Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-11
ON THE HILL.
A Uaurerous wall at the County

Anv one who knows much about the
resistance of materials and the weight of
buildings who will take look at the
County Jail in these days will instantly
make up his mind that very dangerous
experiment is being tried. The building
which is heavy mass of stone, brick and
iron, stands on the summit OF a hill,
forty to fifty feet above the level of New
High street. On the north side of the
iail and on level with it is the Court
house. Back OF the Jail is yard which
has been filed in at q level of about
fifteen feet above Fort street. In front
the hill slopes gently down to New High
street. On the south side, about ten feet
away from the building, is an immense
wall of brick, two feet in width, extend
ing down into the ground about forty
feet. This was supposed to serve as a
bulwark to that side Of the building and
as it is such short distance from the
south wall of the Jail, its solidity is alb
solutely necessary to keep the building
up right.
For some time excavation has been in
progress along this wall preparatory to
putting in new building. Enough
earth has been taken out to uncover its
foundations and to leave the wall abso-
lutely without support on that side. On
the other rests the weight of the
enormous mass OF earth which constitutes
the hill, and upon that rests the Jail
building, which it must be borne in
mind is only ten feet away from the
walls. AS fast as the earth was taken
away which had formerly served as a
brace to the wall, wooden stanchions
were fitted in and there are now thirteen
of these heavy beams at various angles
pressing against the brick work. In
spite of that it has leaned out from the
perpendicular nearly two feet. Large
cracks have opened in the solid earth
above extending deep down into the hill.
Some of these are three inches in width
and have gradually increased from day
to day. The worst of them is between
the wall itself and the earth by the side
of the Jail. In addition to this, the wall
itself has begun to crumble under the
s.rain to which it is subjected, and
ragged crevices appear running at an
angle of about As degrees up and down
at intervals where the earth has been
dug away.
As it stands at present it is profoundly
dangerous. Against this wall, forty feet
in height or more, presses all this mass
of earth, and above, not directly upon it,
but short distance away, pushing it
out, is the great weight of the Jail, a
building Of brick, stone and iron Of ex-
ceptional massiveness. On the other
side, to hold it up, are a few timbers
whose powers of resistance are trifling
compared with the weight they are
called upon to support.
Such is the case at present. But what
if rains of forty-eight hours duration
shovld set in? The ground on which
the beams are braced would become soft
and spongy, the foundation of loosened
earth beneath the wall would be washed
away, and the weight on the other side
would be increased by being soaked with
water 1t is scarcely conceivable that the
wall could resist such strain.
And if the wall falls? Then the jail
topples over on its side and crushes like
card house, killing the greater part of
its unfortunate inhabitants. The founda-
tions extend down into the earth only ten
or twelve feet and only ten feet away
from the top OF the wall. 1t is impossible
that the wall should fall outward without
the Jail going with it.
The effect OF rains on earth held in by
brick wall was we'll illustrated during the
last wet spell by the bulging of the brick
masonry which holds in the rear yard of
the Jail. Although this is forty feet and
more from the jail building, yet it cracked
and pulled in all directions and would
certainly have gone over had it not been
firmly anchored by bolts and clamps.
The side wall is not anchored in any way.
This is not an idle scare, but a serious
danger which at the present time threat
ems the life OF two hundred people, the
prisoners and their keepers. Something
ought to be done instantly, before the rain
begins again.