FSifl Leased Wire Service of the Associated Press.
Leads all North Carolina Afternoon Papers in Circulation.
Football Extra.
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THE RALEIGH EVENING TIMES
VOLUME 27.
TWELVE PAGES TODAY.
RALEIGH, N. C., TBTOBSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1906.
TWELVE PAGES TODAY.
PRICE 5c
PRESIDENT
SAMUEL SPENCER
KILLED IN
, 8
HEAD MAN OF SOUTHERN RAILWAY
CRUSHED TO DEATH AND BURN
ED BEYOND RECOGNITION
KA1LKUAU WRECK
i I r m tnir AftP unnn lw a mn-ft't-Mivn 1
HUH Kl I R 1J M W 3 H B H I H f I n t H I I I a B R flEM flHB IimtM. Mm MM m MM 0 .Bb. - mmmm
nrKi ,m m , . an mm Tin urn n i nnnr
w uuuuil wvajl IlllLVIILi II u njni nuts I HL. Mm Hm
OFF FOR WRECK WAS SHOCKED j Hn n"-L0 LUd 1
Mr. Spencer's Car Was Attached to the Rear of Train No.
33 and Limited Crashed into It Today Because of Op
erator's Fatal BlunderTwo of Mr. Spencer's Friends
Killed aod Others Reported MissingSeveral Negroes
KilledSpecial Dispatcher Among the Dead -President's
Car Split Open and Fire Quickly Consumed If.
Graphic Account of Fearful Disaster in Virginia.
(By the Associated Press.)
Lynchburg, Va., Nov. 29. President Samuel Spen
cer of the Southern Railway system, who wa3 en route to
the south, was killed this morning about 6:30 o'clock in
a rear-end collision ten miles south of Lynchburg. The
private car in . which he was riding was struck and split
open by the colliding locomotive, and it immediately
took fire and the body of Mr. Spencer was burned almost
beyond recognition.
In the car with him were Philip Schuyler, of New
York City; his private secretary, Mr. Merrill; his private
dispatcher , D. W. Davis, of Alexandria, Va. Operator
Davie was crushed and he died in fifteen minutes. t Mr.
Schuyler was instantly killed, but his body was not badly
burned before it was rescued by passengers.
Engineer C. F. Terry, who was on the rear train, was
killed. There is another man among the killed whose
name cannot be learned. Private Secretary Merrill was
injured, but the nature of his injuries have not been
learned here by the officials of the company. He was
brought to the city about noon.
Twelve or fifteen persons, most of them colored,
were wounded. Only one is thought to be fatal. Eight
colored persons are in the city hospital here, having ar
rived at 11 o'clock.
The collision was betwean train No. 33, the Jackson
ville Express, and train No. 37, the Washington & South
western Vestibuled l imited. The Jacksonville train
stopped on the top of a very heavy grade a mile north
of Lawyers Depot to repair a slight breakdown, and
while in that way, and before, it is said, a flagman could
get back to protect the train, the Atlanta train dashed
into it.
The heavy engine of tha train plowed into the pri
vate car of President Spencer, in which he and his guests
are supposed to have been sleeping. Immediately the
private car took fire. The wreckage was piled around
the engine a3 though placed there by human hands to
consume it. Every portion of woodwork on the engine
was burned, and the monster mahine stands there torn,
twisted, and will have to be tinted down the embank
ment, as it is useless. It was under the locomotive that
the burned body of President Spencer was found. It is
evident that Mr. Spencer was killed instantly and that he
did not suffer the throes of being burned.
TRAGIC DEATH OF DISPATCHER.
Dispatcher Davis was still alive when he was taken
from under the wreckage. He was crushed about the
lower portion of the body and. was conscious until the
end. He asked that word be sent to his wife and child.
The death of Mr. Davis was touching. He stated to his
rescuer that he knew he was dying, and he said that he
knew the end could not be far off.
"Place your linger on my mouth, "he said; "it feels
so cool and good."
