The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 1, 1899, Page 1

The RSN % all VOLUME I XXV—=NO. 63 PRICE FIVE CENTS. STAYED WITH THEIR ENGINE THOUGH DEATH WAS THE PRICE Heroism of Two Men Saves the Narrow Gauge Local in Alameda. THE SMASH-UP. — L m— i : &/ Ufi D'GGING THE ENGINEER. Fzom THE \WRECWED ENGINE Fireman £0/iLSOM IMMEDIATELY FAFTER | N ;.uummlk\?‘ = BENEATH Locomotive and Tender a Wreck, the En- gineer Dead and the Fireman Badly Scalded—AIl Passengers Escape Removing Ernainir Joras v Tve Hose1TALL The Hoodoo Engine of the Narrow Gauge System Has Made Its Last Record of Blood. It Is Unlikely That It Will Ever Be Repaired. DEAD. Engineer H. H. Jonas. SERIOUSLY INJURED. Fireman E. F. Colson. EDA . 31.—Hoodoo en- awing the narrow onnects with an Francisco, on Encinal | and as a re- \gineer H. H. | an E. F. Colson | » and death. The cars, full to | returning | LAM ue, accident F those r itioned oceurred. | eight rs’ terrible suffering | the unfortunate engineer died at abiola Hospital ab: | 1t 1:30 this morn- before them | impending death Engineer Jonas and Fireman Colson stuck to their post nd did every- | in their powe save the lives | several hundred passengers on | train In a ability both 7 have escaped with perhaps only a broken limb by jum had they | not been brave men 5 After the doctors had swathed Fire- | man Colson in soothing bandages he | w asked how the accident happened, but he could not tell. He said he first became aware that Something was amiss when he felt the jolting. He saw Engineer Jonas set the X ake and the engine and the next instant. | the engine raising from the and toppling over on the side on which he was s . he then endeav- ored to save his life by jumping. He | did not remember anything more. Colson is married and re- 5 Encinal avenue. The ing car next to the engine left the track and the inmafes received a shaking up and a bad fright. B.| Ghilieri, a car cleaner, who lives at 2112 San Antonio avenue, was thrown over a seat and jarred severely, but not in- | jured. The accident occurred just after the train left the trestle south of the oil works at a point.about 200 yards west | of Second avenue station. At the lo- | cality there are double tracks connect- ed by a spring switch. The rallroad men advance the theory that the disas- | ter was caused by a defect in 1hn‘ switch. The train was running on the northerly track, with the tender ahea.dl of the engine, Just as it reached the switch the tender shot over toward the southerly tracks. The engine, which was run- [ the train, as quickly as possible noti- | fled Road Master R. W. Baxter, and a | wrecking train was immediately dis- | direction from the engine and when the crash came they seized axes and ran to do rescue work. These men saw the ning at a lively speed, kept on the main | patched to clear the wreck. Before the | peril which hung over Engineer Jonas line for about 100 feet, when the trucks left thé track, throwing the end of the engine nearest the smoker in the di- rection of the sidewalk. In another in- stant it rolled over on its side, while the smoker was thrown sideways par- tially on top of it. The tender stood on end and fell to the south side of the street. Engineer Jonas was pinioned beneath the boiler and s enveloped by blis- tering steam which enshrouded the wreck. He suffered in that position for half an hour before the dismantled lo- comotive could be lifted sufficlfently to release him. He did not lose conscious- ness, and with extraordinary fortitude directed the work of the wreckers who, with jackscrews and levers, were en- deavoring to get him out of the hiss- ing, scalding torment which was slowly torturing him to death. Finally, when he was released, and realizing that his injuries might be fatal, he asked first that his family be taken care of and his next words were: “I hope none of the passengers is hurt.” Then his overtaxed nerves col- lapsed and he sank into & semi-coma- tose condition. The wounded engineer was taken to the home of George B. Okerlund, near the scene of the wreck. His injuries are a broken leg and external and internal burns, which eventually caused death. He was literally cooked from head to foot while imprisoned beneath his en- gine and his lungs are also scalded by inhaling steam. Fireman Colson is as badly burned externally, but he has no broken limbs and did not inhale any steam. He has an even chance for recovery. The two wounded men were taken in an ambu- lance to Fabiola Hospital at 9 o’clock last evening. Drs. Lubbock and Keys, who dressed their wounds, accompanied them. Mrs. Colson also went to the hospital to remain with her husband. Mrs. Jonas was so shocked that she is all but prostrated and was obliged to remain at her home, where sympathetic friends are giving her every care. Among the passengers in the wreck- ed smoker were R. E. Parr, a commer- cial traveler, residing at 1193 Park ave- nue; W. W. Goggin, 1719 Santa Clara avenue; P. A. Kearney of the San Francisco Mint, wNose home {s at 2125 San Antonio avenue, and E. S. Clark, a jeweler, of 2525 Central avenue. These gentlemen agree in the opinion that the smoker left the track a moment after passing the switch. | THE TENDER TURNED A SOMERSAULT L. H. Brink, gonductor in charge of | wreckers arrived every effort was made | | to release Engineer Jonas, but there | were no