New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-13
BRONX
ON HIS FIRST DAY
AS A MOTORMAN
Strikebreaker Held on
Homicide Charge-12
Hurt, 2 Dying.
INEXPERIENCED MEN
HIRED, QUIZ SHOWS


One Merely Lived Near a
Barn-StrikerS damned
Brakes, Says Maher.
/ Louis Isaacs, strikebreaker motorman
OF the Union Railways Company sur
face car which killed two men and in
jured twelve others, when IT jumped
the tracks at Boston Road and fremont
Avenue. The Bronx, Yesterday morn
ing. was formally charged with homi-
eide last night. Bond was fixed at s5,-
900. Richard Sheridan, strikebreaker
conductor of the car, was held as ma
terial witness.
The motorman's arrest came after
Coroner William j. Flynn and Assist
ant District Attorney Qulgley had eX-
I amined more than a score of witnesses.
| The investigation will continue AT the
. Coroner's Office to-day, when officials
/ of both the Union Railways and the
I Washington Detective Agency, supply
ing the strikebreakers, Will be ex-
amined At least one more arrest Is
expected.
Motormen who are operating cars IN
The Bronx testified yesterday that IN
some cases their previous experience
had not covered period of more than
one day. Only verbal examinations are
held when strikebreakers apply for po-
sitions as motormen to the Washington
Detective Agency, an employe of that
company admitted. These examinations
are given under conditions which en-
able an inexperienced man TO fake
his answers.
Motorman's First Run.
Isaacs. the motorman Of the car
which figured in the accident, told
Coroner Flynn he never before had
made a run as motOrman OF a surface
car. lie lays the cause OF his accident
to the failure Of his air brakes, but
did not even know there was hand
brake on his car, which will cause q
halt when the air fails.
Twelve other strikebreaker motor
men were examined. Dominick Ross,
Of 100 Mott Street, confessed his sole
training had been in motormanS
school several years ago, and that he
had forgotten almost everything he
ever knew" young" Brown, a for
mer pugilst. took a car out on the
Union company's tracks. and admitted
70 the Coroner he had made only one
previous run as a motOrman. In his
youth he had lived near car barn.
He is a truck driver by trade.
81 am convinced that not one Of
these men has had sufficient training
10 enable him to safeguard the lives
of passengers on trolley car" Coro-
ner Flynn asserted. Some Of the
men VINO appeared before me exhib-
tied the most surprising ignorance of
fundamental principles"
Examination a Farce.
The method in which strikebrcaker
motormen were examined before they
were employed by the " Washington De-
tective Agency was explained, unfalter-
ingly, by Frank Elliot, the agency's ex-
sminer The men we're recruited at
l6 Bowery, he said. and in almost every
case only few simple questions we're
asked them before they were employed.
often q single examination did not
take more than TWO minutes. The men
filed past a table. IN such formation
that the applicants near the mai be
ing examined could distinctly hear tho
questions he was asked aud his re-
sponses.
Coroner Flynn was especially snH-
ious to learn who had assigned Isaacs
to the car which he ran OF its tracks.
Albert j. Reicksrd. \ general agent OF
the Washington company. said he had
made the assignment, without exam
ming lsaacs's qualifications further
than 10 watch him operate car for
half a block. Re,ckard Is one OF the
witnesses subpGnaed to appear before
the Coroner again to-day. With him
will come Elliot. Captain John 7 Wick
cry, president Of the Washington
sgency, and Harry Carr, gan, sIperin-
tendent Of the West Farms car barns.
The accident that cost two lives oc-
rdrred early IN The morning. just as
lsaMrs and Sheridan took their car
from the West Farms barns When
the car began to coast ddwr steep IN
cline on Boston Kosd lsaacs, excited,
attempted ~ halt u with the air brakes.
They refused to work. h asserts, AID
lie stood helpl-ssiy ~ the platform, 10
watch his ear huU"d frvm the TRACK
1T tho fremont Avenue curve. pivot
itself en- the trout trucks and then
swing about, TO crash into Two automO-
biles. There were no pas senEers on
tho ear.
Tho FIRST automobile struck Vas "a
light touring car driven by Julius
GrnssmAn, from which three paSsen.
gers had just nlighted. Grossuan was
uninjured.
Directly back ~ the touring car,
wcdgcd against the curb. was all i'm
provised jitncy bus. carrying eleven
employees Of the Church T.. Gates Com
pany 10 their work. This car got the
full force of the dislodged cars swing
1t crumpled like an eggshell. The pas
sengers were hurled in all directions
and ak of them were pinned beneath
the surface car. But one man in the
bus escaped serious injury.
The dead were Lorenz Thomas. forty
two, Of 1884 Taylor Avenue, The
Bronx, and John c. Duelfer. iifty-fve.
of Barclay Avenue, Throgg's Neck.
The twelve iniured-including Sheri-
dan, the strkebrcaker conductor, and
Patrolman William o. Scheer, guard