He pleaded with the gentleman, who was also a pas
senger on the train, not to leave him, and for ten minutes
this man stayed with him, until he saw that nothing
more could be done for him. One of the worst phases of
the whole morning was the heartless manner in which a
few of the passengers and some of the attaches, espe
cially some of the porters of the Atlanta train, ransacked
the wrecked cars for plunder.
F. M. Curtis, of Jamestown, N. Y., who was a pas
senger on the Jacksonville train, saw
one negro porter go through a lady's
grip. Ho saw him throw away such
things that were of no value to him
and appropriate those things that he
wanted. Air. Curtfa declared that he
would have certainly killed the por
ter if he had nad something to no it
with. Not a few of the passengers
engaged In this ghoulish trade, and
a large number of valuables and
much money which was scattered
about the wrecked trains were stole:).
Curtis the Hero of (ftp Occasion.
Mr. Curtis, who was on his way to
High Point, N. C, on a business mis
sion, was the hero of the hour. It
was claimed by some of his fellow
pr.ssengers thai 10 his work and gen
eralship belongs the credit of the ros
ette of a doaen people who would
huvo perished but for his efforts.
Several parsons not seriously
wounded were taken out. from the
two cars that, were burned, and six
colored passengers were taken from
the combination coach of the forward
train. They were literally covered
with heavy baggage, which had been
shoved through the light partition
between their portion of the car and
that set apart for the baggage. The
passengers are all badly hurt, most
of them having broken legs, some of
them with both legs broken, ono or
two with fractured skulls. All of
them have numerous cuts and bruises,
but the physicians attending them
believe all will recover, with the pos
sible exception of an aged woman,
who may be fatally hurt. These were
brought to the city hospital, where
they will bo given every possible at
tention by surgeons of the railway
company.
As soon as the news of the wreck
was received here, Drs. Terrell and
Carroll were taken to the scene on
a special made up in the yard. They
gave attention to the wounded, and
an hour later Drs. Taliaferro, Perrow
and Rawlings went on another spe
cial. One of the fire engines of the
Lynchburg department was loaded on
a flat car and hurried to the wreck
to extinguish the flames among the
wreckage. The engine and firemen
could not be spared from the early
morning fire on Main street; hence
they did not go to Lawyers until 8:30
o'clock. On account of the train with
the injured passengers having the
track between Rangoon, the nearest
telegraph office north of the wreck,
and the scene of the accident, it was
after 10 o'clock before the steamsr
reached Lawyers.
The Cause of the Wreck.
The cause of the wreck cannot, be
learned this afternoon, but it is un
derstood that the operator in charge
of the block office at Rangoon, four
miles north of the scene, allowed the
Atlanta train to enter the block be
fore he had given a clear track from
the next block station at Lawyers
depot, five miles below. Why the
(Continued on Page 2.)
Had Special - Train to Take Stunned by the News of
Father to Friendship Sen! Soencer's Death
OFF TO
THEN CAME SAR NEWS
The Sou Then Left
Lawyers,
(Jrecnsboro for
AccomptaieU hy Divis
ion NuperiliteflKlent IV. S. Andrews.
Humor That '!. Andrews Was
Aboard ePrrsiaent Spencer's Car
Caused Much? Anxiety.
(I!y Southard Bell
Greensboro, X.
Spencer, sixth vice pn
.Southern Hallway, and
dent Spencer, received
liEenee of his father :- ii
morning from tho ehii
had come over froia I
Spencer's hunting pre-
awaiting the arrival
special train wasKunnVr :,
the party on the 'Winslu i
Friendship.
When informed ' of the ,-i
Spencer left immediately v
for the scene of th win k.
by Division Supoi'uiteiident
drew.
U'plin.ntsj
jit. Henry 1!.
lii.t uf Ua
mi i of presl
e 'iist intei
tll i'M! ly this
patchier; He
artflshfp. Mr.
e. and was
33. A
of N
ill to ti
nanch
ident Mr.
a special
ompanled
V. S. An-
Much arndety Wf.s felt here as It was .
reported thftt OlfffcvtW Ahdrews. ftrat j
vice president of the Southern, was J
aboard President Spencer's private ear.
