The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 24, 1902, Page 4

- 4 HE SAN FRAXNCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1902. + +AB sAN FRANOCISCO CALL. WEDNKSDAY. DECEMBER 24 1002 MANY VICTIMS OF BYR iN.OAKLAND AND FRESNO AMID SC . ON RAILROAD DISASTER ARE LAID TO REST ENES OF SORROW AND SYMPATHY - 5 WRECKERS AT WoRK AT EARLY DAV SUPERINTENDENT OF SACRAMENTO DIVISION, PHOTOGRAPHS SHOWING WRECKERS AT WORK AND VICTIM WHO DIED HEAD-ON COLLISION, y-seven min- in waiting in was known bhad twenty- 1 divestock was uninjured. yed passenger train was run back by way of Fruitvale br gauge pler rst 8 o'clock through travel on the local iine. The news don caused intense excitement , because of the recent disas- on. The city was ficoded with another horrible calamity and ces were besieged for informa- the casualties were not seri- e to rolling stock, in the for engines and cars, was EICK CHILDREN FEASTED AT CATHEDRAL MISSION A number of ladies gave a Christmas ay 1o & number of invalid t the Cathedral Mission, Second ns of which had been gen- at their disposal by the tree was loaded little ones, and planned the feast car es and chairs which were grate- cast consisted of the 1 rich were sup- dren. a ids nv children the little mothers of the Cathedral Mission were invited to participate in the season’s merry time and good things. The ladies ‘who took a prominent inter. st in getting up the feast and procuring the gifts for the children were Miss Em- fiy Gould, Mrs. H. M. Armstrong, Mrs Bessiec Tracy Smith, Mrs. O. G. Myer: Mrs. tain Pindar, Mrs. A.J. Delamare, Mre. W. O. Spencer and Miss Pauline | Gosliner. Hubert Carroll and- Frederick DGilmore assisted in dispensing the pres- ts to the children and contributed rgely to their amusement. Column 3. | the road from | ‘Death Corfies to the Relief of | another name to the th roll of the Southern Pa- wreck horror at By A Chi- nese woman and J. Carroll, the well known politician of Sacramento, died | vester@ay at the Iroad Hospital, rais ing the total number of killed to twenty- | five, and the end is not yet. Railroad men attribute this remarkable | 1 on. list of fatalities in a single car to the | pcculiar nature of the accident. The lo: | comotive of the flyer plowed straight through the center of the Fresmo coach to within three feet of the farther end, r the floor like so much paper and pinning passengers against the walls, thout breaking the glass of even ngle windcw. For a few hours the roof and vestibule of the engine like & but after the injured and dead en removed a wrecking-crew from nd went to work and long before daylight these had been pulled off and . bauled, together with the shat- | tered locomotive, to a sidetrack a hun- dred yards or more nearer the station. | This was necessary in order to clear. the | main line for the morning trains. One of the side walls etill remained intact, win- | dows and all, when the process of loading | the wreckage on flatcars began at. G| o'clock Sunday morning. By nightfall net a trace remained in Byron to tell the story of the dire disaster that had blot- | ted out 0o many human lives, save a few dark stains on the station platform, where the wounded had been laid, and the haunting memories of the inhabitants. The photographs reproduced above give a correct idea of the appearance of the wrecked Fresno coach after the accident and its condition at the time of the re- movai of the wreckage. It will be seen at a glance that the alleged photograph printed in a morning paper showing the gutted.coach lying astride of the death- dealing locomotive to have been a most | inartistic and palpable fake. That picture i | represents the lower edge of the side walls as jagged and broken, with the win- dows shattered, whereas the actual pho- | tograph above shows many of the windows | to be practically intact, while the lower edge is a straight, clean break along the | girder line. Such newspaper deceptions are not only misleading to the public, but unjust to those with heavy interests in- volved. Endlessscomplications and costly litigation are too often the outgrowth of these misrepresentations of facts, where ; damage suits follow in the wake of fatal | accidents. I | there was no such | coast J. S. Carroll of Sacramento and a Chinese Woman at the Southern Pacific Hospital, Increasing the The real cause of the disaster is still a mooted question, but the consensus of opinion seems to be that had the block system of signals been in operation the wreck would never have happened, for the flyer would have been stopped and { held at Brentwood until the Owl had left Byron. Manager Agler of the western division of the Southern Pacific said ye: terday that the block system is in use on the main line from Ofkland to Port Costa and from Sacramento over the mountains. He admitted, however, that protection between Benicia and Sacramento, and the section on which the wreck occurred. It is the intention of the company, he added, supply these gaps with a cor stem by next summer, as w dfvision beyond San double track section from San Franelsco to San Jose is alrcady equipped with the system. When it was suggested that if the block system had been in operation on these unprotected sections the Byron disaster | could not have happened, Mr. Agler hesi- tated before