Norwich bulletin., 1913-09-06
Denounced by the Trainmen and Admitted by Railroad
 Officials to be Inferior
ENGINEERS HAD MADE A PROTEST AGAINST IT
Interesting Testimony Adduced Inquiry of Interstate Com
 Commission Engineer Miller Suspended on Prev ious Occasion for Running by Signal-Flagman Murray Never Qualified for Posion-Order to Stop Rescinded

New Havea, Conn, Sept. 5,-The se- called banjo signal system installed on the New ' Yo441 New Haven and Hartford railroad nearly twenty-five years ago, and still fla eperatior, was charged izl sworn testimony today with the responsibility fef the death of twenty -ezle persons in t3se wreck which occurred on that road last Tuesday morning, The testimony was given at the isaWry begun today by the inter state commerce commission to deter mine the causes of the disaster,
 System, Called "Obsolete."
 Described by Interstate Commerce Commissioner AfcChord himself as o7o- solete." and denounced by the trainmen Of the crews of the two trains involved fr the collision the system was admit ted by officers Of the road to be in ferior to the gp-to- date systems in use on other roads. Lacking a caution" signal as protection against danger signal as in modern systems, the ban io'- type, according to half dozen rrainrllen who testified. causes engi- neers to drift by their signals in Ioggy weather before they could bring their trains 10 a stop.
 Train Travelling 51 Miles an Hour.
 Such was the reason for the North Haven wreck, according to Engineer August E. Miller who was at the throt- te of the locomotive of the White Mountain express when it plunged into the rear of the Bar Hsrbor express on the fatal Tuesday morning Miller scarcely 'drifted' by the signal in this case, however; train sheets introduced in evidence today showed that his train was speeding over fifty one miles an hour.
 Of e37 miles of the banjo type of signal now in use on all the railroads Ty, operation on the New York, New Ha- ven and Hartford, according to a state ment made today during the investiga- tion by Commissioner McChord.
 Engineers Protested Against 1t.
 More than q year ago the Brother hood of Locomotive Engineers protest cd against the system as not offering sufficient protection for the engineers, and asked that it be abolished. Cor respondence 10 this effect was placed t1 evidence.
 That an order to stop the White Mountain express at Wauingford, three miles north of the wreck was sent from New Haven and then rescinded was one of the startling features of the testimony. This was told by John C. Kelley. the New Haven train despatch CT. who produced train sheets showing that the White Mountain brought up in the rear of a procession of six trains which passed Wallingford within a s-sce of t4lirtv-tTvo minutes. The first frye of them, Kelley testified, were on the ten mile stretch between Walling- ford and Air Line junction, just north Of here, at the same time.
 Reseinded Order to Stop Train.
 And you had five passenger trains on that foggy morning ir ten miles of track. and an order out for the man 10 stop the next tCai1ss and then you
 T,,e- a4-az BeIuap Of the commission, who con- aucted the examination.
 Yes. sir.
 Kelley explained that he had orig - finally gwen the order because of the long time the first of the five trains took to reach Air Line junction, and had rescinde6 it on receiving word from the despatcher at the junction that the -rai- in question had arrived there. He added that there were seven signals fn the ten mile stretch
 Engineer MilleTs Second Wreck.
 Promise of revelation of what eff forts the New Haven road has made 70 insure the safety of passengers since the PrfdgeDort wreck of two years ago vas given today, when c. L. Bardo, general manager of the road. was re- ouested by the conIni ssiOn to produce sli the minutes of the meetings of the New Ravens directors and executive committee af Wnlfsl SGCn dtblDn lS1il have been taken.
 Tf7ss FnefrNer Miller had been once Suspended for passing 3, signal and fhs. this ~as the sec ond wreck in which he had been involved: that C.. H Murray the fiagrnan of the Bar Gsrhor had not regularly qualified for his position that the Bar HaTboP tra1n ffself had run hs signals on the morn f-e If the wreek; that the air brakes cf one ~ the Bar Harbor sleepers was @If ~ eorl1niSsion when If left spring held ffYeVerii4sg it from getting away from signal Nc. 23" when the White Mountain was bearing down upon it-- these acre other features of the evil Seace adduced
 Raiiroad Furnished Murray's Bond.
 Murray. wine with Engineer Miller vas arrested last night by Coroner Mix and accused of criminal" responSibil- . itv for the wreck, was released rom fsu today on bonds furnished by the order of President How ard Elliott of the New Haven road, Miller is also ln bonded liberty.
 The young fagfAeH, whe is but 23 sears old. told his story of the wreck under stress of manifest emotion: In contrast Miller, a man of 4l, the lines of his face set and determined sPoke with calR3 delibeFatloR;
 T went back as far as I could be- feFe l was called in by the whistle" said Murray. when aSked ls uesc4Ioe what he did t9 protect the Bar HaFber express when it came te a stop. Il told them dowR at the other hearing that it was six or seven telegraph poIes back As l think ii over, know better now l know it was not. eanpo. estimate how far back did go. Before l put my t94Pedoes down the whistle called me in. FheH the whistle was repealed. l was jasl starting bacS. had a flsee In my hand ] was going to light 1t and drop il into a tie ] heard the approaching frziia. I put the fusee in my teeth and grabbed the little cIiP t9 pull the cap or thinking , would have time 10 light it and wave it in the afr with mv lamp. Then l saw the train. l saw it and jumped out of the way. It was all done in 8 second
 Had No Theught of Jumping
 F.sl-inacr Miller said:
 The first thing ! saw was the flag R,an down iu the gutter waving his hzz ahas DO more than seen him haf1rm fbc 10Olx