South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-03-31
ToWerman Eliminated From
Responsibility For Wreck
of Three Lake Shore
Trains at Amherst.
ACCUSED MAN CLAIMS
APPARATUS AT FAULT
Signal Engineer, However, AS
SertS System Worked Per-
feCtIy-GhOuIS Operated
Among the Victims.
international News Service

International News Service:
CLEVELAND. O.. March S1.-At
the joint federal-state probe into the
cause of Wednesdays New York
Central wreck at Amherst, which
started here today and was presided
| over by Chief H w. Belnap of the
! interstate commerce commissions
division of safety. testimony of wit
/ nesses brought the fact that both
sections Of train No. So. eastbOund,
were exceeding their regular run
ming time although fog conditions
made this proceeding hazardous.
f. G. Bausch, train dispatcher,
who was on duty at the time of the
disaster, was the first witness. He
testified that. although a bulletin
had been posted stating that first Sc
would run Is minutes late, this train
left Toledo eight minutes late and
made up seven minutes between To-
ledo and Nermilion, a distance Of 70
miles. The second section Of train
Sc left Toledo at 1856 a. m. q min
utes late, and made up Il minutes
during the run to Vermilion.
Asked if he had ever known auto
matte signals TO fail, Bausch testi-
! fed that he had. Usually this hap
pens in extremely cold weather, he
said Bausch also testified that there
I had been signal trouble at amherst
| four weeks ago. The operator there
had been ordered to hold wesUbound
tain No. %, but his signal instead
of showing red. showed clear"
Reports Wreck.
Bausch said that Operator Ernst
at Amherst had reported the passing
OF trains promptly on the night Of
the wreck, and that he had called
Ernst at 3:15 a. m, and Ernst had
told him that first sc was stopping
but gave no reason Bausch said
Ernst reported the wreck to him
four minutes after it occurred.
Operator Ernst took the stand
next He stated that he had work.
ed at Amherst tower five nights pre-
vious to the accident. He had work
ed as an operator since July 20,
1901. He said he had worked for
the Denver and Rio Grande and the
Union Pacific.
Ernst argues that If the tower or
home" signal showed red at the ap-
proach of first Sc the system was out
of order. Engineer Leonard of the
first section claims to have stopped
when the home signal showed red
If the automatic signals were work
ing properly the block signal should
have shown red and stopped the sec
ond section. Engineer Hess declares
that all signals showed clear TO him,
buc after the collision he went back
and found the block red. therefore
he blames defective apparatus.
Blames Engineer Hess.
W. II. Elliott. signal engineer of
the New York Central lines east Of
Buffalo. who came TO Cleveland to
assist in the investigation. was pos
tive today that Engineer Hess was
the one man on whom the blame Of
the disaster must rest. His eXplana-
ton follows:
By Hess own statement he went
back Immediately following the ac-
cident to see if the block signal was
showing against him. 1t was. he
says. If that is true-if the light
was showing against Hess just after
the accident we know that it was
showing against him just before
If Hess says he failed TO see the
lights. that is no excuse. our rules
are clear on that point When an
engineer loses himself he must stop
and get his bearings. Careful en-
ginemen have been known 10 stop in
fogS and send their brakemen to the
block signal. Some times il would
even be necessary to climb up the
post and peer at the light.
The towerman is supreme over
his clear signals. He can stop A
train when he thinks it necessary.
Even If in this case il was not neces-
sary TO stop the first section. Ernst
cannot be blamed for the wreck. be-
cause those two block signals in the
rear were against second Sc"
Railway men we're prepared to
swear the automatic system was
tested Immediately after the wreck
and found TO be working perfectly.
Thinks GhouIs Operated.
Coroner Carver Of Lorain. believes
that ghouls operated at the wreck.
while the work Of rescue was being
carried on. And il is believed they
operated on a large scale. Carver
points out that there was scarcely
any money found in the wreck and
this would appear strange when the
fact is taken into consideration that
there were many statesmen on the
trains involved and these men would
CONTINUED ON PAGE III