The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-09-05
T0 HOLD HEARING
ON WRECK CAUSE
IN LIGHT Of DAY
Commerce Commission s lnvess
tigation Viii be Open
to Public
CORONER CONTINUES
POLICY OF SECRECY
Denies Admission to His In
quest Train Travelling at
Fearful Rate of Speed
Through Fog

NEW HAVEN, CONN, Sept. A.
Tho investigation by the interstate
commerce commission into the wreck
on the New York, New Haven anu
hartford railroad near North Haven
Tuesday morning. in which twenty
one persons were killed. will be Dc
gun in the United States court room
in the postoffice building here at lo-oo
o'clock tomorrow morning.
Commissioner c. c. McChord wAl
preside at the hearings. which Will
be thrown open to the public
Coroner Ell Mix began his inquest
into the causes of the wreck TINS
morning, and pursuing the same pol
icy he has followed since the disastert
held IL behind closed doors The hear
ing OF the interstate commerce COM
mission will bring out into the iight
of day for the first time the stories
az the crews OF the wrecked trains,
which except for a brief synopsis pre-
pared by the railroad itself. so Tar
have been kept in the greatest Sc
creey hy the railroad. the coroner, ana
Chief Engineer G. q. Elwell, of the
Connecticut public utilities commits
sion.
Visits scene of Wreck.
The ground has been thoroughly
prepared for the work of the federal
commission Chief Inspector Bel
khan, who has been In charge or the
preliminary work OF the commission,
went out to the scene OF the wreck
again this morning with Mr.. Elwet,
and a surveyor. and prepared blue
prints for use in conducting the IN
uutry. Nr Elweil was on the Erouns
Tuesday morning before Engineer
Miller, of the White Mountain Ex-
press. and Flagman Murray, OF the
wrecked train. fefr, and had them m
dictate the points at which. as eacn re-
membered the fagman had stood and
where the torpedoes, TO warn the on
coming train. had been placed. The
statements of the two witnesses in ms
regard vary considerably. Murray
told Mr. Elwell that he put the tor
pedoes on the track at distance OF
six or seven telegraph poles from the
rear of his train Miller says that
they were only about two telegraph
poles away The distance between the
telegraph poles on this branch Is i32
feet F.lwell at that time marked the
points indicated by the engineer and
fiagman by scratching the rails with
cold ehisel, and these points have
been Indicated on the blue prints. the
commission also has possession OF time
sheets and other material furnished
by the railroad which show from the
railroads own records just the In"
.ervals and the speed at which the SIX
or eight trains moved down the
straightway toward North Haven,
Goinx Mile Minute.
One of the interesting things found
on these sheets. II Was said today. Is
that the White Mountain express left
Meriden at s44 A. NJ. and passed Wall
ingford, six miles below Meriden and
about three miles To the north OF the
wreck, at s;5l, covering the SIN miles
In seven minutes on a foggy morning
with the Bar Harbor express only eight
minutes ahead of them. This means
that the white Mountain express tray
eied those six miles Mt the rate oi
about 5I.4 miles an hour in the fog
Whether the train was going more
slowly when 1t smashed into the rear
Of the Bar Harbor express, or whether
Ii was going faster, Ia one OF the tAings
the commission will try To find out
from the witnesses. The railroad mas
estimated its speed at the time OF thf
wreck ms around forty miles an hour
The track In perfectly straight fol
some eight miles to the north OF this
wreck and there is slight dowr
grade The wreck occurred just at the
beginning of 40 minute curve. about
SIS of degree
The arst Witnesses before the com
mission tomorrow will be the sur.
veyor who made the biueprints, the
train dispatcher who made out thu
train sheets, and then the crew OF tht
Bar Harhor train. including Fiagmar
Murray. After that will come the
crew Of the White Mountain train. In
eluding Engineer Miller, and finall,
several officials of the New Haven. in
GLIDING General Manager Barto. Gen
erai Superintendent Woodward. super
intendent of Equipment G. w. Wildin
eyt-
1t liz expected that the hearings VIII
be concluded by Saturday night -
NJ c. List. OF counsel for the com
mission, is already in New Haven
Commissioner McChord will arrive
early tomorrow morning.
Engineer Miller and Flagman Muir
ray are still In the hospital ward OF ths
county Jail, detained as the coroner
puts 1t, without bail, although not un
der arrest. The representatives OF thu
commission. however, expect no diff
culties in the serving OF the commits
sion's subpoenas on these men. Neither
of these two main figures in the TRACE
dy swere called as witnesses by Coro
ner MIX in the first day OF his secre
inquest. The coroner, by the way
said this morning, that the inquest wa
10 be private" but not secret"
Present at Hearing.
Examiner F. A. Howard. of the In
terstate commerce commissions stan
was present at the inquest Instruc
tions from Washington to the commits
sion's men here were to the effect tina
admission for representative OF tn
commission should be sought. and tn
coroner made no objection. Arrange
msnts also have been made for tn
commission to have a copy of the min
utes of the inquest for Its own use
and President Howard Elliott OF TIN
New Haven, said today that the com
mission would be furnished with
copy4of the testimony taken before tn
escrAt joint inquiry conducted BY tn
railroad. the coroner and the locAa pub