replying. “Well,” he said ' finally, ' “the - fiyer would undoubtedly have been stopped at Brentwood, all trains five miles apart.” “Therefore the accident could not have happened?” “Yes, 1 suppose you can put it that to the Owl Mr. Agler further stated that he be- lieved the block system to be an abso- lutely safe one and he hoped to see every mile of the road equipped with it during the next year. CORONERS SUMMON JURORS. Leland, Mehrmann and Martinez Of- ficial to Hold Inquests. Coroner Leland will hold -an inquest Friday morning into the cause of th death of the unfortunates killed in the train wreck at Byron last Saturday even ing. The deputies have been insfructed | to subpoena the train crews on the Owi | and the Stockton flyer and as many of the injured passengers as will be able to attend the official investigation. Leland does not intend to leave a stone unturned in his investigation of the disaster. He expects to fix the blame and has selected an intelligent jury of well- known citizens to aseist him in his task. Continued on Page 5, Column 5. for the block system keeps | AKLAND, Dec. 23.—From many | cities of California there came to Total List of Killed to Twenty-Five. Oakland to-day representatives of 1 i O the Woodmen of the World to take part in the funeral of the late Willlam 1. Temple, State organizer of the order, who' died from injuries recetved in the Byron coliision. The impressive services were conducted by Oakland Camp No. %4, at Woodmen Hall, Twelfth street, near Washington, which was thronged with members of the fraternity. | It was while on a journey to Newman | to initiate a large class of candidates into | i Woodmen, headed by the Italian Band, which played. Chopin's “Funeral March” as the dirge. The long cortege was head- ed by Oakland Camp No. % and many The pall bearers selected were from J. J. McConnell, Oakland Camp No. 9%; J. K. Jeftress, Forest Camp No. 102 of Oakland; David Oliver Jr., Golden Gate Camp No. 64 of San Francisco; A. G. Saunders, Pasadena Camp No. 253 of Pas- adena; H. B. Smith of Alpha Camp No. 101 of Oakland; W. L. H. Gelden, Alamo Camp No. 80 of San Jose. In attendance at the funeral were rep- resentatives of Oakland Council No. 973, National Union, of which Mr. Temple was a member. From all of the camps in Oakland and from many others outside beautiful fio- ral tokens were sent, among them being a pillow from Bay Tree Camp No. 640 of Golden Gate; a chair from the degree team of Oakland Camp; a broken wheel from Oakland Circle No. 266; a wreath from Athens Camp No. 457 of Oakland; a scroll from Sequoia Camp of Sacramento; flowers from Stockton Camp; a chair trom Alamo Camp No. 80 of San Jose; a pillar from T. A. Falkenberg, head con- sul of the Pacific jurisdiction, who also sent a telegram of condolence; a wreath the order that Mr. Temple lost his life and thi circumstance appealed strongly who gathered in mourning at | Under escort the remains were taken | to the hall at 2:30 o’clock, after a service had been held at the family residence. | The lodgeroom, a spacious apartment, was crowded and many could not gain | entrance, being compelled to remain in the artechambers, The casket rested In the center of an open space banked wita flowers. Facing it were Consul Com- | mander C. E. Raymond of Oakland Camp, | Rev. E. R. Dille, pastor of the First Methodist Church, and John H. Foley of Los Angeles, head adviser of the Pacific | Jurisdiction. The strains of the “Pilgrims’ Chorus,” from Verdl's “Lombardi,” rendered with touching beauty by the Royal Italian Band, obened the services. The band was headed by Channing Ellery and was led by Signor Rivela. Their presence was due to a desire to honor the dead Wood- man, for nearly every member of ihe or | ganization is affillated with the fraternity. {In a brief address Head Adviser Foley paid a tribute to the departed and was folletved by Consul Commander Raymond | and Lieutenant Adviser George J. King {in the funeral ritual. Dr. Dille, in eulogy of the dead, recount- d his strong traits of character, as' marked -in his work among men and in is admirable domestic life. The clergy- man said the calamity that had taken this and so many more lives was a reminder | how ephemeral and fleeting is life. { During the services a choir composed | of Miss Caroline Crew, soprano; Miss Mabel Gray, contraito; Herbert Smith, tenor, and Clement Rowlands, bass, sang ‘Lead, Kindly Light” and “The Chris- ian's Good-Night.” At the close Signor Palma of the band played ‘Nearer, My Go_rdh. to! Thee” as a trumpet solo. e funeral escort to Mountain View Cemectery consisted of several hundred | Continued on Page 5, Column 6. lew from Forest Camp No. 102 of West Oakland; a wreath from Fremont Camp of Los Angeles; a pillow from Hollister Camp No. 266. At the cemetery the services were ac- cording to the Woodmen's ritual. Hun- dreds followed the remains to the grave. FUNERAL OF C. A. SESSIONS. | Pathetic Is the Tribute Paid to His 5 Memory. OAKLAND, Dec. 23.