Evening star., 1923-10-09
PLANS T0W|PE OUT
GRADE CROSSINGS
Engineer Commissioner Ad-
vocates Bill for Wholesale
Elimination in the D. c.

Presentation of a special bill to
Congress in December providing for
the abolition of all railroad grade
crossings in the District was advo-
Gated today by Maj. Bell, Engineer
Commissioner.
1t also was learned that when the
Commissioners go before the budget
bureau at 10 o'clock Friday morning
they probably will ask for funds to
construct a viaduct under the tracks
Of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
near Lamond station. where yester-
days fatal accident occurred.
Although Maj. Bell said this morn
ing it is not too late to take up the
Lamond situation with the budget
bureau this year, he expressed the
belief that the general subject of
grade crossings should be laid before
Congress in the form of separate
legislation.
Plan for Van Buren Street.
The city heads already have before
them an estimate of s65,000 to. carry
Van Buren street under the railroad
tracks at a point not far from the
grade crossing, at which two men
and u woman were killed by train
yesterday.
Even il the Commissioners succeed
in having this individual item insert
ed in next years estimates before
they are finally approved by the bud
get bureau, there would still be a
number of other grade crossings that
could be eliminated through the en-
actment of special act.
Maj. Bells first step will be to ask
the highway division of the engineer
department to collect all possible
data as to the number of such cross
ings, together with the cost of con-
structing bridges or viaducts.
Revive Old War on Grade Crossings
The accident yesterday led two or
ganfzations to reopen an old fight yes
terday for abolition of grade cross
ings in Washington-the Public Utili-
ties Commission of the Washington
Board of Trade and the Takoma Park
Citizens Association. Both organiza-
tions declared their action in urging
abolition of the crossings was a reit-
GRAFTON of a stand taken years ago.
Rendering a verdict of accidental
death in the wreck which cost the
lives of three persons when a west
ern flyer of the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad crashed into a small sedan
crossing the tracks at Lamond Sta
tion, d. c., yesterday, a coroner's jury
at an inquest in the District morgue
officially recommended ito the District
Commissioners that some action be
fol 70 oh oil do =
the District of Columbia"
The dead are: Samuel D. Coe, thirty.
! five years old, of ia Elm avenue, Ia.
koma Park, Md; Mrs. Dorothea Hoag.
land, twenty-five, of the same ad-
dress, sister-ir-law of Mr.. Coe, and
Herman Steiner, twenty-one. of lis
Elm avenue, Takoma Park, Md
1t was shown at the inquest thai
| the only warning for pedestrians and
automobiles crossing the tracks at
Lamond station is a warning bell that
signals automatically the approach OF
a train.
Engineer ON Opposite Side.
Motor Cycle Policeman Black, or
duty in the section where the accident
| took place, introduced a drawing into
the evidence, showing the location OF
the TRACKS. the spot where the accident
| took place on the south-bound track
Wnlcn was the last TO De crossed er
route to Washington-andt the distance
which the bodies were carried.
Engineer George n. Cage of Bruins
wick, Md, testified that, since he was
| on the right side of the cab and the
automobile evidently approached from
| the left side, he knew nothing Of an
accident until he heard the noise OF
| the crash. He Immediately applied
! brakes, he said, although debris had
virtually at the same time cut the
-. nd ann1iad hro Ire
matically. Grea-c, and water from
the automobile made the wheels Slip
perry and he estimated that the train
went about 5000 feet before it was
stopped.
Inrc roD rrrnrrrS