The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-04-12
THE UNspEAKABLE CITY HAr1,.
A Veritabie Death Trap FOR Jurors and
Judges.


'eri'"ple Death Trap FOR Jurors and
Judges.
III is n belief prevalent among some citizens
that a'man who consents to serve on iurv in
our Criminal Court takes his life in his a vn
hands as 1t were. The sickness which has
lately attacked the officials not only in tbe
criminal Court but in the other Offices of the
building as well, can not be attributed solely
TO malanal influences that might affect anv
one III crowded and ill-ventiated rooms.
Judge A. G. Bradley was not long ago
prostrated and narrowly escaped death on ac-
count OF his holding the Criminal Court. and
uurlng the kincaid trial he was at times so
SICK that he could scarcely hold his head M.
lie with rare grit maintained his post until
Uhe end oi the trial, and he may have to nav
uhe penalty with serious illness Judue
Hagner, who was assigned to the Cri minal
court Tor the ensuing term, was also badly af-
tected before he had been three weeks on the
bench and was compelled to 90 to bed. and
Judge Bradley succeeded him 1t cannot be y
SAID that the unhealthy condition of this court
room is owing to the unsavory character and
dress OF the crowds who throng it during q
notable trial. The sickness has been oh
servable among the officials ever since the new
building was tackled on to the old There is
no proper ventilation in any of the court
rooms OF the building except in the upner
story The lower stories land the most i'm
portant business and the bulk of the most
important records are to be found there) ore
as toul and musty as the vaults of a daunpeon
Keep We're supposed to be. Any one having
business with these Offices the Recorder of
DEEDS or the Register of Wills. will notice
the horribly musty smell they encounter on
entrance from the fresh air to these ouasi
underground corridors
But let the people who are or have been
connected with the building tell their own
story.
sad Col Scheyer Deputy Recorder of
Deeds Il don't know what to make of it.
You have heretofore made o kick in the
HERALD against the defective plumbing.
only know that am sick and am afraid 7
Will have to stay in bed tomorrow. No.
4, ! cannot M say the smells are bad here, only
there is a mustiness in the early morning y
The Register of Wills, Mr.. Wright, told tbe
reporter that his rooms were close and warm.
but he had no complaint to make. as there
were plenty of windows to his rooms that
could be opened. "But,' said he ''there is no
doubt that there is something wrong with the
plumbing connected with that Criminal Court
room, and nope you will stir up the matter,
Constable Aquilla r. Allen said: Il was n
deputy under Jonah d. Hoover thirty years
ago and we never had the complaints that
have been made of late. AS you know, was
deputy until last year. I think the fad,
OF the late Chief Justice Cartier in believing
himself to be an inventor and architect has
cost all the trouble. That back building
which was his idea ought never to have been
erected, 1t shu all ventilation and it is.
wonder tina employees in all of the
offices are not sick. We never had such
trouble with the juries in the old davs
Said Clerk L. p. Williams: 'sNow don't ouote.
me, but people die just as they have ever done
since the beginning, and 1 believe this build
ing is in good sanitary condition. 1t is as we'll
cared re, Tor as any public building in the city,"
The whole matter may be summed nm in the
remark made by Lawyer A. K Brown. IF
the building is all right, why then these too
frequent impedments to tae trials of i'm
portant cases by reason of sickness of judges
or Jurors ?''