Devils Lake weekly world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1911-1914, 1913-06-06
SUNDAYS WRECK.

Every little while there occurs
some tragedy which seems to defy ex-
PLANTATION and to be beyond the power
Of adequate comment. Such an event
was the Great Northern wreck on
Sunday evening. According to the
testimony given at the inquest all the
provision for safety that is usually
made, and that could have been made
under the circumstances, was made.
The signals were properly set, and
the automatic locking devices were
working perfectly. For some reason
which can never be known the man
who has paid the penalty of his er-
TOR with his life disregarded the sig
mails and ran his train into ruin and
himself to DEATH"
The above was clipped from the
Grand Forks Herald. and is one of
several similar items which have ap-
peared in different papers in North
Dakota since the wreck of the Orien-
tai Limited Sunday. evening last, in
which Engineer Frank French lost his
life.
The facts in the chain of events
which led up to the catastrophe are,
briefly, as follows: Train No. l, the
Oriental Limited. was running some
thing more than one hour late. The
delay in the running time had been
caused by hot boxes east of Barnes
willie and as a result the train was
running at an extra high rate OF
speed. Just east Of Moorhead. where
the Great Northern crosses the North
ern Pacific. there is an inteflocking
plant, designed to prevent accidents
at the crossing. This interlocking
plant is in charge of towerman.
whose duty it is to see that no acct
dents occur and to give clear track
to the train entitled to it. on either
one or the other of the roads. The
interlocking plant is SO constructed
that train Yill be derailed before
reaching the crossing if the o'clock"
is against them and they persist IN
coming on regardless of such block
signal. Approaching the crossing,
also from the east. was passenger
train on the Northern Pacific. 30
close on the running time of thia
train was No. that it must have
been difficult for the towerman to
tell to which train to give clear
track. The day was beautiful one.
clear and sunshiny. No wind, nothing
to mar the vision or judgment Of the
man in the cab of the engine. 30
much for the setting for the disaster.
Now for the man whom some news
papers say was responsible for it.
Only men Of Judgment, Of courage,
of initiative, Of brains, in short. ever
become engineers on such trains as
the Oriental Limited. Boozefghters.
cigarette fiends, men of small wit or
moral degenerates never get so far
along in the railroad service as to
hold these positions. Railroad engip-
GERS are the headliners Of the labor
world, made so by the process Of 81.
limitation and the survival Of the ct.
est.
According to the testimony of the
men who knew him and worked with
him, Frank French was good en-
gineer, fully capable of holding a
run on the crack train Of the system.
He had been at work for the Great
Northern railroad for more than TWEEN
ty years. he was temperate, hardly
of middle age, Of sound mind. good
judgment, cool, courageous, "good
runner" who held his position not by
favor, but because there was no rea.
son for displacing him.
And yet this man is dead. killed
under his own engine because. as some
Of the thoughtless ones have said, he
ran right into a derail which was
plainly set against him, and this or
clear day, in broad daylight and
with nothing to distract his attention
According to such monstrous theory
the man must have been bent on com
hitting suicide. The testimony Of
those living near the scene Of the
wreck and who witnessed it, is to the
effect that French blew his whistle in
the usual way, when he approached
the crossing, and their testimony is
also to tho effect That with the whis-
tie he acknowledged the throwing Of
the switches which gave him clear
track. ...,.
n ou 20 o.pnion, and in tho opinion
Of an who Enon railroad from q
al tnss$si ~;