The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-07-24

| there Wednesday; left at O'Clock. l
| sell goods. Sometimes | assist in de-
| livering. The sweepings are put in the
rubbish box outside and man takes
them away; the brooms, water pot,
| salesmen's coats and some rags are
| kept in the corner near the wash stand.
| Kerosene is kept in the dressmaking
| department. Left the store at O'Clock
! Wednesday night and closed the door
! facing the dressmaking department.
| Sam Mott closes the door outside and
| Anton Fernandez opens it in the morn
| ing Went to Harmony Hall that night,
to the entertainment; retired few
minutes before midnight. Heard the
whistle blow but did not get up, be-
cause | thought it was the steamer
My father called me and told me there
was fire, but l said it was the steamer
| Did not come down town until O'Clock
in the morning When / got to En-
ma Square a boy told me the store was
on fire. Do not carry matches or to-
bacco in my pocket. When / smoke it
is a next" that some boy gives me.
| Statesmen do not smoke during the day.
There are no oily rags kept there;
clean the windows with sand and clean
soiled gloves with velvet, nothing else.
Anton Fernandez sworn. Have work
ed for B. F. EhlerS & Co. for the past
year; left the store at p. m. Wednes-
day; was the first to leave. Am not as
signed to any particular department of
the store. The shoe brush and rags
used in cleaning the windows are kept
in the mauka corner. Have seen light
glass bottle filed with liquid there
also; could not tell what it contained;
it was full and cOrked up. Greasy rags
were not kept there. Salesmen's coats
hung there. First noticed the bottle af-
ter / went to work there. The coats
were light material and were worn by
the clerks when the weather was warm.
Clerks are not allowed to smoke dur
ing the day. Goods are brought into the
store by the front door and draymen
90 not linger around the place. The
nauka door is generally open, but the
inside door is closed
Theodore Hoffman, Superintendent
of Electric Light Co., sworn. Am an
electrician and familiar with the de-
tails of wires in Ehlers & Co. IS store.
The material used was the very best
and the lights were protected by a fuse.
There were thirty-four lights in the
store When wires went through wood
they were bushed with rubber. The
inspector visited the place between the
18th and 10th of July; reported four
bushings out at the entrance and SAID
the fuse was a little heavy. Examined
premises this morning and am positive
the electric wiring had nothing to do
with the fire. Where the fire was the
worst there were no lights. Each light
was protected by it's own fuse. The
store was wired in November or De-
oil
prOvements in electric lighting appa-
ratus. If the fire had been worst where
the lights were, the wires would have
shown it, as whenever wires touch they
would melt. (To juryman): If there
had been a short circuit we would not
have known it at the works, as it would
have blown the fuse over the door;
but if the fire had been such as to have
burned out the front of the building
we would have known it at the works
So far as the lamp sockets were con-
cerned, there were no defects The
smallest wire used in the store was
perfectly safe with a 15-ampere fuse
Believe the fire originated from below
near the washstand. The store was
wired by Mr.. Goodman, at present book
keeper for the Hawaiian Electric Co
He was formerly the foreman and did
the wiring. Spoke to him about the
fire this morning; he had not seen the
building since the fire, but gave it as
his opinion that the fire broke out near
the washstand, as when he wired it
there was lot of rubbish there
w. l. Warriner sworn. Have not
seen the store OF EhlerS & Co. since the
fire. Inspected the wires first week in
July. Am electrical inspector for the
Board of Honolulu Underwriters. The
place was inspected at the request of
II. Hackfeld & Co, and found the place
wired i'll accordance with the rules of
the Board of Underwriters The rules
OF the board provide for fuse not
stronger than u amperes. AS the
Electrical Company does not use that
size, l provided for the use of two No.
10 amperes. In my opinion there is
not shadow of probability that the
fire started from the electric light wir-
ing. When I examined the premises
the bushings were good except in the
place over the door, but the holes were
large and the defects We're of minor i'm
portance. Cannot say that if the fire
originated at the point where the de-
fects were that the evidence would be
noticeable after the fire. The wiring of
the premises was done in an excellent
manner and was above the average. I
considered the place a first-class risk.
Cannot see how it is possible for the
fire to have originated in the electric
wires.
As will be seen from the above tes-
timony nothing tangible can be gath
.ered regarding the origin of the fire
The testimony which will be presented
at the completion of the fire inquest
today may throw some light on the
matter.
There are many theories abroad re-
Continued on Sixth Page.)