The evening world., 1892-02-17
HAS He RUN AWAY =?
Night Clerk Underwood Missing
Since the Hotel Royal Fire.
Wanted as a Witness at the In.
quest Begun To-Day.
Another Victim Added to the List
by tho Death OF D. b. Lusbie.

The inquest into the cause Of death Of tho
seventeen victims OF the Hotel Royal horror
OF sunday morning, Feb. Z, was begun at the
Coroners Office this morning by Coroner
John b. Shea and jury OF twelve citizens
The names Of the Identified victims OF the
fire were: Kate Reilly, Louisa Wood, Julia
Martin, Lena Cohn, II. Levy, Sarah Blake,
Telonzo Townsend, Mary Begley, Robert J.
Burgess, Eliza Donohue and Louis Levy.
Another charred body from the ruins was
partially Identified as that Of Mrs. Harriet
Van Sorden by her former seamstress, Mrs
Keegan.
The bodies OF flve other unidentified victims
OF the disaster which were inferred In Pot
tiers Field are to be eXhumed to-day and
buried tomorrow in consecrated ground at
the expense of the proprietor OF the Hotel
Royal. Richard Meares.
Assistant District Attorney Townsend
looked after the interests OF the people. The
Jury was composed as follows:
X. n. Anderson. foreman. architect - Fifth
avenue; Chas. L. Taylor, st. Denis Hotel, 799
Broadway; George Shrady, architect, Kings
bridge: Josiah Z. Briggs, civil engineer, Ford
ham; II. j. Dowry. tailor, Beekman street.
Edward +. Hartley, gents furnishing, 2336
| Third avenue; Charles n. Villas, Fifth
Avenue Hotel; H. W. Nathering, res
taurant, Cortlandt street, near Church;
Edward F. Merrineld, Continental Hotel
soo Broadway; John W. Marshall, superin
tendent, 1o4 Post.or1ice Building; George +.
Dock, builder, one Hundred and Fifty second
street, near Tenth avenue, and Henry Hinkel,
tailor, l78 Third avenue.
This is the first important case that Coroner
Shea has had during his term OF ofice. He
has shown considerable tact In selecting
Jury. The inquest will probably not be con-
cluded before Friday.
W. &. Harding, the engineer Of the Hotel
Royal, was the first witness called.
| Engineer Harding said that he lived at 3Ol
West Forty-third street. 1t was the duty of
the nlght-clerk, he said; TO- make ROUNDS OF
did this Harding used to remain In the ofcs
| for him.
| at 2 o'clock and O'Clock on the morning OF
| the fire. When the clerk returned from his
| o'clock tour, Harding went downstairs into
the basement to tend to his IRE In the engine
He was suddenly startled to fnd that
smoke was blown down into the basement,
and rushing out he discovered the elevator
He FASTENED to arouse the guests of the
| hotel on the Tirst and second floors, and then
bethought himself OF four employees asleep
In the basement. He went back and aroused
them.
Then he ran upstairs to awaken the women
help on the top fioor and aid them 10 escape
by the roof. Some OF them he got out: He
hardly remembered anything more until he
was carried, bruised and burned, into a
neighboring drug store and later TO the Pres
byterian Hospital -
brought out the TACT that the gas tubing IN
the elevator SHAFT had been working unsatis.
Iactorily early on the evening OF the nre, aud
that the witness had Investigated the cause
oil 1t.
elevator and discovered that the gas Jet In
the elevator went out as the car passed the
third noOr.
Witness found q twist in the gas tubing
and renedied 1t. After the fire. however, the
elevator boy told him that the gas had again
Between and the witness escorted Mr..
Parkinson, OF Little Neck, L. l., 10 room lO4
on the third floor. Later he escorted Harry
j. Levy, one OF the victims, to room 81, on the
sixth avenue side OF the fourth moor.
At the time the tire broke out there was
only fsrty pounds OF steam in the hotel
Deputy Coroner Donln was the next wit
Ex-surrogate Daniel G. Rollins who ap-
peared lor Hyman Israel, the owner OF the
hotel. and William Allen. counsel for Pro-
prize or Meares entered the room while Engi-
neer Harding was tesiiiying.
AS harulnb ltlt Tue olauu .hc s,ni az
nouucement was made that Underwood,
night clerk or the Hotel Royal has been
missing since the morning alter the fire.
| Coroner shea said his SuOptPna-SefVers uau
! ende avored IN vain to locate Underwood.
1--WE must have that man, Your HONOR
said Assistant DiStrct-Attorney Townsend.
Then we shall have 10 request the Dis
triCt-Attorney and Inspector Byrnes 10 heip
us" replied the coroner
"You shall have all the help you need,"
said the Assistant DiStTict-Attorney.
Deputy coroner Donlin swore that alto
gethcr there were eighteen victims OF the holO-
Caust. the eighteenth being Oakley b:
Lusble who died at l03 West Forty second
street some time after the nre, rom injuries
sustained.
The deaths OF Lena Cohen, Louisa Wood
and an unknown man, Or. Conlin said, were
caused by fractured skulls ana that OF Louis
Levy, was due TO conclusion OF the brain.
These were the victims who jumped from the
blazing windows, ~
The Other victims were either burned or
sufIOCated TO death.
Richard Meares, the proprietor OF the Hotel
Royal testified that Charles 5. Phelps was
associated with him in the proprietorship OF
the hotel "
He described the escape OF himself and wife
, from their rooms on The third floor, and that
. was about all he was able 10 tell.
He said that The owners OF the hotel were
Hyman Israel and the Rclderbock estate.
Rope fire-estapes were put In the hotel IN
, | 1857.
, He couldn't swear whether there were any
notices put up callinS attention 10 the rope
escapes or not, and he didn't know II was u
violation OF law not TO nut up such notices.
His steward, who put up the escapes, was
James II. Reilly, now OF the Hotel Nendome,
aud possibly he had put up The notices