New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-02-26
THE CORONER'S OFFICE md THE H01EL


The poople of this city have been taught many
hundreds Of times by the miserable politicians
who have made the Comncrs office nest OF
corruption and a snare for justice to expect noun
ING from that source but scandal and disgrace
II certainly will do little good and probably IL
is a pure waste Of time to eXpend denlllclau'h
on ANYTHING the COrOners do or iall To 10 Anu
vet it is intensely dXaSpcratlng To read such
silly. empty verdcts as the enc rendered on
Wednesday with regard to the Hotel Royal me.
Nothing could be more harmful TO the city than
70 have If established that men can build paper
tcnements and iirctrapS, ncglecung ever! pre-
caution for safety in their construction ana thch
wiIfully disregard tho positive orders OF the FIRE
Dcnar-ment and Buildings Bureau, ard, when
their dc1th-toil, have tumblcd down or burned
70 ashes. with scores Of human lives sacrllced'
% ont of a Coroncps inquiry without encounter
ing the feeblest pipe of protest or cenSure ms
is utterly shameful and perilous. II encourages
one of the greatest evils with which the city has
TO contend
There j. no doubt about the fact that the
Hotel ROYAL was wretchedy built, and that there
were mo proper safeguards in or about IT agalhSO
fire nor provisions for the safety Of its inmates
in Case of fire Its owner, rch, Ignorant per-
,on who was squeezing every penny out {" inc
place that it could possibly be made to Yield IL
a tvpc of a large class Of New-fork real estate
owncrs-a class which stands in great need OF
another such lesson was taught IN the BUD
densieck case. These people erect huge builu-
inrs of tho fmsiest materials, running them up
into the air far past the danger line, partitloning
them with pasteboard to make as many rooms
as they can possibly he cut up to make, give
them ono or two narrow stalrways, gild ana
rewcaw their fronts, and then sit down TO get
rich from them before a fire breaks out or
breeze topples them over. In the case oil tho
Hotel ROYAL its owner was distinctly directed
several years ago to put hre-eScapes upon us
sixth ave front Had they been there many
~ tho peoplc whose lives were lost might have
cot away safely. A buildings inspector reported
that they were there, but it is plain that no re-
portcd a falsehood, and why he did so everybody
can 500 for himself. And now n Coroner and
Jury sitting in inquest on the bodies OF cghleeh
vicrims. with these facts before them. arrive n
no further conclusion than that the inspector
did not do his duty and that the hotel clerk ought
10 have been livclicr in awakening his guests
Not word about the owner Of the trap who
contcmp,uotlSly disohcycd the Fire departments
orders. and, in all reasonable probability brbed
, he inspector to make the false report. Not
word about the superintendent of Buildings
who ought - have known that the iire-eScapes
were not there, and who has no right to depend
IN single report of single inspector made six
ycals ago. Such weak, inadequate verdict is
not only disgraccful to the intelligence Of the
Jurors and to the reputation of the Coroners
Office but it is, and everybody will believe it
was meant 10 be a stumbling-block in the way
of Justice. Can the Grand jury now be trusted
to do is plain duty? The Grand Jury which
took up the Park Place disaster fell far short
Of the obvious requirements of that case. Will
the present Grand Jury provo equally incom-
petent and inefficient?