adequate appliances at hand, and he continued to suffer in sight of hundreds of nerve-wracked passengers until the wreckers got heavy jack- screws under the engine and raised it | up. When the tender left the track Jonas stuck to his post and set the air brakes, but the momentum was too great, and, after jolting and careening for a hun- dred feet, the tender turned a complete somersault and the engine tumbled over in the opposite direction. The en- gineer fell with the cab and was caught by the rear of the boiler across his legs. Fireman Colson attempted to jump when the engine was in the air and was also caught in the wreck, but was able to pull himself out. He was terribly scalded, but managed to get up and walk to the curb, where he sank down unconscious. HELPED RELEASE THE ENGINEER Martin Kaney, a fireman on the steamer Newark, was one of the first to reach the stricken engineer. In an interview he said he was seated in the | first coach, and when he recovered from the shock he hurried forward to the overturned locomotive and climbed over the cab and found Jonas pinioned at his post. Pausing a moment to comfort his friend he ran back some hundred yards and obtained a jackscrew, which was used to advantage In releasing the injured man. “While the willing volunteers strug- gled with the weighty mass of steel,” he said, “Jonas directed their efforts, cautioning them to be careful and beg- ging those he recognized in his semi- conscious condition to look out for his family. “While he was suffering agony from the numerous burns he had received from the scalding water his one thought was for the safety of his passengers, and he repeatedly asked how they had fared. When told they had escaped 1wnhdm shaking up he was greatly re- teved.” CHOPPED THE CAB . TO RESCUE JONAS L. L. Schuler, Frank Thompson and Henry Burn, employes in the brewery near the scene of the wreck, were the first persons to reach the engine. They saw the tender bouncing in a different and without regard to the blinding, suffocating steam they began chopping away the cab to get at the suffering man. With mighty and rapid strokes they sent splinters sailing across the street and in less time than it takes to tell it they had all the wood work cleared away.. Then they discovered that nothing could be done to release the poor man until hoisting appliances were secured. One jackscrew was obtained, buf it was not sufficient to remove the mass of hot steel under which Jonas was be- ing parboiled and roasted.at the same time. By this time hundreds of agitated men and women were running about frantically calling for some one to re- lease the engineer, but nothing could be done. Hundreds of passengers who had been shaken out of their wits by the shock forgot their fright and vain- 1y endeavored to assist in the work of rescue. Finally the relief train arrived. Then Jonas’ great courage and nerve were shown. When the men set about to ad- Jjust the lifting machines, he, in an al- most inarticulate voice, told them where to place the jackscrews, giving explicit directions how he was held down. When success was apparent and the boiler began to rise, slowly, then more rapidly as the anxious laborers bent all their strength on the levers, a sound, half cheer, half moan, showed the intense tension on the nerves of the spectators. In another instant Jonas was pulled from the jaws of death and carried into the nearest house. Doc- tors were at hand and everything possi- ble was done to save his life and alle- viate his agony. CROWDS WATCH THE WRECKERS AT WORK Traffic was suspended on the narrow- gauge for two hours, in which time the workmen succeeded in clearing the south track so trains might pass. A large crowd gathered to watch the work of removing the demolished engine; the people remained until late at night. ‘When the ambulance came to take the wounded engineer and fireman to the hospital several hundred people surged about the vehicle and when Jonas was carried out of the house, groaning piti- fully, though every effort was exerted to handle him gently, a sympathetic murmur was heard from all sides. This gcene was repeated when Fireman Col- gon was removed from the house next door. He was followed by his weeping wife. She wished to go with him, but there was no room in the ambulance so a kind-hearted neighbor hitched up his Injury. horse and took her in a buggy to the Fabiola, where she sat in agony beside her pain-tortured husband. MRS. JONAS PROUD OF HER HUSBAND Seated in her comfortable home at 1342 High street, the wife of the un- fortunate engineer waited for tidings from the bedside of her husband. She saw him for a mome'it after he had been extricated from' his perilous po- sition and was taken home by friends. Innumerable acquaintances of the fam- ily poured in immediately @ after the news of the accident to express their regrets and to cheer her. Surrounded by her three children, Stanley, a boy of 14; Alice, a sweet little maid of 9, and with a babe in arms, she listened to the sympathy of her friends. The news of her husband’s ultimate recovery did a | great deal toward dispelling her anxiety and she sent her little ones to bed. Mrs. Jonas is proud of her husband and has the utmost confidence in him. At no time in his long experience as a locomotive engineer has she feared he would be injured, well knowing his coolness and