“Lovelace Will Stand Trial At Spring Assizes,” Sault Star. March 30, 1912. Page 1.
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On Request of Attorney O'Flynn His Bail of $500 is Renewed
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ASSIZES WILL BE HELD IN JUNE
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Many Steel Plant Employees Are Present at Preliminary Hearing
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Charged with manslaughter George E. Lovelace before Magistrate Elliot’s court this morning. The defendant wan remanded a week ago last Wednesday.
Attorney J. L .O’Flynn appeared as counsel for the defence and Moses McFadden, K.C., crown attorney, called Oscar J. Jewell, who stated that he had been working with Groves and two other men requiring a 60 ton ton crane which was stationery at the end of the track The accident happened between 11.20 and 11.25 o’clock in the morning in the open hearth furnace. The crane on which the men were working had not keen moved for a week.
About ten minutes before the accident Lovelace was talking to the witness at a distance of about four or five feet and then moved away. Jewell then left Groves to finish putting a cap on the boxing near the line shaft and gave him a warning to watch out for Lovelace’s crane. Groves answered "It’s all right, he knows that we are here.’’ of the crane and shortly heard someone yell. He started back and when he was half way there he saw Groves' and Jewell moved away to the farther end hanging with one knee over a the rail and the body resting on two girders.
When Jewell picked him up he was still living but his shoulder was crushed and he soon fainted. By this time, Lovelace was coming back but he did not know that he had hit anyone and Jewell yelled at him to keep away with his crane.
About two hours afterwards Lovelace came to Jewell telling him that he did not know that he had hit Groves until a man from the Bessemer mill came and told him .
At the time of the accident Jewell was in practically in the same position in the rear of Groves’ crane as Lovelace was his own crane. Lovelace’s cage was on the opposite side to Groves’ making him about 40 feet distant from him diagonally and also preventing him from seeing Groves'.
Some cars' had been shunted into the mill under Groves’ crane and it was the duty of Lovelace to fill these care with scrap iron picked up in the mill. These cars were more under Groves’ crane than they were under Lovelace’s. This necessarily caused Lovelace to be looking at the cars on the ground floor about 40 feet below and also watching the load his crane was carrying. The cage Lovelace is stationed in is under the rail at one side of the crane.
When questioned by Mr. O’Flynn, the witness stated that it would have been an easy matter for the person in charge of that department to have put an impediment on on the track in front of the stationery crane. These bumpers would be similar to the ones at the end of the track. In answer to Mr O’Flynn's question as to whether the accident would have happened if the cars had been shunted on ground farther into the mill, the witness stated that it would not have as Lovelace would not have had to go near the stationery crane then. Witness said that lie had been working there for the last years and that he was also there when Cole was killed July 6th in a similar accident.
He also said that when a crane is wanted the gang on the ground just hail the crane operator as there are no signal devices and then everyone has to look out for themselves.
Mr O’Flynn made a splendid summary on the case showing that the dead man could only have been standing in front of the bumpers as that was the only contact point. Also he pointed out Lovelace’s occupation at the time of the accident. He was busy in his cage, his hands glued to this levers as he had to be watching the cars below.
Lovelace was committed for trial on June 24 for manslaughter. Bail was accepted.
The trial this morning lasted for over an hour and a half, one hour of which was taken up by Jewell’s testimony. Many employees of the Steel Company were present. They stated Lovelace was not at fault in the least as he had done the best that he possibly could with the equipment in that portion of the mill.
