SACRIFICED TO SPEED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 15 April 1907, Page 4

SACRIFICED TO SPEED.

TERRIBLE RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN NEW YORK. TWENTY KILLED. Now Yovk. I'Vlmiary IV, Tlio mania fur fspci-il nmiimu-s lt> »-,v ;hcl its toll ol' lives on tinj railways Another icrriW- disaster u» a train occiim-d yr-sK'iviav witliiji tiio liniiis of -Now Voik i-it.v. Four ears attached u» a ti.iiu drawn l>y an I'h'ctric no running seventy miles an hour i< ft the molai <m tluIlariom branch of the Xew York Centra! Kailwav, and Iwentv ii-i'sun- weie | killed and more than a hundred injured, i The accident happened oil an embankInient which runs liesido Webster avi'imi 1 , jrt line residential sheet, and after turn- | injX on their shlos the cars wen- draped for about 1000 yards, jhe pavcmenl heI low was strewn with the wreckage of j the ears and the bodies of the dead aiid injured, and more than fifty renu'iied tin the hospitals 1 his evening.

The engine-driver, who name j-, Uouers. made a statement in ihe euroiier this afternooi> thai lh«> train was mnninir seventy miles an hour n( the lime of the accident, lie declared ihat ill's was in accordance with the regulations. Most Of Hi" victims were woni 'll. The accident occurred at about: ha'f-past -ix, and the train was liiled witli happy women who had been nuendinj*' matinee performances at the Xew York theatres or shopping, and who were on their -way to their homes in the suburban towns north of Xew York. The scene of the accident was 2041 h Street and Webster avenue. The ra:lwnv runs hesidc Webster avenue, which i* lined on the other side with fine residences. "Behind them i> the Bronx Park, the largest pleasure ground in Xew York. There is a sharp curve at 201st street, and it is alleged thai Ihe train wept round »t without slackening speed. Passengers who were playing cards in the smoking carriage declare that the cards were swept from the table as the car rounded the curve.

The engine aud first four ears passed the curve safelv. hut the last four cars left the metals. They turned over on their side and were dragged nearly a thousand yards before the couplings broke. They were literally ground to fragments. The sides and roofs were ripped off. Fire caused by contact with the live rail added to the horror of the accident. Several of those who lost their lives were roasted to death, but it is thought that the majority were killed instantly. Within a very few minutes of the accident fire engines from all the neighboring stations arrived, and the firemen began the work of rescue. The police formed a cordon about, the district, ami admitted no one who could not show that he had a right to- be in the neighbourhood. A few thieves who were caught rifling the bodies of tile dead were very roughly handled. The houses on Webster avenue were turned temporary hospitals, and all the doctors and surgeons ill the neighborhood volunteered their aid. There was some delay ill the arrival of aiunnibulanccs from the hospitals,on account of the remoteness of the place, but within half an hour they began to arrive, and all the victims w'ho were well enough to be moved were taken awav. Sixteen bodies were taken from the wreck, and four of those injured died before midnight. Several of the others were reported to-night to be in a dangerous condition. The work of rescue was much hampered by the danger from the live rail. All order to shut "IT the power was telephoned to Hie Grand Central station immediately after the accident, but it. was not, obeyed, anil the work of the rescuers was lighted by Hashes from the rail and the blaze of burning cars. Many of tiie, bodies were so burnt and mangled that tliov could only be identified by scraps of clothing and jewellery. Several persons have come forward since the accident, who declare that the Xew York Central/ engine-drivers have been in the habit of maintaining a dangerous speed over this part of the line. They declare that every train that lia« passed over tiie curve recently lias emitted showers of sparks, and that the carriages have rocked alavmiuglv. An investigation has begun by representatives of the Xew York State Railway Commission.

Tli - electrification of 'the llnr>iti branch of the New York Central llailwny was the result of the public agitation which, followed an accident on January Rtli. 1902. Fifteen persons were killed and thirty injured in n. collision in the tunnel leading out of Ihe Claud Central Station. T!> c investigation which followed showed 'that llie accident whs due to die smoke from the old tvi)e of engine obscuring the signals in the