St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-15
REPLY TO JOHNSON.
The Trades Assembly and the
Building Inspector.

The Trades Assembly and the
Building Inspector.
The committee of the trades and labor
assembly, who investigated and re-
ported upon the Shepard building dis
aster. last evening issued the following
letter. which speaks for itself:
As the action of the trades assembly in
reference to the disaster in the Shepard
building has been the subject of much critic
ism by Building Inspector johnson and his
friends, we consider it proper for the COM
mlttee to say a few words in reply.
In the first place. Mr.. johnson makes
general charge of prejudice and unfairAess
against the assembly. That is as we would
infer from the general tone of his remarks
the action was taken in the interest of some
rival candidate for the Office to which he
aspres for reelection. This is absolutely
without foundation. 1t matters not tothe
trades assembly who is Mr.. Johnson's sue
cessor. so that he De competent and trust
worthy.
One of the claims of Inspector johnson is
that he had no power in the prem ses. The
committee, desiring full information on the
subject, called on the city clerk and re-
quested copy of the law defining the duties
OF the building inspector, which he kindly
furnished. The law reads as follows:
ut shall not be lawful for any person or
persons TO erect, construct or build, or cause
to be erected, constructed or built, any brick
iron. granite. marble or stone building or 70
alter any Sucn building so as to make 1t sub
stantiaily new building. unless the said
building shall have been inspected from time
to time by the inspector of buildings. and
certificate furnished by him that the said
house or building is properly constructed
and IN all respects safe and secure; and
should said inspector award such certificate
to any person or persons for any house or
building not constructed according 10 the
provisions OF this ordinance, the bond given
by such inspector shall be declared to be for
1elteQ, ana the whole principal sum therein
nsmed shall become due and payable and
such inspector shall be forthwith dismissed
from office by the common council and the
vacancy thus created filed; and the said
principal sum shall be collected by due
process of law, aud the same held to the use
OF any perEon or persons, either in an indi-
vldual or corporate capacity, who may be
injured or sustain any damage thereby
As to the cause OF the accident, Inspector
johnson has had several theories. First he
claimed the freezing and thawlng weakened
the wall and caused it 10 fall. But discover
ing that he could find no support for this
idea, he was soon forced to claim that the
disaster resulted from the wind alone. This
claim seems to us absurd for several reasons.
In the first place, the partition wall that fell
was protected from the wind by the west end
wall, and in this wall most of the shutters
were still on the windows, with the excep-
ton of the top story. 1t was also protected
by the building directly opposite the west
end, it being of about the same height as the
Shepard building. In this connection il is
also we'll 10 remember that the wall fell in
both directions killing men on both Sides
which Is another circumstance showing the
absurdity OF the claim that it was blown
over by sudden gust of wind.
After full and thorough investigation, the
committee is still of its original opinion
that the intense heat rendered the walls I'M
safe, ana so weakened them that they fell of
their own weight. The fact that the walls
are now all securely braced shows that the
owners and the contractors have finally come
to the same conclusion as the committee
and are of the opinion that the walls above
the second story are unsafe. Perhaps after
a sufficient length of time, Building Inspector
Johnson will also come to the same conclu-
sion.
Inspector johnson states that the mem
bers OF the assembly are not practical build
ers. and not familiar with the subject The
committee that investigated the matter was
made up of painter. bricklayer, cornice-
maker, plasterer and carpenter-men who
have spent their lives working on and erect
ing buildings. II practical men are not ex-
pertS. what does Mr.. johnson call an expert?
Mr.. Barnard, chairman of the committee was
selected on account of his wide experience
in connection with burned buildings
In conclusion. we will say that the assem-
bly, and the committee have been actuated
by regard for the sacredness of human life.
In this instance we believe that unjustifiable
chances were taken by the building in
spectOr. For the future we trust that the
warning. and we cannot coincide with those
who desire TO gloss over the negligence and
misjudgment of a public official.
TIE CoMMyrr1E