The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-09-03
TRAIN WRECK STORY
STARTED JIMMY COX
Jimmie Allison Now Sorry He Wa:
Harsh to Budding Reporter Who
Gathered Facts and Wanted
to Write.
(By Herbert Corey.)

thinks he may have been a little bit
sore that night. He may even have
been a trifle harsh to Jimmy Cox
He does not remember this phase OF
the evening with accuracy. He trusts
not, because Jimmy Cox might, per-
haps, be the president of the United
States some time. 1t would be en-
barrassing if the president said some
time:
Remember that night you bawled
me out at Middletown?"
This is the story of the time that
Jimmy Cox first Clipped the egg. It
is the tale of his official Matching. Up
to that time. he had been the cor
respondent of the Cincinnati Erquir-
er. at Middletown, Ohio-that is,
that had been one Of his activities.
A country correspondent was not
paid enough in those days to permit
him to, devote his entire time to cor
responding. He had attracted the
same sort Of attention in The En-
quirer office that other country cor
respondents did. When he got scoop
ed the telegraph editor wanted to
know why. Then came the wreck OF
~, Sooond Fort1, fyo
Wreck of "Second Forty-6ve."
'Forty-fve" was a known and
numbered passenger train. People
set their tin clocks by it. The Day
ton Cash Register compapy's en-
ployees arranged an excursion, and
the railroad management decreed
that the special train should be
known for the day under the title Of
the Second Forty-hve." Somehow
the train dispatcher forgot, or the
telegraph operator forgot, or some
one else forgot. At NY rate, after
the only known "Forty-hve" passed
Middletown on this fateful night the
engineer of freight train pulled off
siding and rumbled down the main
track, quite unaware that second
section of the passenger train was
approaching. A dozen people oS
more people were killed.
81 was the night police reporter
for The Enquirer at Cincinnati" !"
said "Jin my" Allison, who for years
has been the New York man for the
Cincinnati Times-Star. "All this
happened after midnight. Cox had
been getting around Middletown at
night, as was his habit, and picked
up the news. He flashed it to The
Enquirer, and Charlie Hodges, who
was then the city editor, got me on
the wire and told me to hurry up tc
Middletown and take charge"
Allison was not unnaturally out
ragged by this order. 1t came just as
he was getting ready to call it a day
and go home. He rode through the
brisk morning air to Middletown-on
a frieght-inhaling indignation and
cinders. All the way he reflected
bitterly on the policy of paper that
would entrust so important post as
that of Middletown-where nothing
else had happened since the memory
of man-to a green reporter, and
thereby cut into the recreations Of a
regular newspaper man just when
that regulars playtime had arrived.
He may have been crisp to Cox whens
he got there. But he hopes not.
Cox on the Job.
Cox had done all that could be
done. He had gathered the facts,
wired them to The Enquirer in time
for the city edition, sent in all the
names and street addresses of the
injured, and then made inquiries
about the wire. But one wire was
open to Cincinnati he discovered,
and at that moment the reporter for
the other Cincinnati morning paper
began to snoop around. Young Mr..
Cox, the boy correspondent, knew
that he must save the scoop for his
own journal.
$50 he put two or three pages of
a book on the wire," said Mr.. Allison.
"He'd heard about that trick, you
know. Another Enquirer reporter.
during a strike in the coal fields, sent
most of the Lamentations of Job on
one occasion, thereby preventing the
current Job from getting any news
through in spite of his anguished pro-
tests. Anyhow, Cox did it. He held
the wire"
Allison did the story all over again
of co,rse in that nrovokinplV sllOo-