New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-24
THE JURY AT THE RUINS.
INSPECTING THE COLLAPSED IRELAND
BUILDING.
THE CENTRE PILLAR FOUND DRIVEN THROUGH
THE BROKEN CONCRETE AND sroNE-THE
BRICK WALLS APPEAR TO BE SOUND

BRICK WALLS APPEAR TO BE SOUND
EXAMINATION OF THE CIsTERN
The inquest into the death OF the fifteen work.
men who lost their lives through the collapse OF the
Ireland Building susp ended yesterday morning
In order to allow the Coroner's Jury to visit the
ruins. II was las O'Clock when the jury reached
the scene OF the disaster. big crowd had collected
around the building and half a dozen policemen had
to keep the people back. Captain Eakins, or the
Msrcer-st station. on hand. Building Supern-
tendent Constable also present directing the
work of Galligan, the contractor, who was re-
moving the debris. Coroners Dobbs ana u Neagher
also appeared. while the District Attorneys once
was represented by Assistant District Attorneys
Mcintyre and Miller John b. Ireland. the owner or
the building. who was accompanied by MS lawyer
Ira d. Warner. was kept outside the building until
the Jury had passed in. The jury Immediately went
down by means OF a ladder to the cellar. and CALI
gan and his began TO remove the stone and
concrete preparatory to digging up the pillar
THE WALLS sBEM SOUND.
The brick walls OF the building appeared to be
perfectly sound with the exception OF few cracks
They were carefully shored up. The central pillar
was found to be driven seven feet through the
foundations and the concrete broken into
seven pieces and the stone into four pieces. The
cistern which said to be the cause OF the whole
trouble laid open that the jury could see It.
A further investigation led to dispute among the
ing" used A majority of the jurors contended that
there
When a concrete bed has been laid Il Is usual to
put bed OF cement upon IT, to which the stone adj
here's Then a line of timber other material Is
put around II to form back, and then the
liquid cement is poured In to fill up all the vacant
spaces between the concrete and the stone. This
liquid cement Is called ''groutng"
There be only opinion to the cause
of the disaster. Nearly onehaf OF the concrete and
laid upon the walls OF the old cistern.
the other half resting the earth disturbed
SOIL az called by the experts. The earth
was yielding and the brick walls OF the cisern I'M
yielding. The iron column laid the con-
crete just outside the brick wall and the yielding
earth. When the latter gave way the concrete
sunk on one side threw the pillar out OF position
and formed a hollow through which It passed.
SOFT. YIELDING SOIL.
About o'clock the cracked blocks OF concrete and
stone had all been removed from around the centre
pillars. They were carefully covered with burlap.
placed on side and marked Then the workmen
began to dig up the soil around the pillar. A crow
bar driven into the soil under the pressure Of
eight-pound hammer The soil was found at
the distance of feet be firm. At the distance
of FIVE feet. however. the soil was SOFT and water
could be squeezed of 1t through the pressure of
the fingers.
The jury began taking measurements when the
misunderstanding the grouting cleared
away 1t discovered that the layer Of grout-
ing had been unduly distributed. and that in some
places 1t had adhered TO the stone at all. A
block OF concrete. which weighed about two hundred
pounds, was found about 2iz feet from the cess
pool
THE CENTRE PILLAR LIFTED OUT.
At 2:3O o'clock the foundations of the iron pillar
were laid bare, and the workmen began to prepare
for
resting on the soft earth. which evidently had not
offered much resistance its sinking. The centre
pillar lifted out at 1880 o'clock. and laid on
temporary scaffoldng. The base OF the pillar was
all covered with red loam showing where II nad
been driven into the earth. The pillar was l2l:
feet long, 10 inches In diameter ana weighed ABOUT
2lO0 pounds. ...,-o,,. oorr,a,
away, except where ii had been held by -FOUR Oh lts
ribs Two inches of the base Of the column had
the column sustained The iron plank on which o the
column rested also broken fIasnignt Pn nolI
graphs the plate were taken the DICK " wan ha
of the cistern was then laid bare 1t proved 10 De
twenty eight inches high, D., .ne roo, If the build
ing, and made a minute examination as 10 ns o vJi
struction They also ps agseI at the various
it was o'clock when the i1yestisaOnl was the
shed o az Monday morning When
Inquest will be resumed , I, oo,nact,on
with the disaster which. had IL proved true "ouia
have shed considerable light upon the na'.er ~
said apparently upon soV ,hs ire,and building
rprenared by Mr. Behrens the architect were cV con,
demnei by the Building department VINE me MI tmr
Rradv was at the head of II on the grOuto tnat tne
were lacking in constructonal strength Dut tnai
later Mr. Behrens carried his pans before the boaru
mans which have been rejected by the superinten-
den, and secured for his specifications me ,s,., ap,
,,rnyal 81 tho Hoard IL also said that William
a Conover' of the frm of w. A. & F. f. Conover'
e. 90 proaadyov one of he members OF this Board.
ro. S,ranuous in his opposition the approval CT
the plans declaring 1t as his opinion that the con-
structional elements OF safety were not eoou'eu ia
the pans.