—Peculiarly pathetic was the tribute of loving memory pald to- day at the bier of Charles A. Sessions, the prominent Elk and merchant of Oakland, who is numbered among the victims of the Byron disagter. The funeral was under the direction of Oakland Lodge No. 171, B. P. O. E, of wkich Mr. Sessions was a charter mem- ber. His association with that organiza- tion had been of the most intimate char- acter and the presence of hundreds of his brother Elks at the services héld this | members from other camps were in line. camps throughout the State, as follows: | from John H. Foley, head adviser; a pil- | ORE victims are being added to| M the list of deaths caused by the | railroad - disaster at Byron mx} Saturday night. J. 8. Carroll, out- side agent of the City Street Improve-| ment Company, passed® away at the! Southern Paclfic Railroad Hospital yes- terday afternoon. His death was unex- pected, as the day before the patient sat up in bed and spoke lightly of his in- | juries. He did everything he could to | remove the feeling of depression. that haunted his fellow patients. Late Mon- day evening his condition changed. His sufferings were very great and he became delirfous. The doctors gave the patient the closest attention, but despite their skill he dled at 4:30 p. m. yesterday. James S. Carroll was a native of Sac- ramento and about thirty-thrée yeéars of age. For several vears he was time- | keeper for the Southern Pacific car shop il that city and he had the reputation | | | | | of having a most thorough knowledge of | the detalls of practical railroading. Dur- | ing that period he was prominent in the | ranks of the Democratic party and for several successive terms was a member of the Democratic City and County Cen. | tral committees. About four years ago | he was a candidate on his ticket for City Trustee from. the Third Ward, but was | | defeated by the Republican nominee. Sub. | sequently he became traveling manager for the City Street Improvement Com .| | pany. He was a fine accountant and al. | though not @lven to making display of | his talents was a young man of consid- | erable education! His father, J. J. Car- | roll, who died several years ago, was at one time a well known local police officer. His mother, who was calied to -his bed. side, is a resident of Sacramento. Car- ! roll was married a couple of years ago | in Fresno. His wife survives him. He | was a member .of the Elks and also the Eagles and other fraternal organizations, | He was not of robust physique and since | the accident his friends had been fearful of the outcome of his injuries. A Chinese woman who was injured in the wreck died at the hospital last hight. | Mrs. Emily Mayer IS In a dangerous jcommmn and the physiclans have little | | hope for her recovery. Besides burns and | | contusions Mrs. Mayer is suffering from | | & severe nervous shock to her system. One of her daughters was killed outright and her youngest boy died at the hospital | | last Sunday. Her son Louis is also in a | | middle of the train. precarious condition and another daughter is suffering from severe burns. Engineer McGuire is closely attended by his devoted wife. No one is allowed to §o | near his bedside, as the patient is still in a_hghly nervous condition. He:is gradu- ally recoverng and the doctors believe he will be able to attend the inquest on Fri- day. He made no statement to the rall- road officials and he will nét be called upon to do so until he is able to ‘eave his cot. Lawrence- Hunter, the carpenter ‘who comes from Eugene, Or., was able to walk around the hospital yesterday. Mr. Hun- ter knows little about the wreck. He says he was sitting three seats from the end of the last car. He was balf asleep and when the crash came was thrown some distance. He managed to crawl out of the wreckage and lay on the ground until assistance came. Eugene Lee, who was on his way to be married at Lexington, Ky., was able to sit up in bed yesterday afternoon. - The nurse was changing the bandages on his face and he presented a pitiful spectacie. His entire face was burned by the scald- ing steam and the skin was hanging in places. His hearing has been affected by the tremendous shock and he is suffering from contusions. Both hands were ban- daged. Lee was able to talk and made | the following statement: “lI was in the day coach of the Owl train. It was the last car in the train and 1 was ‘leary’ of it. We have many rear- | end collisions ‘where I come from and. I have always made it a point to sit in the The conductor told me at the start that the day coach was the only one on the train that would go through to Fresno, and I decided that I would have to.sit in it or walk. When the Owl came to a standstill at the point | where the wreck occurred I thought it strange. I knew the Owl was a limited train and would not stop for any other train. We must have stopped ten or fif- teen minutes. I logked out of the window and saw nothing. 1 then sat down in the last seat. I had hardly lighted my cigar when the engine struck us. My escape from instant death was a narrow ome. I guess 1-ought to be thankful that I am alive.” Death Would Not Spare Him. VALLEJO, Dec. 23.—On Monday Dr. Bell. U. S. N., identified the remains of the young sailor killed in the train wreoillh at Byron Saturday evening as. those of Fred F. Eastman, electrician on the Pen- sacola. Eastman had been at the hos- pital here for several months, but had greatly improved during the past three weeks and his doctors had granted him a week's leave of absence to visit relatives in Fresno. He escaped death in the hos- pital to meet it in a train wreck.