When it was found later that Col. An-,
drews was in Raleigh the intense foil
ing was greatly relieved,
No. ,'!3 was due here at 5:53 a. m.
There were mini' passengers at the sta- '
tion awaiting its arrival, and others
First Vice-President of the Southern
Railway Says the South Has Lost
An Ardent Friend Mr. Spencer
On flis Way ( North Carolina
Ivor Tliaiikujtllvng Hunt.
J-t"
Col; A. U. Andrews. fii'Bl vice presi
dent of the Southern Railway, was
notified of President Spencer's death by
Tile Kvening Times this morning jnst
alter pjj Associated Prws bulletin
brought the tragic news from Rich
mond. About tlie same time message;
OVer- the railroad wires told the sani'
story. Col. Andrew:-; was shocked, ale
to a reporter lie expressed the mos
profound grief on aceduht of his per
sonal and official relations with tin
president of the road. As soon as hi
was notified of the disaster Col. An
drews prepared to leave at once foi
Washington, departing by the Seaboard
train at noon.
Col, Andrews said that the south had
lost an ardent friend, as Mr. Speneei
was giving his life and energy to th
UpfottflfHng of this section. He was
boin and raised in Georgia and had
been prominently Identified With rail
road properties in the south for many
years. He was a Confederate soldier.
President Spencer w-as on his way to
Fr iendship, North Carolina, his hunting
GREAT CROWDS
I
RICHMOND
awaiting fi lends di
soon as possible bi
announced that no:
for local points hni
The first train s.
nitely delayed, and
near Greensb
ted to spend
Greensboro before late this afternoon.
e at that hour. As preserves
Itettns were posted nau ,.xpc
e of the passengers wjth a party of friends.
been killed. The accident, as rail!
uthbound is indefi- plained, was one of those
none is expected i:i which every possible n
where he
nksgivln.
ad men ex
events against
caution had
BALTIMORE MAX AMONG
THOSE KILLED IN WRECK.
(By the Associated Press.)
Baltimore, Nov. 2!J. Charles l).
Fisher, reported missing in the
Southern Railway wreck at Lawyer,
Va., is one of the foremost citizens
of Baltimore. He was one of the
founders of the grain exporting firm
of Gill & Fisher and extensive busi
ness interests in the south. Mr.
Fisher was one of President Silen
cer's party.
The Mr. Redmond referred to ia
the Knoxville dispatch also being
missing, probably is Frank T. Red
wood of the brokerage firm of
Lownes & Redwood. He left here
on the wrecked train last night for
North Carolina on a hunting expedition.
been taken. The limited ran into No.
33 on a tine tr.-.ck. properly blocked, yet
the safety of all had to depend upon the
human being. The operator's blundei
shows that.
H. B. Spencer, the son of the dead
man, has been general manager of tie
company for the past two years. An an
nouncement was made last week that h
had been appointed sixth vice presi
dent, the duties of the general mana
ger's office having been transferred
again to Mr. C. H. Ackert.
An extra edition of The Kvenine,
Times, issued at 1C:30 o'clock this morn
ing, gave the public the first intima
tion of Mr. Spencer's death' There wen
general expressions of sorrow from all
sides, as Mr Spencer's work for the
and other southern states had been uni
versally recognized and Commended.
(Special to The Evening Times.)
Richmond, Va., Nov. 29, The A.
.nd M. and V. P. i. teams assembled
in the lobby of the Richmond Hotel
ironiptly at 2 o cloqk, in uniform,
and were driven to the park for
naif hour's practice before the
game.
Tho men were restless this morn
ing and both teams were eager for
'.he game. Captain Wilson's eligi
bility has not been estimated. The
teams are both confident. V. P. I.
"elied upon the swiftness of its
nacktield, while A. and M. depend
ed upon her endurance and supe
rior weight. The betting this morn
ing favored the Carolina team.
