New Britain herald., 1914-04-22
RULE BOOKS DIFFER AT M|LLER's TRIAL
 t.
Counsel for Engineer and States Attorney Have Opposing Editions.
OBJECTIONS CAUSE WRANCLH E

Manslaughter Case Thrash Out
 Whether Rules Relating to Signals
 and Running of Trains Be Admitted
 New Haven, Conn, April 22.-The| jury having been selected late yes | terday the trial Of August B. Miller, engineer of the White Mountain ex- press which ran into the Bar HarborI express at North Haven, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford rail road on September ? last, was taken up today with the introduction 0 oral evidence. The states attorney charges Miller with involuntary man slaughter by reason of the killing o Royal A. Hotchkiss, aged 16, son l.. F. Hotchkiss of this city, in thu wreck. Coroner Mix held his in quest upon the body of the lad and his finding covered the deaths ol twenty-one persons in the wreck Young Hotchkiss was returning iron a camp in Maine, with his brother They were in the rear coach of tht Bar Harbor express. The brothe died in the hospital.
 Exhibits Are Presented.
 The preliminary exhibits in the cas against Miller have been put in These are photographs of the place oI the collision, surveyors plans Of tn layout, blue print diagrams of th{ old fashioned banjo signals then in use on the Springfield division of tn < road and time tables and rule book used by crews of the trains involved For the defense objection was mad{ to the time tables and rules becaus{ Superintendent J. A Droege was mol then in charge of this division, bu i Judge Curtis admitted these.
 States Attorney filling had manl witnesses ready when court opened today. As yesterday the case drew many spectators.
 Droege on Stand.
 The first witness was General Su perintendent Droege, and MT. Allin started to call his attention to rule in book belonging to the defendafi relating to signals and the rlnnin of trains. Fl ft. Goodhsft and e. Hamilton for the defendant immc diately objected, and the jury was cx cused while the objection was argued MT. Hamilton claimed that the com plaint was mostly "frills" and the only specific charge was that of manslaughI ter. He claimed that the state al legged that because the rules were dis regarded some one was killed. Disy regard of rules or the running of train at high speed, MT. Hamilto1 claimed, was irrelevant to the mail accusation. Simply because EngineeI Miller ran his train at high speey did not prove that he committed thI crime of manslaughter, or even thI running by a signal was not an o1 fence such as charged. Mir. Hami ! ton wanted MT. filling to elect wha' he would charge as the. act of maj slaughter. and not compel the de ! ! fense to answer d lot of generalitie{ Mr. filling in reply said that thX complaint set forth that because Mil Ter ran his train at a high speed ! dangerous and reckless manner, ar1I disregarded signals, certain acciderI occurred in which person wa killed.
 Problem Brought Out. Mir. Hamilton asked if Mr Allin then wanted to charge that mar} slaughter was the result of runninI | by signal. Mir. Goodhart also cor|
 
 |. tended that if the state claimed thsI Miller ran his train into anothe{ l train that was standing still arI killed some one that was one thin& but to say that Miller committed marI slaughter because he ran by a siana ! was another thing,
 MT. filling in reply said that tkI introduction of the rules was simpN { evidential. The object was to lead u to conditions at the time of the wreclI The state desired to show that MiIld was operating his train at a high an dangerous speed. There was furthdI discussion of rules, in the course which it appeared that attorneys Id | Miller did not have the same editioI of the rule book as Miller's wbtc MT. filling was using. Mir Evans < the engineers brotherhood agreed K furnish MT. Goodhart duplica copy and the latter then wanted ti rules kept out until he had obtaine a copy.
 Judge Curtis admitted Miller's booI under certain conditions for inc fin being, and the jury was called in.