New-York tribune., 1913-09-23
Towerman Held as Responsible
for Head-0n Collision Be-
tween Electric Trains
at College Point.
SINGLE TRACK BLAMED
Coroner and Public Service
Commission Start Investiga-
tions of Accident-Two Mo
tormen and Conductor
Victims of Wreck.

seriously and many OtneTs sIshpS Hui
fl, head-on collision yesterday morn
ing between two Long Island electric
trains AT College Point, Long Island.
The dead are:
BoERCKE1.. George. a conductor on the Long ,s
Island Railway, who was on n,s |a,.,te
work and lived al Whitestone WIN "'S VIZ
and eight children.
HOELEIN. Charles. Of Whitestone, mo'of''Si
OF the westbound. or New York train
1DEpER. Frederick. rnotorman Of the east
bound train
Walter Maize, signal towerman'
living al No. 329 East 5Sth street. Man
haitian. was arrested in the afternoon
on a charge Of homicide by order OF
Coroner A. S. Amber. Of College Point
end held without bail.
Put Blame on Towerman.
The coroner and the railroad put fun
responsibility for tho disaster upon
Maize. on the ground that he had vio-
lated a special rule Of the road In send
ing. without express orders, an east
hound train into a stretch of single
track on which there was an overdue
westbound train. having the right or
way.
Although Coroner Amber was in
clined TO place full blame on Maize ne
said last night he would investigate
the question Of how much the fact that
the division in which the accident oc-
CURED is ingle-tracked had TO do with
the accident.
.T believe that the single track sys-
tenn as a general principle is wrong,
he said. "I shall probe this thing TO
the bottom on this point. The single
track has been in use there for forty
wears shall have the higher officials
as witnesses at the inquest next week.
II is my intention TO place RESPONSE
bility where 1t belongs. Several years
ago. following a grade crossing accident
in which two persons were killed. 1 had
Mr.. Peters arrested. but 1 have no fdea
Of doing that in this case.
Special Rule ) of the company pro-
vides that. at the entrance Of single
tracks. signalmen shall not give orders
for inferior trains 10 go ahead until
all superior overdue trains have arrived
at the tower, unless they have special
orders to do so. This rule seems to
hold in this instance.
The eastbound train passed Maize's
tower at Whitestone Junction eight
minutes after the westbound train, still
ten minutes away. was due at that
point, being in all eighteen minutes
late. At GA o'clock. the time when
the accident occurred the westbound
train was the superior train and had
all the right Of way.
when the eastbound train ap-
preached Maize's post. the signals were
set against H. When Maize saw IT. he
at once placed the signals at safety
and let the train go on. The result was
that the motorman went ahead. think
ing the track ahead of him was clear.
He had stopped at College Point, but
was picking up speed rapidly. Just
beyond College Point the tracks make
a sharp turn.
Z The two trains were concealed from
each other by the fact that the tracks
just west Of the scene Of the accident
pass under an embankment, which
shuts of all view. There are no spe-
cial automatic signals at this point to
warn the motorman that a train is ap-
preaching from around the curve Tho
only signal is fixed board cautioning
slow speed.
Motorman Thought Track Clear.
In my opinion both motormen were
justified in thinking the track was
clear around the curve. | have no evil
dence as yet that either OF them dis
obeyed the signal TO go slow, but since
they were right upon one another be-
fore they could see each other nothing
but dead stop would have prevented
the accident.
Although Signalman Maize seems 10
be responsible, there are numerous
other points l shall investigate care
fully one is whether there should be
automatic signals at the curve. An
other is as 10 the way the two motor
men were operating their trains. Both
trains were late, and also want TO see
If they were running too fast so as 10
make up time. But shall look espe-
cially into the question as to whether
il is the custom of towermen TO wink
at the special order and send trains
into single track stretches as this one
was sent to-day.
II think to-days accident was a
demonstration of the superiority of
steel coaches over wooden ones. AL
though the trains met with considera-
BILE force. the two cars which struck
were only slightly damaged Two OF
the men who were killed were the mo-
tormen who were therefore right i'm the
front and the third man was also near
the front. If the coaches had been
wooden the trains undoubtedly would
have crashed clean through each other
and caused fifty or hundred deaths"
Maize. the towerman. who was locked
up i'm Jamaica in default Of the $4,000
bail Coroner Amber said he would ac-
cept. asserted he had been in the rail-
road business twelve years. having been
,,.itb tho Long Island for abOut a wear