The city is swarming with root
ers and the red and white is much
n evidence. Tickets cannot be had
it any price, the supply having be
ome exhausted early this morning.
Nutter says that action in regard
o Wilson will not delay the game.
JIY'S VERDICT
FREES HEDRICK
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
ISSUED by SOUTHERN,
LIST OF THE DEAD AND
INJURED IN THE WRECK
List of the Dead.
From the reports late today it
appears that the passengers killed
outright were seven six men and a
woman the latter believed to be a
negro. Those killed were:
President Spencer.
Dispatcher Davis. .
Philip Schuyler, of New York,
Engineer Terry.
Frank T. Redwood, of Baltimore.
Charles D. Fisher, of Baltimore.
Since the arrival of the wounded
negro passengers in the city, Lucretia
Allen, of Danville, Va., died on fhe
operating table at the city hospital.
County Coroner J. W. Davis has
gone tothe wreck, for the purpose of
holding Inque4i
The List of the Injured.
The names oSf the injured as as
certained from the city hospital au
thorities are as follows:
(By the Associated Press.)
Washington, Nov. 29. President
Samuel Spencer of the Southern
Railway was killed this morning la
a wreck which occurred on tin
Southern at Lawyers, 11 miles sout!;
of Lynchburg, Va. Several mem
bers of the party who were in Presi
dent Spencer's car are reported to
bo seriously injured.
At the general offices of the Sfcntth
ern Railway this morning the fol
lowing statement regarding the
wreck was issued:
"Southern Railway passenger
Willis J. Winston, of 233 East i tram iso. i lett Washington las.
127th street. New York, colored, leg night 'ate by reason of congested
holiday traffic. About 0 : ,10 a.
(By Southern Bell Telephone.)
Salisbury. N. C, Nov. 29. Philip
tied rick, who has been eight days
on trial for his life, was acquitted
his afternoon at 12.20, after the
jury has deliberated fifteen hours.
The verdict was received with
great applause. Judge Ferguson
ordered the arrest of anyone detect
ed applauding further.
The friends and relatives of Hed
rick crowded around him and some
fell on his neck and wept.
Judge Ferguson said that up to
this time he had not meant to ex
press any opinion, but now that the!
tvtnn ,nc ,,(llO,,l ... hia lil,A,.fv ha !
wanted to say if the verdict was ren
dered in accordance with the speeches
of the defense, which placed the un
written law above the statutory law,
i great mistake has been made. Ho
-aid: "I suppose you did it, for this
'eason, for I have not taken the plea
if soli-defense and temporary in
sanity seriously." He added that
ittch verdicts did society a great in-
V. P. I. Won From A. & M.
in the Game at Rich
mond Today.
Final Score.
V. P. I. O.
A. & M. O.
(By the Associated Press.)
Richmond, Va., Nov. 29. With
ideal football weather and Immense
throngs of visitors in the city today,
Richmond anticipated a battle royal
between tho Agricultural and Me
chanical College of North Carolina
and Virginia Polytechnic Institute of
Blacksburg, Va. The two teams, to
all appearances, are evenly matched.
A comparison of the record of the
two this year indica J that the bat
tle would be hard fought. The mem
bers of both teams were in the pink
of condition and eager for the fray,
which will end the football season
here. The "Techs" are relying main
ly upon the swiftness of their back
field for victory, while the Tar Heels
expected to win through endurance
and weight. Betting this morning
favored the Carolina team.
The game began promptly at 3
o'clock, with the kick-off to the A. &
Hi 30-yard line. 4. & M. -won the
toss and chose the western goal. The
teams are playing 27Vfc-tn;nute
halves.
Quarterback Eskridge of A. & M.
hurt his ankle, and in compliment to
his superb playing V. P. I. agreed to
a four-minute wait for him to reeoveY.
V. P. 1. steadily pushed the ball down
the field to A. & M.'s 20-yard line,
where Wilson failed to kick a field
goal. The game is stubborn and
close.
