New-York tribune., 1877-05-02

Wl,ro The Old wall extended and which was replaced 1y
tAc truss nm Doors Where HcnScl vas When me r1
fou where Koii4sos body "ai i"inh ~ & Wh,Is n ,,1
II second old truss
The room where the accident occuIrcdhad been formed
from two rooms shown III the diagram, which
We, separated by brick wall ana which had been used
by the railroad mail empUyes, as waiting aud the
otIera store room. Inhc eastern PARTITION an iron
trs. cytoudcd across the room and iron beams Gpoa
when to r.of rested extended from the walls to the
truss. he roof constructed OF corrugated
uuon these was layer Of concrete, the whole
being covered with sheets OF corrugated copper A
lpos e entire weight of the roof which was 100 pounds
10 the square foot, rested upon the wall ana Truss. me
danger appTehendcd TO the couItfoOm below from the
brick wall determined the officers IL replace II by
auu; truss similar to the one IN the eastern portion
20 the cd one and supposed To be strong. The wall
W.s taken down about week ago, ana Oh M"'udy tie
rms As lut I'M position but the temporary supports
we're not removed until yesterday. AS these
were taken away the entire weight OF the portion O thc
roof which had been supported by brick wall rested
upOu tis siugc truss. The burden proved TO be too
great. Just the WOrEMen were removing the last
GIVEN Tie truss was hurled toward tie eastern corner
and twisted as though slight wire
The cause Of the accident could not be positively aScei
tanned Neniug theories OF persons claiming To kno"
widely dIhcIing Thomas H. Odkshott the supervising
engineer OF the building said tat he would NOT or aDc
10 explain the until ne had made further inyesug-
ou but he inclined t. attribute 1t to deiecL ID the
truss, fUI when the manufacturers Wteresponslbc me
iron support ne said, had been properly put H. ana ne
knew of no reason for It's giving way unless there was
1dw m the non WuCh caused 10 DLeh uuI tv HtJNl
weight OF the roof The brick wall had been Ii inches
thcA and feet high, aud its weight had caused the
ceip the courtroom underneath to dcncct SO much
that It's removal was necessary. The wall hdd tor-
lupry extended from the lower floor If the building 10
the ton but in constructing the courtroom on the tnru
floor tue middle portion had been taken out aud section
of IL had been lei the fifth floor unsupported by COZ.
umDs In the courtroom below. Some support hclng
necessary Tor he after the removal OF the pdrgu
wall the IRON truss similar 10 the others used III ht Dud
ing had been adopted aGd the greatest pans lad been
taken i'm putting II in, ~.
Evsupcrvsing Architect Muctt who was in the city,
went al once to the Of the accident, and talked
Vuully ana IthOut cessation 10 group or listeners
There were ne said three similar trsses IN the building
suppOug sections Of the roof OF the same weight a.
that hi fell They put in during ms adulnlstI3-
ton and remained firm as they were on ms day lhty
were placed I'm position The trouble in this case, con
tiuuCd Mr. NullCt that the truss was not properly
put u II was treated though II were glrdtr When
in reality n was suspcusOry truss, and instead oi
being fastened az the upper corners. az truss
should be- it was set 10 the wall at the lower
side Of either end and OF II turned over under
tbe WEIGHT Of the roof and broke down. MI Mullett
added ne did not blame Supervisor Odkshott as ne
was not responsible. Mr. OlishUtt splendid
INSPECTOR masonry but knew nothing OF engineering
suTeryising Architect Hill had inspected the wo-k on
Monday aUi had pronounced IL safe. The Tes'Ousblntl
rested with him. Mr. Mulett commented with much
force Of language the misnanageHCn OF MS success
sOr in Office, and thought lie himself had been AIMED
this disaster would not have occurred. Now, don't
want to be understood rejecting Mr. H said he;
Mr. Hi is an excellent drdughtsInau, but he don't
know any hug about the duties required Of supervising