Pullman cars in the wreck
was so rotten that it would not sup
port his weight was given by William
L. Clarkson, tool manufacturer, the
first witness called by the coroner.
Clarkson told the coroner that the
roof of the car in question was so rot
ten that it crumbled beneath his
weight, letting down into the debris a
woman whom he was trying to rescue
and himself ClarksOn said that he
was a passenger on a nortbound local
train which left Wallingford at six
O'Clock. He was one of the first to
reach the scene from outside.
"My train, which was little late,
came to halt just below the wreck,
E.said Clarkson. 81 ran forward and
Ereached the telescoped cars by the
Etime the first work of reseus was be-
Eginning.
with others l climbed on to the
roof of one of the PIT mans. A woman
had been thrown on roof near the
|Festibule l reached o-rer to pick her
up, when / FELL the roof crumbling
|heneath us. We both went through.
f3everal other men, believe, had sim
lars experiences. ~
ssIn the course of my efforts | fell
{ through the roof two or three times.
an convinced that no damage the
ears had received in the wreck was
responsible for the fimsiness. 1t had
avery appearance of being sheer rot
|5tanness, and the roofs and sides OF
sShe ears seemed to have been newly
1nted to cover the condition up.
The coroner wanted to know
whether I had heard the train crew
E7ay anything as to how the wreck
9Ecarred. could tell him nothing
Except that had heard some one say
MT the brakes of the Bar Harbor
T{n did not work well, and that this
III caused it to come to a stop just
? "a the block
kson showed . soused face. the
l3l s1z<s
: IsS7 81 the vestfbuIe
Ela said that at the time he
rea the scene the atmosphere was
go logss that one could not see 100
feet ah nd While there he noticed
that tn. signal light was turned red.
Althos,,h Coroner Mix veiled the
nearing IN the utmost secrecy and in
structed officers to see that none of
che witnesses were questioned in the
building, Clarkson volunteered to give
|ta transcript of his testimony after he
came out.
Allan Seaman, brakeman on the
second section of the White Mountain
express, which was running fifteen
minutes behind the first section. told
I the corner how his train was tagged
at Wallingford At that time, he said,
it was SO foggy that one could not see
100 feet ahead.
Coroner Mix even refused to allow
Engineer Miller, of the White Noun
tain express, which rammed the Bar
HarbcS. train, to be represented by
counsel. The local union of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Friemen
and Enginemen had demanded that
Miller be so represented and had re-
tanned E. C. Terry, an attorney, to ap-
pear for him. The union men declare
that an effort is On foot to make Mil
Ter the scapegoat Of the accident.
When permission to appear was re-
fused Terry talked of applying to the
superior court for an Injunction to re-
strain the coroner from holding the
star chamber proceedings.