The first half ends with the ball on
V. P. I.'s forty yard line in A. & M.'s
possession. Neither side scored in this
half. In a closely-contested see-saw
game. Eskridge's ankle is all right
again. No changes in the line-up.
In the second half, the same hard
line playing is noticeable, with occa
sional kicking. After about 13 min
utes of play, Nutter, for V. P. I., was
forced through for a touchdown. The
goal was kicked. Score: V. P. I. 6,
A. & M. 0.
CORNELL AND THE
SONS OF PENN TIE.
iury.
So:
(By the Associated Press.)
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 29. Cor
nell and Pennsylvania met in their
annual football game on Franklin
Field today, the result of the contest
being a tie. :-
dls
ville, Va., leg broken and amputated!
below the knee: left arm badly,
broken. Died on operating table, j
Spencer, N.
and both legs
Lucretia Allen, colored, of
Oat ;
badly broken.
J. W. Shaw, colored.
C, badly crushed
broken.
Garland Thomas, colored, Greens
boro, N. C, leg broken and badly
broken up.
P. R. Vuuls, colored, Waynes
boro, Va., badly broken up and
bruised.
Cora Logan, colored, Shelby, N.
C, both legs broken.
Pollock, colored, New York
City, badly scalded, leg broken, hoili
arms broken, hopeless coudition.
Sam Cox, colored, 611 First street
southwest, Washington, D. C.
bioken.
m.
today, at Lawyers, Va., on a por
tion of the road protected by block
system, the train was stopped for
slight repairs to a coupling. Pas
senger train No. 37, following No.
33 and being given a clear block,
ran into the rear of No. 33, result
ing in a serious wreck. Our pres
ent advices indicate that the collis
ion was probably due to negligence
of the operator in allowing No. 37
to pass the block. President Samuel
Spencer, of the Southern Railway
Company, and a party of friends
were in an officers' car at the rear
of No. 33, and the reports are that
leg' President Spencer is killed and sev-
j era) of the party seriously inured."
Hammer, before Hedrick
reed, moved that he be I
xar.iined as lo his sanity, but Hed
ict was allowed to go home.
Mrs. Hedrick has left the city. It
is generally thought that she feared
indictment for conspiracy.
MASTER STEVEN URl.NER
ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.
This afternoon out at the Shellur.i
place near Raleigh Master Steven
Uruncr, ssoii of Mr. T. K. Brunei',
was painfully shoi by ,he occidental
iring of a shot gnu. Mr limner
and ills son Steven and several
friends were hunting at the Shellum
ilace when a gun in the hands cf
one of the party was accidentally
discharged, the load of bird shot
:aking effect in young Brttner's leg
just below the knee. About thirty
shot were buried in the flesh. The
injuries are not considered serious.
Indians Won.
University of Virginia, 17.
Carlisle indinns, 18.
OPERATOR'S BLUNDER
RESPONSIBLE FOR WRECK.
MR. SPENCER ASKED
TO SPEAK HERE.
At a meeting of the executive com
mitterf of the Industrial Club last Mon
day afternoon, a resolution was adopted
to invite Samuel Speneei, president of
the Southern Railway, to deliver th
address at the annual banquet of the
club in January,
(By the Associated Press.)
Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 29. An
official report given out by General
Superintendent Rlchey of the South
ern Railway Company confirms the
report of President Spencer's death
in a Southern Railway accident this
morning. The report says:
"President Samuel Spencer of the
Southern Railway, Philip Schuyler
of Baltimore, a Southern Railway
director, and Operator Davis, of
Washington, were killed in an acci
dent eleven miles from Lynchburg
this morning. Charles B. Fisher
and a Mr. Redmond of Baltimore,
are missing. Car 130, which' was
President Spencer's private coach,
a sleeper on NO. 33, and a club car
on No. 37, were destroyed. Mr.
Merrill, private secretary to Presi
dent Spencer, was slightly injured.
The accident was caused by passen
ger train No. 33 southbound stop
ping to repair a "knuckle." The
operator north gave first Noi 37 a
clear block and it ran Into the rear
of No. 33.
' ! v