Evening star., 1944-09-20
Deweys ImperiIed
As Auto Misses Van
After Train Wreck

VuIvu bu0uuu WYNN
Members Of the Dewey campaign
party today nursed assorted bumps
and bruises as the aftermath of q
tain wreck yesterday near Castle
Rock, Wash, which resulted In in
Juries to more than q score of per-
sons and necessitated hospitaliza-
ton tor three, including Mrs Esther
Van Waggoner Tufty, Washington
mwspaperwoman. who represents a
group Of Michigan dailies here.
1.-The luckieSt trainload of people
in the world" was Gov. Thomas e.
Dewey's comment after inspecting
the wreckage. A short while after
wards the Republican presidential
candidate, who was struck by falling
luggage, and Mrs. Dewey-who es-
capped from the accident with only
a severe shaking up-narrowly
missed figuring in a bad automobile
accident when the car they had
boarded at Castle Rock was forced
to swerve crafty on Columbia
River Valley road to avoid colliding
Will q Ald6C IAloAiC vail
J. A. OLeary Of The Washington
Star, who with Jack Bell of the
Washington ONCE of the Associated
Press, raced to telephones to give
first news of the train wreck, figured
in a lucky escape, having been sitting
next to a heavy glass window which
shattered around his head, but left
him untouched.
Mrs. Tufty's Back Injured.
Among those injured were:
Mrs. Tufty, back injury; Kirt
King, United Press, Albany, cracked
ribs; Earl Behrens. San Francisco
Chronicle, arm sprain; Mike Acker-
man, Acme photographer, bruised
nose and forehead; Jim Mahler,
AP photographer. slight bruises and
shock, and Frank Jurkuski, Inter-
national News Service, slight bruises
and shock.
Ed Clark, Life, possible broken
ribs; Roy Edwards, Universal News,
cut on nose; G. Gordon, New York,
News of Day. eye injury: Thomas
P. ONeill, Philadelphia Record, rib
injury; A. L. Sloan. Chicago Herald
American, head bruises; Carl Nc
Cardle, Philadelphia Bulletin,
4prained neck. and James Wechsler,
PM, minor cuts.
Most Of the injured received first
aid on the scene. Some were taken
to Longview, Wash, hospitals and
released after treatment. Only three
remained hoSpitalized overnight
Including Mrs. Tuffy.
The accident happened when the
Dewey train, bound for Portland,
ploughed into the rear of North
ern Pacific passenger train that had
halted at the scene of a freight
wreck that had taken place several
hours previously, about mile from
Castle Rock.
Train Was Running Late.
The Dewey train, running late on
account of the traf1ic tieup follow
ing the freight wreck, rounded a
curve at 55 miles an hour, according
to a report to the Associated Press,
to find the passenger train halted
just half a mile down the track.
Engineer E. A. Wells applied his
brakes, but was able only to cushion
the force of the collision.
Newspaper and radio men, of
whom there are more than so on
the campaign train, were working
on advance copies of Gov. Dewey's
Portland speech when the crash
came. They were sitting at type
writer's in two long rows along the
sides of a work car few minutes
before noon, Pacific time, when they
suddenly found themselves thrown
In a heap to the floor.
A glass partition near one end
of the work car was shattered, but
the spray Of broken glass missed
those sitting nearby.
Gov. Dewey was working in his
private compartment in the last car
when the crash came. He was in
shirtsleeves. going over the radio
talks he will deliver this week in
San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"A big piece of luggage fell on
my head and was shaken up quite
bit" he said, but l am all right"
Mrs. Dewey Slightly Hurt.
Mrs. Dewey, in an adjoining COM
pertment, was thrown violently
against a partition and struck her
head. But beyond a headache, she
did not appear seriously hurt.
The New York Governor, who kept
calling out, Are you all right, Char
lie?" "How's your arm, Bill?" as he
passed through the train immedi-
ately after the crash, said it was his
first experience in a railroad acci-
dent. He has travelled 10000 miles
by rail in the last five years, he said,
including six trips to the Pacific
Coast, without mishap.
He shook hands with Shore Pa
trolman Ralph Jordan of Mobile,
Ala, and thanked him for helping
direct first-aid work. Mr.. Jordan
was so impressed that he told re-
porters, I'm from the Deep South
and I've been Democrat all my life.
but I sure hope Dewey is the next
President"
The other train included a sub
stantial number of servicemen and
one Of them, an Army private, was
standing on the tracks when 1t.
Gen. Hugh A. Drum, retired, COM
mander of the New York State
Guard, stepped of the Dewey train
to see what had happened.
Noticing some decorations on the
privates coat, the general walked
over ahd spoke to him. The soldier