The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1921-03-24

cause and origin of the fire and to
get at the real facts Of the case new
lar effort and desire on the part Of
the less, one could notice a particu-
the railway company and the Pull
man company to shift the responsible
ity on one another if they could not
show themselves neither responsible
Much interest was conferred about
the possibility of an explosion of the
Baker heater kept in the corner of
the coach where the fire seems to
have originated. Also as to whether
it produced suffocating gases. A
half gallon jug of formaldehyde kept
for fumigation purposes was also the
subject of much similar inquiry:
The formaldehyde theory was pre-
tty well disproved by the testimony
of the city druggist and others who
explained the quantity weakened as
it was could have hardly caused
fumes sufficient even when heated
to cause the death of a human being.
The colored porter of the car, Joe
Tompkins swore that he was with
the car practically all day Sunday
when it was in the Pueblo yards, only
being away about five minutes at
time and that the stove had no fire
in it and he did not make up any also
that as soon as the train left Pueblo
at 1901 that night he shook the
CRATE and saw there was no fire in
the stove. He was positive there
couldn't have been any fire in it.
But the coach cleaner at the yards
at Pueblo, Mike Gegonich swore that
during the early morning of Sunday
when the coach was set off there in
the Pueblo yards he examined the
stove and it did have fire in it and
that he fired it during the day of
Sunday when he was on duty making
the fire at 8 p. m. that night and
stated further that at that time i'll
contained enough small or fine nut
anthricite coal to last for IL hours.
He also stated that during his trips
to the coach while on duty during the
day which the car was in Pueblo he
did not see Mr.. Tompkins, the col
ored porter, anywhere at all and that
he never saw him until after nine
o'clock that night when he came to
put the passengers to bed.
Mr.. A. M. White, General Car car
penter for the division and who lives |
at Pueblo testified tat at 5:45 p. M,
of the afternoon of the day the car |
burned he made a thorough official |
of the Baker stove which |
the car had carried and that he was
able to definitely determine the con-
dition the stove had been in during
the fire because of the fact that it |
was located on an iron foundation
over the iron trucks and had remain
ed in exact position and that the in
tense heat had formed rust scales as
it cooled off and therefore as these
scales hadn't been broken in the
east he was able to testify specifi-
cally as to the position of the drafts
and hampers at the time of the fire.
He said the top drafts had been open
and the bottom ones closed. This
about with the testi-
mony of the porter as to how he left
hem when he retired to his berth
FOR sleep that night.
Mr.. White explained that these
drafts in the stove containing a
large quantity of this hard coal in
fine Jumps would create coal gas and
fumes which could escape out of the
Top draft and into the aisles saturat-
ing the curtains, etc and that flame
from the bottom could ignite this
making a sort of sponstaneous COM
oustion which would cause quick
and rapid spreading fire.
The coal gas combustion idea was
'urther substantiated by the testi-
nony of Mr.. Getcher, Supt. of Wal
enburg coal mine who explained he
lad frequently witnessed similar ex-
blossoms in the coal mines and that
hey could be caused that way.
The Pullman company sought to
'dvance the idea that sparks from
'ngines have in the past set the bel
ows at the end of the coaches afire
md could have done so in this in
lance. The master mechanic testifi-
ID that the engine carrying that train
vas equipped with an inside screen
laving only three-eighths holes and
hat it would have been impossible
or its sparks to have caused the fire
nd also that the wind was not blow
ng at the proper angle to carry
parks to this coach. d
The coal gas idea seems to have |
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