Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-03-30
INVESTIGATION OF
WRECK UNDER WAY


Commission, the Utilities Commission
of Ohio and various department heads
of the New York Central were con-
ducting Investigations in Cleveland
and at other points in the vicinity OF
the wreck.
Coroner Charles Carver, of Lorain
county, planned to begin an inquest
at Elyria into the death of the wreck
victims and the causes leading thereto.
The question of whether the so
called death coach" on train No. sc
was of modern steel construction as
claimed by New York Central Off
cials or was mainly of wood construc-
ton promised to be an important fea-
ture of the investigation.
Railroad officials to-day were still
divided in opinion as to whether the
blame should be placed upon the
towerman who, it is alleged by some
officials, was asleep and failed to give
the proper signal, or upon the engi-
neer who they say it may be shown
either failed to see the signal or eX-
ceeded his orders
27 Bodies Recovered
OF the more than forty persons In
iured in the wreck, several were said
to be in a precarious condition early
to-day and further fatalities were
feared Railroad officials say that
only twenty-seven bodies have been
recovered and that they regard it as
impossible that more bodies are in the
ruins. Unofficial, but what was re-
garded as reliable reports, late yester-
day placed the number of dead ut
thirty. 1t is believed the actual num-
ber of dead may be a matter of un-
certainty for some hours at least.
The two men at whom most of the
questions were to be directed at to-
days investigation to be held in the
offices of DIVISION superintendent
w. f. Schaff, were Engineer Herman
Hess. of the second section of train
SO and Towerman A. K. Ernst, OF
Amherst.
Engineer ID. w. Leonard, of the
first section Of train So. which pulled
the death car" asserts he stopped his
train on a signal originating in Ernst s
tower.
No Signal for Second Train
Engineer Hess declares he saw no
signal when he brought his section
booming along at fifty miles an hour
speed about three minutes later
Ernst asserts he set no stop signal
declaring the line was open for Engi-
neer Leonard to go ahead.
If Ernst is held culpable in the in
vestigation, the blame will trace back
to babys tiny crib in the Ernst home
at Elyria.
The baby was born Sunday night.
Since that time Ernst has had little
sleep. railroad officials say.
Baby May BE To Blame
Ernst, the towerman, early to-day
made statement in which he stoutly
denied that he was asleep or that he
was incapacitated by loss of sleep. He
asserted that he set the signal prop
erly, but that it failed to work. and
that the accident was caused thereby
"While my wife was ill.," said Ernst,
az got my regular sleep and was about
my duties as usual. The signal simply
failed to work The is all.
II. w. Belnap, representing the
Interstate Commerce Commission, early
to-day opened the federal investigation
at downtown hotel
A. s. ingalls,. general superintend-
ent of the New York Central lines west
of Buffalo. sought out Belnap at the
hotel shortly after his arrival and
spent an hour in laying before him
all the railroad officials had learned so
far IN their Investigations of the cause
of the accident
Asserts Signal Failed
Belnap was Joined here by George
T.. Ellis, an assistant stationed at
Chicago. and II. A. McAdams. sta
toned at Pittsburgh. NJ. ]. Heffernan
md w. r. Packard. inspectors for the
state Utilities Commission. began their
Informal investigation simultaneously
Supplenienting his statement, Tow