Show CRUSHED TO DEI HILE IN Spencer Trask Head of New NewYOrk 1 YOrk rk Banking House Vi t i f of Railway Accident WELL THE WEST FURNISHED MONEY TO STAND STANDARDIZE RIO GRANDE WESTERN New York Dee Dec Trask head of a fir firm of banker bankers which for tor many year years acted a as fiscal agent agents of the te late Queen Victora Victoria was crushed to death in his private compartment when returning to New York from Yeddo his countr country place at Saratoga Mr Tasks compartment was at the rear of the last cr car a sleeper The train known as the Montal Montreal express on the New York Central railroad haled halted near Croton N Y and was supposedly pro protected protected from the rear by the block signal system but it had hardly come to a a rest when a heavy freight train struck I it from behind The ra rear o of Mr I car was In and the tho front of i it telescoped wih with the sleeping cr car ahead Vice President Daly of the New York Central said saidA A Accident nt Not Explained The officials of the railroad are un unable unable able to explain the accident accident The line lne was completely signalled and the track to Croton was straight The Thear Theair air WI was clear ar Spencer cear Trask ws was born In Brooklyn in and was descended from distinguish Id ed Puritan ancestors He was educated ducate In fn Brooklyn by private tutors and at the Polytechnic institution from which he entered Princeton cleg college when he graduated with a degree or of mas master master ter of arts ars After leaving college he entered the banking business wih with Henry G Mar MarQuand Marquand his maternal grandfather In 1870 ho he succeeded to the business and in inthe inthe the same yea year became a member In the New York exchange In 1881 the firm as assumed It Its present name and had become widely know known as a reliable and conserva hous house of connections and geat great strength Mr Fortune There Is no estimate avi avail available able of Mr fortune One rumor this afternoon placed I it as high as 5 50 00 but better Informed opinion eld that although Mr Trask died undoubted undoubtedly that ly a multimillionaire his total estate would not reach half the first gossip In recent years he had Jot not been active In business and his name name appears on few Mr Trask leaves leaven a widow wel well known as an author of fiction and plays among which the The Lite Little Town of Bethle Bethlehem Bethlehem hem and Kin King Alfreds Jewel Their four children died twenty years ago inan in inan an epidemic of scarlet fever Last ber Mr Trask was serous serious seriously ly Injured In an automobile at Cambridge Mass He recovered but lost the sight of one eye ee Took Interest In West Financial men of Sal Salt Lake had always taken a keen Interest In the carer career of ken Spencer Trask and theY they leared learned of hs his death last night wih with deep regret progress in the financial word world of the SOs and had been een regarded as Ss While his financial Inter Interest interests ests naturally centered in New York he ha est was always optimistic ot of the west and he never failed to gather money for w He had regarded I I ih the development of Sal Salt Lake wih Inter Interest est Though he had never contributed di est toward local Improvements he be had recty taken the position of an enthusiast to towar to toward ward the driving ot of efficient railroads Into war the heart ot of Utah When te the old Dener Denver Rio Grande Western railroad wa was only a narow narrow guage and could handle traffic but inefficiently In efficiently gage and Irregularly over It its smal small tracks Gen W J Palmer and Col D DC DC C Dodge of Colorado appealed to Trask for money to be directed toward improve improvements improvements ments Trask was at that time the most active member of the bl big financial firm of Trask Peabody Moffatt of New NewYork NewYork York his partner partners being George Foster Peabody York afterward the noted philan philanthropist and Gerge George Moffatt whose name ranked with that of Trask In the rising financial world Capital Furnished In 1889 Trask had assured financial men of the Importance ot of standardizing the Denver Rio Grando Western Vestern and earlY that year ear sufficient capital had ben been Palmer raised to begin the work Gen and Col Dodge were at the helm of the then new railroad movement movement Obstacles financial became numerous But the backing of the firm of Trask Peabody Moffatt could coul always be depended upon and well on In the year 18 the standard guage wel had been completed and standard gage guage steam running over the new new railroad tracks track At the beginning of the standardization the old Denver Rio Grande Western Ro was reorganized the tho Rio Grande Grando Wester Western and Trask was chosen a dirc director tor of the railroad company Ho He re remained remained In that position always in cose close touch with Gen Palmer and Col Dodge until the wih was finaly finally absorbed by bythe bythe the Gould Interest interests July 1 1 1901 For many year years S 8 H Babcoc Babcock 40 East First South street of this city was assistant general traffic manager of the Rio Grande Grands Wester Western and last night ho he spoke In the highest terms of the ability of Trash and ad lila his unceasing interest In that road In recalling his with Trask Mr Babcock referred to him as one of the most perfect and best bred gente gentle gentlemen men ho had ever kown known |