The Weather Today: FAIR. The News and Observer. VOL. Lj. NO. 101, leads allMorthCarolinaDailies inMews anddrcmation TERRIBLE COLLISION IN THE NEW YORK CENIRAL TUNNEL m■ i i Fifteen Passengers Are Killed and Twice That Num ber Injured, a Dozen of the Latter » Seriously. VICTIMS MANGLEdIn MASS OF WRECKAGE White Plains Train Plunges' Into Norwalk Local. HALF THE REAR CAR TOJN TO SPLINTERS. The Lights Are Extinguished and From the Darkness Eise Heartrend ing Cries of the Injured and Dying, The Work of Eescne Begins at Once Heroic Efforts. Defective Block Signal System Said to Have Caused the Wreck. (By the Associated Press.) New York, Jan. B.—ln the New York Central Tunnel that burrows under Park Avenue, this city, two local trains col lided today. Fifteen passengers were killed and twice that number were in jured. A dozen of the latter were seri ously hurt, and the roster .of the dead may be extended. The dead: ALBERT M. PERRIN, 43 years old, recently from Chicago: Secretary and second vice-president of the Union Bag and Paper Company, residence, New Rochelle, N. Y. B. I>. C. FOSKETT. 40, New Rochelle. A. E. H. MILLS, 33 New. Rochelle. E. C. HINDALE, 3o New Rochelle. MRS. A. F. HOWARD, 35 New Rochelle. FRANK WASHBURN, formerly of Chi cago; president of the Union Bag and Paper Company; residence, New Rochelle. WILLIAM LEYS, 35, New Rochelle; general manager B. Altman. New York. THEO. FORGARDO, 30 New Rochelle. WILLIAM FISHER, or FORCES, 25 New Rochelle. WILLIAM HOWARD, 48 New Rochelle. OSCAR MEYROWITZ, 50 New Rochelle, optician in New York, and secretary of the New Rochelle Yacht Club. FRANKLIN CROSBY. 35 New Rochelle. ERNEST F. WALTON, 30 New Rochelle; broker in New York. H. G. DIAMOND, New Rochelle, as sistant general manager of the American Bridge Company, this city. CHARLES B. MARS, New Rochelle, employed by the New York Custom House. A list of the seriously injured follows: Ernest Coffin, 15 years old, New Rochelle; serious wound on head. Taken to Woman's Hospital, 50th street and Lexington Avenue. Alfred Wadley, florist, of New York city; fracture of both legs, shock and scalp wounds. Albert W. Adams, a carriage builder of New York city; left leg cut off below knee. George M. Carter, of New York, leg fractured. George M. Fisher, 16 East Port Ches ter, severely injured. Mabfll Newman, New Rochelle: contu sions of body and hip fractured. Mamie J. Rice, New Rochelle, fractur ed nose, lacerated ear and sprained ankle. Sadie Scott, New Rochelle, left hand and left foot, fractured. Richard Millineaux, New Rochelle, com pound fracture of thigh. Thomas T. Murphy, New Rochelle, both legs broken and internal injuries, eondi * tion critical. Winfield Schultze, New Rochelle, frac tures legs and burns. A. Mcßae, New Rochelle, leg fractured. Henry Keene, General Manager of the Siegel Cooper Company this city, fractur ed ribs and internal injuries. George Winter, New Rochelle, com pound fracture of left leg, the leg was amputated. William Brooks, of Erie, Pa., lacerated face and possible fracture of skull, taken to Roosevelt Hospital. A REAR END COLLISION. It was a rear end collision between a south Norwalk local that ran in over Ihe New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and was halted by block signals at the southern entrance of the tunnel, and a White Plains local that came by the Harlem branch of the Now York Cen tral. The wreck occurred at 8:17 a. m. at which hour the trains were crowded by suburbanites. Most of the death, injury and damage was wrought by the engine of the White Plains train which plunged into the rear car of the motionless train and was driv en through to the middle of the car, smashing the scats and furnishings and splitting the sides as it moved forward. Th*> victims cither were mangled in the mass of wreckage carried at the pilot, crushed in the space between boiler and ear sides, or scalded by steam which came hissing from broken pipes and cylinders. Tile engine in its final plunge of forty lect carried the rear car forward and sent, twisted iron, broken timbers, split ting into the coach ahead. Lights were extinguished and from the wreckage anc darkness came the cries of the injured and calls for assistance by those who escaped. WORK OF RESCUE BEGINS. Within a few minutes the work of res cue, marked by heroism and sacrifice, began. Alarms that brought every avail ble ambulance into use, the police reserves of five precincts and the fire men of Central and Eastern districts of Manhattan were sounded at once. With police, firemen and surgeons, came a score of volunteer physicians and half