Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1913-09-05
THE TYPE IS ANTIQUATED
sEMAPHoREs USED WE'RE ALL
RIGHT WHEN TRAINS MADE
is MILES AN HOUR
MANY BODIES WERE ROBBED
coRoNER'S JURY FINDS THAT
VANDALs PlLLAGED WRECK
AGE OF THE TRAIN

New Haven, Conn, sept. 5,-That
there were wholesale and disgraceful
robberies from dead bodies at the
railroad wreck at North Haven on
Tuesday morning, is declared by Cor
oner Mix in a report today to Chief
of Police Smith, requesting him to
apprehend the culprits.
In today's investigation before the
Interstate commission the witnesses
testified that engineers Of the New
Haven railroad frequently passed dan
ger signals of the banjo type in
foggy weather without stopping
Robbed the Injured
Coroner Mix said today during his
inquest witnesses told of men cutting
fingers off dead passengers to secure
rings, and of persons searching cloth
ing of injured passengers to get money
or valuables.
AS soon as this testimony was Civ
en- the coroner had Chief Smith come
to him and to that official were given
some of the statements brought out,
with descriptions given Of the alleged
thieves. Shortly afterwards four de-
tectives We're sent out.
Engineer Miller of the White Noun
tain express testified that he heard
woman groaning and looking around
he saw a man deliberately cut of her
finger, on which were several rings.
He also saw a man strip a dead wo-
mans hand; and afterward he saw
man lean over and injured woman
and snatch away loclet.
Other railroad men gave corrobora-
tive testimony and one of them told
of man who, with a pillow case
went about picking up 1ewelry, purses
and other articles Of value. When 9TH
ers saw what he was doing they chas-
ed him across the fields, but he es-
capped.
Another Wreck Narrowly AVerted
1t was further testified that the
White Mountain express, the train
which plunged into the Bar Harbor
express, was barely saved from collid-
ing with the Bar Harbor an nour be-
fore the North Haven disaster at
point between Springfield and Hart
ford.
The two trains involved were the
last of a procession of six which that
morning passed Wallingford, three
miles north Of the wreck within
period Of 80 minutes The White
Mountain express was making So
miles an hour at Wallingford
An order to stop the White Noun
tain at Wallingford, which would have
prevented the wreck, was rescinded,
it was brought out.
Flagman Murray testified that he
had gone back to place danger signals
to protect his train, as far as | could
until I was recalled by my engineers
whistle.
On the opening Of the federal in
vestigation into the railroad wreck
at North Haven, Commissioner
McChord ordered General Manager
Bardo Of the New Haven road to pro
duce the minutes of all meetings of
the New Haven directors since the
Bridgeport wreck on July IL, 1911
They would show. he said, what ac-
ton had been taken toward the bet
terment Of safety conditions.
The examination Of witnesses bris-
tied with startling passages. Engineer
Wands Of the Bar Harbor express
brought a gasp from the crowd when
he testified that engineers on the New
Haven road frequently drift by"
danger signals in foggy weather
John G. Kelly, train dispatcher, had
previously testified that weather CON
ditions on the morning Of the wreck
were very foggy'' but that he had not
considered It necessary to warn trains