The Washington times., 1919-08-27
TOWNSEND ON
DUTY Y15HOURS
BEFORECRASH
IT IS CHARGED.

ATLANTIC CITY, N. J., Aug.
27.-Prosecutor Edmund c. Gaslill,
jr., of Atlantic county, has begun
a sweeping investigation of the con-
duct Of seashore excursion traffic as
a result Of the wreck Of the two
Washington excursion sections near
here early Sunday morning.
He announced the investigation
viii include the exact number of
wooden coaches being used by the
Railroad Administration IN ereseFt
travel.
Whether the engineer, or the
United States Administration is
found to have been TO blame viii
make no difference to Us. We are
out to find who is responsible, no
matter who may be hit" he an
npunced.
Say Engineer Was OTerWOrked.
Prosecutor Gaslin has a squad. Of
detectives at work he indicated
many shore officias share the public
disapproVal Of the RailEay Adminis-
tration in sending tens OF thousands
Of pleasure seekers to the shore In
old. flimsy rolling stock. p
The prosecutors office is Informed
that Engineer Ralph Townsend, who
has been blamed Tor the accident,
was oFeFworked; that he had made
three round-trip runs from Atlantic
City during the twenty=four hours
preceding the crash. This meant
about fifteen hours on duty.
Operating officials are at a loss to
understand how Townsend could
have missed the yellow caution sig
nal which IL is charged, he passed
before the wreck occurred, or why
the fireman did not see It il the en-
gfpeman did not.
It is understood to be a standing
rule, rfgidly enforced that both the
engineer and fireman shall announce
the color OF each signal passed. The
engineer is supposed to call the. color
and the fireman to verify his Obser-
walton.
Sweeney, OF Camden, n. J.. the fire.
man, will be an important witness
in the States inquiry. Unlike Town
send. he did not jump. He retired TO
The tender when he saw crash was
Inevitable, and escaped injury.
Reports made today. to the United
states Railroad Administration were
that three warning signals were dis
regarded by Townsend. The reports
said ToWnsend's section, which
crashed into another section, ran
past a caution signal, 5000 feet from
the other section, a stop signal, 200
feet distant, and .torpedoes and fuses
], 500 feet distant.
The accident was caused primarily
by the failure of Townsend to OBJ
serve the automatic signals with
which this portion OF the RAILROAD is
equipped, was declared by General
Manager r. /. O'Donnell, OF the
Pennsylvania Railroad. on receipt OF
a report from a special committee
appointed by him TO make an. in
vestigation.
qIf Sunday morning'sr wreck had
caught fire." an attache vof the
prosecutors office said. today, ''the
results would. have been frightful,
for the wooden cars would have
burned like tinder.. I never saw any
thfng- to approach the match-stick
result Of the crash. A steel car
would have avoided loss OF life or
SERIOUS injury to any person upon
the train that was struck"
Coroner Charles Cunningham. Of
Bammonton, spent all day yesterday
N, Atlantic. City, investigating the
accident. Coroner Cunningham Sc
Iected his jury, which win sit at the
inquest in the death Of ode S.
Wathen. Of Washington, d. c. who
was killed in the wreck. which viii
likely, be held the latter part of next
week