This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Benge (D) was the foreman of a gang of platelayers for a railroad. The arrival of the train was based on the time contained in a book. D made a mistake about which day it was and ordered rails removed before the arrival of a train. For precautionary purposes, he sent a flagman to put up a warning flag, but the flagman didn't go far enough down the track. The train’s engineer was not keeping a sharp lookout and did not notice the flag until it was too late. When it reached the missing track, it was going 50 mph. The train crashed, and people died. There were intervening causes, such as the flagman's inadvertence and the inattention of the train's engineer. However, even though D admitted his mistake at trial, he was convicted of manslaughter. D argued that had the members of his crew done their jobs and warned the train, the accident would have been avoided. D appealed.

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