The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-06-13
TESTIMONY AT THE INQUEST.

The Clerks Knew the Building Was Unsafe,
but Feared Colonel Ainsworrh.
WASHINGTON. June 12.-The inquest COM
menced at IL O'Clock in Willsrd's ball. O
room capable of accommodating about
five hundred people. Just at IL o'clock Col
onel Ainsworth, chief of the records and
pension division. who has been placed on
tho defensive by implied accusations that
he was responsible for the presence of the
clerks In the old building. entered the hall
ana engaged in short conversation with
his attorney. Mr.. r. Ross Perry. of this
city. About o hundred persons were pres
ent. most of them clerks of the record and
pension division, with o sprinkling
of War Department officials. builders. con-
tractors and policemen. DIR. Schaeffer. the
deputy coroner of the District, conducted
the inquest Near the table around which
the jurymen sat was o smaller table, ae
whlch was eested Colonel Ainsworth. his
attorney and . stenogrspher from tho War
Department. The district attorneys office
was also represented. The deputy coroner
called the Jury to ordcr and prefaced the
Investigation by a statement that holding
an investigation in q public hall was some-
thing Of an experiment and he admonishcd
the public present to keep perfectly quiet.
There was nobody on trial. he said. The
jury would simply eDdesvor TO get at the
quest was to be held over the remains of j.
A. Chaplin. whose body had been selected
for that purpose.
H. Troutman, q clerk whose desk was on
described the fall of the floors and his es-
cape. The witness knew of no protest hav.
ing been sent by tho employ os in the build
ing to the authorities about the dangerous
condition of the building. He bad been
warned by j. w. Ebb. III charge of the first
floor. not 60 appro Ach an area on
that floor, which had been roped Of
while the excavation was going on. Mr..
Webb had given HIM this warning eight or
ten days before the accident. To his
knowledge no orders had been issued about
the insecurity of the building. except On
official warning not TO walk over the roped-
of space. lie saw no underpinning Of tho
first floor. He had heard the roped-off
space called Tho dead line" The day be-
fore the accident he had seen Colonel AIMS
worth at the roped-Off space, and he
thought be went down to see the excsva-
tion. Colonel Ainsworth came nearly
Two old employees of the building had told
him 1t was a she'll and q death trap"
FREQUENTLY WARNED.
Smith Thompson. q clerk in the theater
building who made o bitter speech de-
nouncina Col Ainsworth at the relief
meeting on Friday was the next witness.
Had you ever heard any warning" asked
the deputy coroner.
Frequently, frequently said the wit
ness. Servants messengers of Col
Alnsworth, who were stationed on the
stairway. notified us with bated breath
that il was Col. Answorth's orders that EN-.
ployes should go sasily tiptoe mp and
down the stairs. do NOT kn ow the names
of those Is or messengers. One was
called Henry, colOrod man. The build
ing was known to all of the clerks as the
death trap; but ones bread and but tier de-
pended on working there, 60 what could
we dot Only this morning 1 received a
distinctly that said two years ago that
was gong into dcaIh trap The
witness said that he had been a civil
engineer. Every day be went below stairs
and watched the progress of the excava-
tion. He saw pillars OF props used in
holding up the first floor while the excava-
tion was going on. Concerning the one
stairway in the theater building. Mr..
Thompson said it was not sufficient for the
rapid exit of one-half the clerks with
safety. In going down thu stairway he
had heard clerks call out TO take care, the
stairs are unsafe"
Just at this stage in Mr.. Thompson's
testimony there was q strange scene. IL
Illustrating the bitter feeling against Col.
Ainsworth. A majority OF the spectators
present at the inquest were clerks VINO
Mr. Warner. one of the Jurors. asked the
witness what was the feeling Of the clerks