Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-19
district under the charge of Assistant Build

ing Inspector T. C. King.
Attorney Thomas Takes q Hand.
At this point District Commissioner
Tr1esdell. accompanied by the attorney for
the District, Mr.. L T. Thomas, entered the
room. Col. Truesdell held an earnest con-
ve-sation with the acting coroner and left
Immediately. Attorney Thomas continuing
the talk The result was the recall of Mr..
Stumph to the witness stand when Attor-
ney Thomas asked for the plans of the
building. These he did not have. Mr..
Thomas then went over the same testimony
as DR.. Giazebrook had ELECTED and called
Mr. Samuel j. Prescott the next witness
He said he was a contractor and builder of
Twelve years experience and twenty-seyen
years of age. and testified that he built a
portion OF the burned structure In 1891
he was excused to go after the plans Of
the building.
Fireman Houchens' Testimony,
John Houchens. assistant engineer and
fireman at the Stumph building, was ex-
amined by Mr.. Thomas. Witness was
twenty-five yeGrs old and had been en-
ployed by .stunphs Bros for three years.
At the time the FIRE started he was on the
third floor. Had not the slightest idea as
to the third floor from the engine room,
where he was usually employed, on the
ground floor. to give a workman ipstruc-
ions about starting up a machine used in
the renovating Of feathers He was per-
sonally acquainted with every employe in
the building Knew all the dead men and
knew they lost their lives in the fire. Wit
ness could identify Fowler, ReitzeN and
Reichman, and had done so in the morgue
witness described the location of the vari-
Gus pieces Of machinery employed on the
ainerent floors Of the building and the
uses 10 which they were put,
The evidence of witness showed that only
an ordinary stock was on hand, and there
was no unusual weight on the floors of the
I'M ffnA b q
when some one. he thought 1t was Haske
shouted fire from the fourth floor. Witness
ran down the stairway. The elevator In
the building was used for carrying up and
down freight. but persons could ride up
and down IL they wanted to. The. elevator
and stairway were both located at the X
street end of the building and at opposite
sides OF the building.
Only One Stairway I'm the Building.
There was only the one stairway in the
building. Witness saw the fire on the Sec
ond floor as he went down this stairway
Witness rushed to the engine. room and
started to bank bis fires. Then some one
said there were people on the fourth floor.
and he shouted to tell them to slide down
the elevator rope. Witness started up his
engine again, but before IL made two revo-
buttons the band was burned through and
fell Witness then seized his coat and went
out on X street. He saw man drop from
the hfth-story window and helped to bring
him out of further danger. 1t was Bevins.
When witness saw the fire on the second
floor IL seemed to be breaking out from
everywhere toward Massachusetts, avenue
ard covering everything. Witness was on
X street after he got out and did not see
any firemen for six or eight minutes after
ward The men who jumped from the win
dows were taken on the roof where they
fell, and witness assisted In taking Bevins
out Of the yard OF the blacksmith shop be-
fore any firemen were seen. Witness was
positive that at least ten minutes had
elapsed from the starting of the fire until
the arrival of the iremen-
Foreman JOrdan's Story.
Harry Jordan, the foreman in charge of
the work on the second floor of the Stumph
bull ling on Monday, testified to the various
sewing machines on the floor and other
machinery. The second floor contained a
sewing rom and a hair-picking box. par
titioned off, Witness was engaged in making
a mattress when a helprnan named Sam
Forrest gave the alarm of fire. Witness
alarmed the occupants of the second floor
and went to the fourth floor and warned
employees there, too. Warned the employees
both going up and going down. Attorney
Thomas persisted in trying to get the wit
ness describe what his co-laborers did when
he warned them to get out; whether they
got out: how they got out. and further per-
picked the witness by demanding a detailed
description of the itinerary he had himself
pursued when escaping from certain death.
witness that more of the people whom he
warned on the third and fourth floors had
escaped.
Not So Much Excited Then as Since.
Witness was not much excited at the
time as he has been since. He escaped by
the X street entrance. When the building
was In flames he had stood by the ele-
vator shaft and shouted for the people to
come down the cable.
WHY calculated Mr.. Thomas.
I'VE were always trying to convert the
employees into climbing down the elevator
cable in case Of fire." was the response.
what do you mean by converting them?'
"well. Mr.. Walter Stumph at one time
worked on the fifth floor. and he was al
ways telling the men to slide down the ele-
vator cable wher a fre broke out 80 they
could save themselves" said Mr. Jordan.
Witness in remaining at the elevator shaft
remembered this Instructions as to this
use of the cable in an emergency had been
generally given by all the members OF the
nrm.
Witness had never noticed any distinct
cracks in the walls. He had never felt any
had never heard any of the other employees
Say that they considered the building
dangerous.
Plans of the Building.
Contractor Prescott was recalled and pro-
duced the plans Of the Stumph building.
They had been submitted to the inspector
of buildings. Could not find the specifica-
tons. The building was put up In accord
ance with the plans except Ia one or two
Instances. The plans had included the use
of the old walls of the two-story wagon
building that occupied the site. The front
walls were eighteen inches all the way up
and the side were thirteen inches all the
way up. The columns supporting the grid
ers which the joists rested upon were
iron on the first floor and wooden on the
floors above. The Orders were wooden
throughout
-. The changes in the plans consisted in
retaining the old side wall at the angle
caused by the joining of the lot facing
Massachusetts avenue and the lot facing X
street instead of erecting new wall from
the foundation up. as contemplated The
old side walls were of different heights in
some places being two and in others two
and half stories high.
In the Judgment of the witness building
erected in the manner described was entire
ly proper and safe to be used for manufac-
turing purposes. With the use of old walls
where such walls were plumb and true and
had good foundation under Them such as
those had been proven to be in the Stumph
building. witness believed that the building
would be Just as safe a new building