carefulness. In speaking of Mr. Jonas, she said he was about 46 years old and had han- dled-a throttle for nearly half that period without a mishap. For eighteen years he has hauled trains over the narrow gauge line and during that long period has never been away froni his duties more than ten days. She spoke of his great popularity in Alameda County and the confidence every one felt when they knew he was guiding the swift moving train through the county. Mrs. Jonas also stated that her hus- band had never been injured previous to this catastrophe. “The nearest he came to being hurt,” she said, “was while firing for E. L. Reese, many years ago. He was working on a mountain division and the engine crashed into a boulder, throwing wood on top of him. A few bruises were all he received.” The lady also told of a similar inci- dent wherein he fortunately escaped injury. 7 The first news shé received of the accident that befell her husband to- night was when a strange lady called and ‘told her that there was a little ac- cident, and she immediately surmised that her husband was hurt. The ar- rival of her mother, who was a pas- senger on the train and who was badly shaken up by the derailment, prevent- ed her from hurrying to her husband’s side. ‘While speaking of the injured engi- neer’s love for his children and the de- light he took in his home-life, Mrs. Jonas could not restrain her tears. She expressed a hope that when her hus- band recovered he would no longer fol- low his dangerous calling, but she re- marked that, like all railroad men, he would not give up the exciting work. - NUMBER NINETEEN THE HOODOO ENGINE No. 19 has long been known as the hoodoo engine of the narrow gauge line. It was always getting out of repair, breaking an eccentric, dropping a bolt or doing some other malign thing which gave it a hard name among all the railroad workmen. Six months ago No. 19 ran off the trestle at Alameda Point, and Fireman Hickey was killed and Engineer Bald- win so badly scalded that he was laid up for many months. Now to this unenviable record is added the death of brave Jonas. As the engine lies wrecked on the Alameda street it seems extremely probable that the last bloody incident in its history is now written. The cab lies in splin- ters all over the street; the smokestack rests against the fence, and with her working parts twisted and bent it is not at all likely she will ever run again. She will find a dishonored grave in the Junk pile. A “HAS BEEN" IN of Their Object but CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 31.—Three ballots in joint assembly to-day registered ro change in the Senatorial situation. The Grant men are still solid. General Barnes’ eleven immortals are as steady and confident as ever. Bulla’s thirteen stand together and Burns is holding his twenty-five supporters. The wires have been pulled by the colonel to bring to Sacramento all the scattering local in- fluences that can be brought to bear to persuade Republican Senators and As- semblymen to enter a caucus to settle the Senatorship. The Call is not making an error in predicting that Burns has practically reached the limit of his strengtn in this Senatorial struggle. Two weeks ago the colonel might have named the next Senator, but he has since wasted his strength and displayed his weakness in a selfish and hopeless struggle to gain a place for himself in the United States Senate. Since the colonel is making such a great effort to line up Repub- lican County Committees to aid his cause it is well to refresh the memory of California’s Republicans with -the truth that Burns' disloyalty to the Re- publican party gave to California the Democratic Legislature of 1893 which elected Stephen White to the Senate. As a political boss in San Francisco he went to the front as a rank non-parti- san. In every sure Republican district he put up a Republican non-partisan candidate to divide the Republican vote and in the safe Democratic districts he did not .interfere. He cast the weight of his influence then to divide the Re- publican party and give the Legislature to the Democrats. He is now asking the support of the Republican County Committees to help him get a dark- lantern caucus. The touts have again deferred the date for the display of Burns’ in- creased strength. Last Saturday they designated Wednesday as the day of the uprising of the Burns hosts. To- night Friday is mentioned as the day for the grand rally to Burns of the members who are staked out in the | | camps of Barnes, Bulla and Grant. No | particular Friday is mentioned, so one | may infer that it will be the first Fri- day after the adjournment of the Legislature. The announcement of the death of Thomas Reynolds in San Francisco caused some commotion in the camp of Colonel Burns. Reynolds was former- ly County Clerk of San Francisco. ‘When Burns was elected Secretary of State in 1879 Reynolds was called to Sacramento to take the chief deputy- ship in the office of the colonel. What occurred in the partnership of Burns and Reynolds is written in the court records of this State. Each charged the other with wasting, squandering and stealing the pubiic monev of the | State. Years later Burns came back | | from Mexico rich, according to com- | mon report. but he never made good | to the taxpayers of Californfa the | money stolen in his-office and for