Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-10
Indignant at the False Economy of
Congress.
FIXING RESPONSIBILITY.
Warning TO the Government TO Permit the
Repetition of Yesterdays Catastrophe
Other Unsafe Public Buildings-The Gov
eminent Printing Office,

shackle buildings Many of them know
well that the old Ford's Theater is not
the only rickety structure at the capital which
is used as a government workshop, and reiter-
ates the note of warning which has been
sounded so often in this city. The govern
ment printing Office is cited as being in a no.
toriously unsafe condition. and Congress is
urged to make immediate provisions
for the safety of the public servants
The following editorial extracts from
some of the leading journals of the coun-
try indicate the public disapproval of the policy
OF Congressman who think that there is always
money enough in the treasury for purposes in
which they have a more or less selfish interest
but never enough for objects which make no
direct appeal to the individual representatives
OF the people:
Who is Responsible.
From the Philade!phis Inquirer
There is apparently no excuse whatever for
the loss of life. Some one is at fault "A nd GRIM
inally so. Now that the harm has been done
and valuable lives lost it will be recalled most
wildly that the walls have been considered un-
safe for long line; that the building has been
condemned and those who have escaped from
instant death Will tell OF the shaking floors, Of
the general feeling of insecurity.
And still hundreds OF clerks have been al
lowed for days and weeks and months. if not
for years. TO work in q building that was liable
to fall at any time.
Who is responsible for this thing? Is it pos
sible that the government is but a machine,
caring nothing for those who are employed by
1t, willing TO pack hundreds Of men upon floors
that shook from the rumbling of the wheels in
the street beneath? The government is but
an indefinite term. 1.-The government is like
cOrnOratlAn lS Irra
pecuniary way. What Is everybodys business
is no ones. Red tape has done its work. And
yet there must be one or more persons in
official positions who are guilty of this crime,
for the calamity can be called nothing else.
1t VIII not sOothe the suffering ones to know
who the guilty ones are. 1t will not bring back
the breath of life to those who have been
crushed under the falling timbers. And yet
there will be a certain sense of satisfaction to
have the responsibility placed where i. belongs
The Department of War has this building
within Its Jurisdiction. Somewhere in that de-
partment is some one who might and should
have made the disaster impossible. Who is he?
That is for the department to determine by q
strict investigation. The man who shot down
President Lincoln upon this same fatal spot
was no more a criminal than he who is directly
responsible for yesterdays catastrophe.
Hundreds of clerks packed into building
that was notoriously insecure, Think of it.
What possible excuse can there be?
The Blame should BE Fixed.
From the New York Herald.
The awful disaster in Washington Yesterday.
with its lamentable list of dead and injured ia
the natural result not of an accident, but
crime. The dead simply victims of man
slaughter. due to the most fragrant and mex
cusable criminal neglect.
1t is amazing to read in the accounts of the
horror that the collapsed building had been re-
peatedly condemned as dangerously insecure
and likely to crash down at any moment
Nevertheless it was kept filled with human
beings by order of the government and de-
struction WAS even invited by the reckless exca-
vatlons which proved the moving cause Of the
collapse
The fact that the government is responsible
for the catastrophe makes the neglect all the
more surprising, inexcusable and criminal
The least 1t can now do TO atone for the great
wrong Is to make proper compensation to the
living sufferers and the representatives of the
dead victims.
Meanwhile the blame should be fixed upon
the department or officials responsible. that
the country may know who the offenders are.
A Building Bureau Needed.
From the New York Times.
The collapse Of an old building in WASH
ington, with a very extensive loss of life. is
particularly disgraceful' because the building
was used as public Office and under the con-
troll of the government. Almost all disasters
Of this kind are traceable to the reck-
less greed Of private owners who are
willing to incur the chance Of destroy
ing other peoples lives rather than
the certainty of spending their own
money. The accident seems TO have been pre-
clpltated by curiously reckless excavation,
whereby the building was in part undermined
But that the building was unsuitable, and even
dangerous, for the purposes for which it was
occupied. is reported to have been well known
In Washington for many years. 1t was an old
building. and originally of very fmsy con-
struction, and it was in condition to give way
at a very slight shock.
1t is easy to understand how Congress came
to resist the appeals TO make an appropriation
for the erection of a building suitable for the
purposes for which this building, even il it had
been in sound condition. would have
been unsuitable. The District of Columbia
not being directly represented in Congress.
Is not available for the log-rolling by
which extravagantly costly pubic build
ings are authorized for little towns all
over the country. When it is reported
that building in Washington used by
the government is unsafe, members of
Congress distrust the report seeming in il
coming appeal for an appropriation in
which none of them has any personal or
local interest. As distinguished member
OF the House once said, there is no member of
eA"s oooy "ho represents Tue lnlteQ states.
and the needs of the nation, in the matter of
proper accommodation for the public business.
are less likely to receive attention than the
needs OF any community in the nation, out
side OF the District Of Columbia. The long
delay in beginning work for the new Congress.
slonal Library, years after the need for il had
been demonstrated beyond the possibility of
denial or doubt, is an extreme instance of
the state of mind which forced a department
OF the government to occupy a rickety old
structure. originally built for theater, as a
public office. For the rest it is plain that If
there had been an efficient building bureau in
Washington the building that has now COL
lapsed would years ago have been put in repair
or demolished. Our own building department
still leaves good deal to be desired, but il is
a good many years since such collapse as that
OF Washington has happened or been possible
under the system that We do possess.
Niggardly Economy.
From the Philadelphia Press
The description given Of the old Ford's
lheater building fully accounts for. the awful
catastrophe Of yesterday. The one surprising
thing about it is that intelligent human
beings were willing to risk their lives
In such trap Age had weakened it;
overlooking had strained it; while
the excavation of a celler underneath deprived
us walls OF necessary support and the whole
shaky fabric fell, bruising, manning and killing
a very large proportion of the 800 clerks who
were assigned to duty in this worn out and
trembling structure
1t is very clear where the fault lay. but it Is