The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1921-07-30
BLAME FOR WRECK
'ONL. &N. ISFKEDby
|. INTERSTATE c. Com.
Interstate Commerce Commission
at Washington Holds Conduct
tor Franco and Flagman
Mott Responsible.
FOR WRECK ON NIGHT OF THE
SECOND OF JUNE.
Investigation Also Develops That
Flagman Mott Could Meth
er Read Nor Write, As
Strange as May Appear.
(By Paul Wooton, Times-Picayune
Staff corresnondentl

Staff correspondent
WASHINGTON, d. c., July 27.-
Conductor Franco and Flagman Mott
primarily were held responsible for
the wreck which killed one and injur-
ed four on the New Orleans Mobile
Division of the Louisville & Nashville
Railway on June 2, according to a
report issued today by the Interstate
Commerce Commission. An extract
fromthereports reads as follows:
This accident was caused primari-
ly by failure to provide proper flag
protection for the rear of train first
No. 78, for which Flagman Mott and
Conductor Franco are responsible. A
contributing cause was the operation
of this train on short time ahead of
train No. 2, for which Conductor
Franco and Engineman Mcnamara
are responsible.
FAILURE TO PROVIDE PROPER
FLAG PROTECTION.
notwithstanding the statement of
Flagman Mott that he got off before
his train stopped and went back as far
as possible in the time at his disposal
the weight of evidence indicates that
his train reached Theodore at or be-
fore the time train No. passes st.
Elmo, that he did not start back i'm
mediately to protect his train and that
he was back only few car lengths
when the engine of train No. 2 pass
ed him. Conductor Franco knew that
his train was on short time, and under
these circumstances should have been
careful to place himself in position
tosee that proper flag protection was
provided.
COULD HAVE REDUCED SPEED.
'"The engineman and fireman of
train No. 3 could have seen the ca
boose Of train first No. 78 for dis
tances of 333 and $3.50 feet respect
vely, and had they become aware of
the train ahead as soon as it was pos
sible for them to have done SO, it is
believed that the engineman could
have brought his train to a stop or at
least have reduced the speed material
ly before colliding with the train a
head. The reason why Engineerman
Winnow did not earlier see the rear
end of train No. 73 could not be as
certained.
RULES NOT ALWAYS OBEYED.
Conductor Franco was employed
as brakeman in 1906 and promoted to
conductor in November, 1915; in
1919 he had operated his train ahead
of No. 2 without sufficient running
and clearance time. Flagman Mott
was employed as brakeman in Feb
ruary, 1884. This investigation in
dicated that tagging and ten-minute
spacing rules are not always obeyed
on this division. An instance was
noted where a freight train stood at
a station for more than thirty min
utes while the 1agman instead of go
ing back to protect the train, was en-
gagged in packing a hot box.
COULD NEITHER READ NOR
WRITE.
''It was also noted that the records
of train movements are not accurate
ly kept, an instance being noted
where one passenger train closely fol-
lowed another passenger train for a
considerable distance, the trains leav-
ing one station only two minutes a
part, although the train sheet covering
the movements of these trains indicat-
in accordance with the rules. The
ed that they were ten minutes apart
investigation also developed that
Flagman Mott could neither read or
write, although he said he could tell
the names of the stations and the
time of trains as shown in the time
table, and he had not been examined
on the rules since 1914"