The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-12-07
IT Persisted IN
BRYNATHYNCRASH
Thirteen Dead and Fourteen
Reported Missing,
MEET TO PCO3E WRECK
Federal, State and Reading Railway
Officials Start Joint investigation.
Gross Neglect Charged.

Philadelphia, Dec. 7.-OficiaI inves-
tigation to determine the responsible
ty for the cause of the wreck in which
at least 81 persons lost their lives
Monday morning in Il head-On collision
between two passenger trains near
WOOdmont Station on the single track
line of the NeWtOWn branch Of the
Reading railway, was begun behind
closed doors in the office Of the super
intendent of the New York division,
in the Reading Terminal.
Prior to the opening of the invcSti-
CATION session Il statement was issued
by Charles H. Ewing, vice president
of the Reading railway, in which liz
declared that gross yiolation' of def
mite running orders and an ignored
block signal was responsible for The
wreck
He issued the following statements:
1.-TWO copies of the following order
written on the standard form, were
gwen train No. 151 At Bryn -'thyn and
train No. 1876 at Churchviil":
mo. 151 will meet No. l:76 ut Bryn
This order was received ~ train
No. 151 at Bryn Athyn and Si"ned for
ut 7.46 \. VI. Notwithstanding the
fact that train No 131 was stopped at
Bryn Athyn and was on the siding
with this order in its possession, the
train left Bryn Athyn without waiting
for train No. 156. III violation of this
order and of the block signal properly
displayed at this point.
I'VE are wholly at a loss to account
for this gross violation of the order
and rules, except that it was IN un-
explainable failure of the human
agency
With IS victims positively Identified.
and Il others who were supposed 70
be on one or the other of the two
trains reported as missing. the death
list now appears to he at least 27.
There were in the Ha~erman's
mOrgue, a Jenkintown, nine bodies,
or fragments of bodies. so terribly
mutilated that it is believed identif-
cation will never he possible
Identified dead-Loufs johnson,
Southampton Edgar Brehm. Church
Vile: Elmer w. Ransom, ticket agent
at Woodmont Station; John Krusen, 6,
son of Mr.. and Mrs. J. Herbert KrU-
sen, Of NewtOwn; John Harrington, a
trainman; George H. Potter, of Cairo,
III. John Price, colOred, Philadelphia
Edward VOgel, train fireman. of Ryers,
Pa; John L. Saunders, colored, Phila-
delphia Alexander Radcliffe, Phila-
delphia DR.. J. Irwin Hatch, a dentist,
Of Newtown, who had offices in Phila-
delphia; Miss Emma Leedom, South
ampton; Andrew Saalmiller, Philadel-
phia.
Fourteen are MiSsing-NIiss Eliza
beth Shelmire; II. Voorhees, Hogeland,
Southampton Clarence E. Shull, Phil
adelphia; Miss Katherine Fitzpatrick,
Southampton; Mrs. William Sinkler,
Southampton Mrs. Norris Van Hart,
Southampton Earl Slack, Churchville;
Charles T. Scott, Churchville Nor
man Rhodes, Churchville; Miss Lena
George, Churchville; Thomas Grove,
West Philadelphia, train fireman; J.
Prout, Trenton, n. J.; Robert H
Eames, Clarence Poust.
The number Of missing persons may
be increased three more, bringing the
total toll of the wreck to 80, depend
ing on whether or not certain effects
extricated from the wreckage were
the property of any of the three I'M
named labOrers, employees Of the Read
ing listed as missing
The names of the three laborers,
foreigners, had not been ascertained
from the payroll files of the railroad.
1t was generally admitted that be-
cause of the circumstances of the
wreck and the fatal fire that followed
1t the exact toll of the tragedy will
never be determined It was doubt
full in some instances whether the re-
mains at the mOrgIe were those Of
one or more persons The estimates
arrived at were determined by check
ing the recovered remains against the
list of missing.
This list Of missing may not be COM
plete, and may never be completed,
because it is quite possible that some
were travelling on one or the other of
the trains without friends or relatives
having knowledge Of their where
aboutS.