a dozen clergymen. Ladders were run down the tunnel air shafts and the firemen and police at tacked the debris with ropes and axes. The passengers already had rallied and were trying to release those imprisoned in the debris. Father Smith, and Rev. Dr. Walk ley, Chaplains of the Fire De partment, crawled in over the wreckage and ministered to the dying. Lieutenant Clarke, of the Fire Department, forced his way to the point where Miss Rice and Miss Scott lay and stood in water that scalded the flesh from his limbs until the women were released. T. M. Mur phy, a passenger, both of whose legs were broken and still held by the timbers, vol unteered to remain as he was until tho-Te around him were assisted! Two policemen and Chaplain Walkley icached Mrs. Howard, and the chaplain gave her a stimulant. The policemen were cutting away the seat which held the woman down when a pipe broke. The scalding steam drove them back and when the rescuers returned Mrs. Howard was dead. Injured persons in need of immediate attention were given temporary dressing by the ambulance and volunteer surgeons and then hoisted to the street. Many Park Avenue mansions were thrown open to the suffering £ut most of the injured were at once taken to hospitals. The dead were carried to morgues and police stations. An immense crowd heedless of the snow which swirled through the street, gath ered about the tunnel entrance and shafts and watched the rescue work. Cornelius Vanderbilt was among those who came to the tunnel but police de nied him admission, despite the fact that his family controls the railway. ENGINEER WISCHO ARRESTED. Responsibility for the disaster is un fixed, but Superintendent Franklin said tliat so far he had been able to dis cover, J. M. Wischo, engineer of the White Plains train, is to blame. It is declared that when the South Norwalk train stopped a flagman ran back into the tunnel and besides placing a torpedo on the track, endeavored to flag the on coming train. The tunnel was beclouded with steam and smoke while the snow, which fell through the air shafts, tended to obscure the view. Engineer Wischo and Fireman Christopher Flynn were ar lested. A signal man also was detained for a time but was released. Superintendent Franklin has issued a statement as to the accident, in which lie declares that the block signals at Fifty- Ninth street wei'e obeyed by the New Haven train, while the engineer of the White Plains train disregarded them. "The torpedo on the track went off.” •said the superintendent. "But he did not; stop, even though the fireman called to him to ,lo so. The system of block sig nals is such that it is a physical impossi bility for a signal man to make his light declare the track free if another train is on the block.’’ District Attorney Jerome visited the wreck yarn! personally examined many witnesses. The State Railway Commission also announced its intention to make an investigation and similar intent was ex pressed by the general officers of both the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and New Haven and Hartford Railroads. Residents of New Rochelle contributed the largest number to the casualty list, because the rear car of the South Nor walk local was reserved for them aAd was kept locked until the train reached that place. HEROIC DEED OF CLERGYMEN. When nearly all of the ead and injured had been removed from the wreck Father Smith, of the Church of St. Vincent do Paul, ar.d Chaplain Walkley. of Grace church, both chaplains of the Fire De partment, crawled into the wrecked ear over the hot boiler of the demolished White Plains locomotive, and found two girls in the middle of the last coach. They were sisters named Scott, of New Rochelle. One sister lay on top of the other, the sister underneath held by wreckage which pinned down her body below the waist. Ore leg was crushed. The dead body of a man. which was also pinned fast by the wreckage, lay across the chest, of the ether sister aud held her down. Stimulants were administered to the girls by the chaplain who re mained with them until they were re moved. \t :inc Batallior. Chief Uriel found K t!i<> -r»*'k n man who gave his name as T ,Vl. Murphy, and tried to move him. Murphy said his leg was held fast, and asked Chief Friel to fee it. The chief jfound that if he loosened the timbers that I 1 eld Murphy’s leg, he was liable to let RALEIGH. NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY MORNING. JANUARY 9. 1902. clown more wreckage on the bodies of the two girls. He told Murphy this and Mur phy said; "All right. I’ll wait, but please b