which he was directly responsible. Now he asks to be elected to the high and hon- orable office of United States Senator. Immediately after the announcement of the first ballot in joint convention | to-day the touts demanded that a sec- ond ballot be taken. At first it was fancied that the colonel had taken in another deserter and was about to parade him for moral effect, as Wright was paraded, but after the second and the third ballots were taken the Burns scheme was exposed. It was found to be nothing more than a fat-witted ef- fort to interrupt the regular routine | BURNS REACHED THE LIMIT OF HIS STRENGTH All His Efforts Fail to Pull One More Vote to Him. GENERALSHIP NOW Fat-Witted and Clumsy Schemes Worked That Not Only Fail Serve to Bring Their Author Into Disrepute as a Leader, of business in the Legislature and give the. colonel’s touts an opportunity to claim a caucus on the ground that the Senatorial contest was blocking the wheels of legislation. A few more clumsy efforts like the one put forward to-day may compel the organization of the anti-Burns party in the Legislature. Men who have been active in Burns’ fight reluctantly ad- mit that the colonel is not displaying that superior generalship which was expected of him by the touts when he opened the campaign in this city. In the light of events it is now clear to the blindest partisans of the colonel that he made a grievous mistake in forcing Wright's hand. He will embit- ter the Legislature against him if his touts attempt to interfere with the reg- ular business of considering bills. The touts are saying to-night: “The colonel gives out the word that he can- not lose.” There is some truth in this assertion. The colonel cannot lose what he does not possess, but the Re- publican party can lose and the State can lose a representative in the upper house of Congress. Irving M. Scott, surrounded by his friends and flanked by his supporters, Senator Davis and Assemblyman Dun- lap, is discussing the Senatorial struggle at his headquarters in the Golden FEagle Hotel to-night. He is nat depressed or confident, but is in the fleld to get whatever may come his -way when the inevitable break comes. Ex-Mayor Ellert is Mr. Scott’s political adviser and guide. BURNS MAY SPRING REYNOLDS’ CONFESSION CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 31.—The story goes to- night among the touts that there will be found in the papers of Thomas H. Reynolds, deceased, a confession excul- pating D. M. Burns from any complic- ity in the theft of public funds when the latter was Secretary of State. This is not the first time that the confession has been mentioned. It is known to many of the Masonic fraternity that Reynolds received during his long ill- ness sums of money from Burns. In one eontribution Burns gave Reynolds $500. It is further known that Pacific Lodge of San Francisco contributed to Reynolds’ support for fifteen years. It makes no difference now what kind of a deathbed confession may be brought forward to vindicate Burns, because the court records show that D. M. Burns testified on the witness stand that he (Burns) falsified the records of his own office to conceal the defalca- tion. The falsification of public rec- ords is as great a crime as the mis- appropriation of public money. The people of this State need not be surprised if the Mexican colonel should now produce a certificate of character | obtained from Reynolds on his death-- bed. This would be in keeping with the past career of the colonel in this State and in Mexico. Besides the facts brought out during the trial showed that the stealings in the Secretary of State’s de- partment were carried on for seven months after Reynolds left the office. MORE MONEY FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S JUDGES CALL, HBEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 3L.—The salary the Superior Judges of San Francisco receive at pres- ent was a subject of discussion in the Senats this afternoon, and if the bill that was finally passed to third reading goes successfully through its various stages 90000000000 000060000029 That was years ago. nia’s thralldom under the yoke of —.‘.—QO.H—_’.HO.Q.. his presence fails to honor. -0-0-0-0-0-0-0000-0-0-00-0—0-0 000 JOHNSON CONVICTED AS A MALICIOUS LIAR CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRAMENTO, Jan. 31.—Assem- blyman Grove L. Johnson has failed to produce a copy of The | Call in which there appears the charge, whether direct, indirect or intimated, that all of the twenty-five men who are voting for Dan Burns for Senator were bought to do so. stands convicted of being a malicious liar who has insulted the members of the Assembly by taking advantage of the honorable privileges of that body by giving utterance to a deliberate false- hood for the purpose of influencing the minds of his associates. This is not the first offense charged against Johnson, and it is not the first of which ne has been guilty. knowing fuil well that evasion and falsehood would not avail him, confessed the commission of a crime. His later career is a part of the infamous history of Califor- claims him as its willing tool. Such is the man who seeks by falsehood to influence the members of that .onorable body which 3 t : [ ] [ ] He therefore . [ ] Once upon a time he, That crime was forgery. ° o ® I i the giant corporation which