Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1889-02-20
ONE CENT.
WITHOUT a FOUNDATION.
The Walls ofthe Hartford Hotel
Rested on Planks.
BUILT OF UNsALABLr BRICKS.

4 Contractors ssssy OF the Criminal
cupidity Of the BuiIder-Not Barrel
Of Cement Was UAed--six More Bodies
Recovered from the Ruins.
HsRrFoRD, Fsb. 20.-From yesterdays IN
vestigasions it IL certain that tine hotel tragedy
was duH to defects in the construction Of tho
building. Michael O'Neil, who had charge
Of tllemason worlo Of the hotel told a dam
aging story but only after good deal Of
persuasion. He said:
81 took the contract for fzying the brick
work Of the Park Central hotel after Charles
Robinson gave up the job, and upon my oath
Fhere is NOT a thing under the brick wall Of
chat building but plank You viii find it
~ when you get down TO tho foundation.
Robinson finished the work as far az the level
of the sidewalk, then | aool it. We had not
wgrked but a few days before my men began
% complain thnt they wpre afraid TO work,
the walls were - much cut Of She true
told Mr. Hastings that TIN wall ought to bs
talSsn down and'rehnilt, but he said: No, YOU
can humor it ont all right ! swear the
plansa were laid down in the blue clay in
which the building stood and nothing but
bricks used as n foundatSOn The bricks
were some Of his owa make, and
he furnished these and the mortar, and We
laid the brick for 1912 per 1000. Not d
barrel Il. cement was used with the mortar,
and he would growl because we were using
80 much lime. The foundation, all Of brick,
wns 20 inches thiols,. the first story l6, and
the partition wall was but 10 inches thick
When wegot the first story finished my men
would not work any longer, and | quit
Theodore Newton finished the iob. In regard
to the anchors, they never went through,
but the courses Of bricks were turned up bus
little ways, and were not altogether over
l6 inches long. He made us do everything
as cheaply as possible. What | bell you hr
the truth"
Theodore Newton, who took up the work
whero Mr. CANeil left off, said II com
menced work ON the hotel. where 0'Neil quit
My brother, H. w Newton, and myself sim
ply furnished the men 10 do the work under
Mr. Hastings directions. We had no more to
de 9TH the work than the horses that drew
the brick. We simply furnished the labor.
Mr.. Hastings had a lot of soft brick he could
| not sell, and he worked them in Be-
fora we began work some of the wall
Of the first store had to te taken
down. This was two years after the
| foundation was laid The walls were all
/ out Of true, and the southeast corner Of the
hotel never saw day when it stood plumb
Mr.. Hastings Did everything as cheaply ass
| possible He even went so,far as 70 oil this
outside course Of brick with some preparation
70 as 70 make them look red Soft brick will
never allow the mortar to stick 10 them as
hard brick will That is why the bricks are
found 80 free Of MORTAR
The bodies taken out yesterday were three
besides those Of William Seymour, a. tramp,
and Rev. Dr. Perrin and wife The remain,
ing walls Of the hotel were pulled down al I
o'clock, and the military guard was with.
drawn AZ p m.
Soon after midnight fire again started in
the ruins, but was soon subdued by a hydrslnt
stream AT that hour the force Of workers
had been increased, and fresh and vigorous
hands urged ON the work. The crowd OF
spectators, many Of whom had remained IN
the neighborhood through the day and even.
ing, bad scattered TO their homes, and a
smaller number Of guards was ON duty The
dreary rain storm had passed. and the moon
shone peacefully down on the pile Of debris
which had become the tomb Of 20 many
human beings
The work Of deIving among the ruins for
the b9dies Of those who were known still t.
be there was continued during the greater
part Of the day, with the result that now il is
pretty fairly known that the total dead will
number thirty-one, but 1t is impossible to get
the names OF any save those which have been
published