The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-16
NO CRIMINAL
RESPONS IBILITY
IN WEIGH CASE
Coroner To Exonerate Eel
low Employees of Lineman
Who Was Killed.


row announce a, finding exonerating
: from blame James Koran of 81 Pc
quonnock street, foremen of hnemen
for the United Illuminating Co, and
other members of the party of line
men who were erecting pole at
Pembroke and Walters streets when
Charles Frederick WEIGH fell to his
death with the old pole that was be-
ing removed Testimony of the wit
nesses and the Iinemen differed as to
whether or not the old pole was
properly secured by guy ropes, the
Iinemen claiming that every precau-
ton was taken and the bystanders
denying this statement.
Yesterday Armin Wo1lner of 72S
Penn broke street, told the coroner that
he saw no block and falls or other
tackle from the new pole to support
the old, although Foreman Koran
insisted that such tackle was rugged
ITO insure the safety of WEIGH while
cutting the wires at the top of the
old pole.
WoIlner, a dry goods merchant of
72S Pembroke street, was positive
in his statement that there was no
block and falls on the pole. He was
equally positive that it was not guyed
In the manner described by Foreman
Horan He said he watched the line
men from the time they began work
until the pole fell and that when it
came down it fell within two feet of
Awiiere he was standing.
He was certain there was no tackle
on either pole and that only two ropes
placed north and south. held it in po-
sftion He said there we're four wires
attached to the cross tree at the top
of the pole. WEIGH assembled cut
two of the wires, and then two more.
He said it was about five minutes
after Welch cut the last two wires
before the pole fell.
Coroner Phelan was in doubt as to
his estimate of the time when the
wires were cut and when the pole
fell He asked Wo1lner twice to
strike with his hand on the table and
then tell the time while he held his
watch WolIner's first eliminate
proved to be only g. seconds and his
second estimate 81 seconds. Never
theIess he stuck to his story regard
ing the guy ropes and the coroner
was unable to get him to change his
testimony in this regard.
Miss Rose Horwitz, bookkeeper at
z38 Pembroke street, saw the pole
fall and saw WEIGH carried into the
store where she works. She could
not tell whether guy ropes had been
placed or not. Isadore VoIk of 7O8
Pembroke street, did not think the
guys had been placed but he was not
sure.
Other witnesses who today told the
coroner they thought the guy ropes
were properly placed were Leonard
Plumb of Maple street; Louis z. Tai
colt of SOC Fairfield avenue; Daniel
A. Chisholm, 364 Lexington avenue;
Fred w. Grier1y. 102 NewfieId avenue,
and James Kelley, of 492 Atlantic
street, all employees of the United IL
Illuminating Co.
Policemen James GIennon and
fE7o
but other than the fact that they
reached the spot after WEIGH fell they
were unable to offer any testimony as
to responsibility in the cause of his
death. The coroner is inclined to the
belief that, the 1nemen familiar with
the danger of their calling exercised
every precautlon except that in the
work-a-day manner of arranging the
tackle someone may have overlooked
properly securing it.
Charles Frederick Welch led an ex-
ceedingly eventful life. He was once
a sutton for the hand of Emma Gill,
the WaI1ingford girl who died after
alleged operation performed by
DR.. Nancy Gui1ford- The latter dis
r7embered the body and threw it into
yellow Mill pond WEIGH was in the
house when the murder and dismem-
berment of the body of his sweetheart
was taking place but knew nothing of
Gui1ford subsequently fed to Eng
land where she was arrested, brought
back to this country by Detective Gro
nan and sent to prison
In his youth WEIGH received a frac-
ture of the skull in a fall from a BIZ
cycle. In his work he once took hold
of a live electric wire and received a
shock of 1900 volts. He received
Carnegie medal for life saving.