Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-13
HEARING THE TESTIMONY,
Clerks Toll Their Ex Experiences in the Wrecked
Building.

Clerks Toll Their Experiences in the Wreck ed
Building.
Willard Hall was crowded again this morning
mostly with clerks from the record and pen
sion Office. The inquest in the case of
the Fords Theater disaster was resumed there
at II O'Clock. The hall was even more
crowded than ut the opening yester-
day and the gallery as well as the floor
was filed with spectators. Marshall Ransdell
was early on hand. Lieut.. Amiss was there
with several police officers. The first incident
OF interest was the arrival of ex-
Judge Jeremiah Wilson, VINO has offered
his services as the representative Of
the clerks and the people. When he
walked down the open space in the
middle of the hall he was recognized
and applsuded Immediately Lieut. Amiss
made brief speech. saying that those
in the hall would have to keep
quiet 1t was II o'clock before Acting
Coroner Schaeffer and the jury arrived. Chief
Clerk Tweedale, Assistant District Attorney
Taggart and others were on hand.
MIR. II. E. Davis was there Is the representa-
tive, it was stated, Of the contractor.
Mr.. John B. Larner was on hand as the repre-
sentative of the board of trade. Mr. Wilson.
who sat beside Col Smith Thompson, the clerk
who was the first to champion the cause of his
fellow-clerks. had a conference at the opening
with Assistant District Attorney Taggart.
W. A. MELLAcH.
The first witness called was William Austin
Mellach Of S21 21st street northwest. Mr. Mel
ZACH is q clerk in the record and pension
Office. He was employed on the
second floor Of the 10th street building.
The witness located his desk on a diagram Ii
was the second desk north of the air we'll He
was present when the building fell. He was ut
his desk consolidating some recruit rolls
His spectacles from heat or some cause became
obscured. He was wiping the glasses with a bit
of tissue, paper and looking upward. His gaze
was toward 10th street. He saw the ceiling sag
as it were. Witness took piece of paper and
showed how the ceiling sagged. He said he first
thought the sight WAS due to some trouble with
his eyes, but he soon realized the building was
falling. ~ immediately he said, Thought Of
the route had mapped out for two years and
1 cried Lookout and made a dash for the
door of the wash room. There we're two men
wedged into the door, but the sprint he had
on knocked them into safety into the wash
room."
HOW HE ESCAPED.
The witness said he jumped through the win
dow and alighted the on projection of another
building where there glass transom
His original idea had been to crawl into tina:
transom or skylight into what had been a
poker joint, and he had often joked about 60
ing in there in case of fire and playing
poker game. Seeing another clerk
attempt to go into the transom and
get cut up, witness walked along the
ledge, then dropped down and he
believed carried another window frame away
He entered the house, got through the doors
and finally cut into the street, and did not stop
running until he ran into the wall on the op-
poste side of 10th street.
A FEAR THAT THE UILDING WOULD FALL.
The fear that the building would fall had
been i'll his mind ever since he was transferred
to the building before, July, 1890. The witness
said he made it practice not to be caught
mapping. When he went to the building 0
whole lot of the old surgeon generals cleyks
told him that the building was an old rattle
trap. They told him to go out into the alley
and look at the bus ing. Vs did this, and