The evening times., 1896-06-09

There was crash and a casualty at 10
o'clock this forenoon in that old death
trap-the Government Printing office
which should prove a warning note TO
Congress and result in the speedy passage
OF the bill for the erection of a new and
substantial structure for the great ma
tional printery.
Fully ten feet of plastering fell with
loud crash from the ceiling of the retiring
room on the second floor, few doors
north OF the rooms occupied as Il private
office by Public Printer T. E. Benedict.
Fortunately but one nun was hurt by the
downfall.
Mr. John s. Burnside, a compositor in
the first division, was caught under the
mass of mortar and crushed unconscious to
the floor, his head being badly cut and
his body bruised,
At the time OF the accident the lavatory
| was occupied by Mr.. Burnside, Jesse Grant
/ and Charles Otis, pruofreader, and one or
| two other employees. Mr.. Grant said to an
Evening Times representative the first
warning he had that danger was impend-
| ing overhead was a series of vibrations and
| a slight cracking sound. Then came the
crash and the room was filled with sitting
| clouds or mortar dust.
RAN INTO THE CORRIDOR.
| His first thought was that the old death
| trap had commenced to collapse and Mr..
Grant and his companions ran cut into the
| corridor. As the first crash was not fol-
lowed by a second Messrs. Grant and Otis
| went back into the retiring room to see
| if any one was hurt
They found Mr.. Burnside prostrate and
bleeding from n cut on his head. The in
jured man was removed into the hallway
and telephone message sent to police
headquarters for an ambulance.
In the meantime over Il hundred clerks
and typos, including Capt. Bryan. foreman
| of printing, and Mr.. Albert Baker, private
secretary to the public printer, rushed out
| into the corridor to learn the nature of the
accident.
Mr.. Benedict was quickly informed OF it
and had the door of the lavatory nailed up
With heavy boards. The ambulance ar
| rived in the meantime. and Mr.. Burnside was
| taken to the Emergency Hospital. where
his injuries were dressed and lie was after
ward sent TO his home, No. 64 l street
| mort theast.
Speaking TO an Evening Times reporter
| about the accident and the lessons that
should be drawn from IL, Mr.. Benedict
| said that IL was a fortunate thing for the
1886 men and women employed i'll the
shaky old building that tie crash did not
occur in one of the open divisions. II was
in comparatively small apartment. and
| the door was closed, consequently, the
noise of the falling mass OF plaster could
be heard only a short distance away and
then n subdued sortof way.
AN AWFUL PANIC.
at is impossible said the Public Printer,
"for plaster to fail In the main work Iooms,
for there Is none TO fail, the ceilings being
of heavy tinbers white washed But
venture to say, had there been such a crash,
any ga in ana Of I'm IL.
rooms, an awful panic would have re-
| suited. and maybe fifty excited females
| regardless OF fire escapes or stair ways, in
| their frantic efforts to reach a place OF
safely, might have flung themselves from
the windows, making long list OF killed
| and nlaiined
"A wise Providence has been guarding
the employees of this Old structure for
| years past, and in point of size and num-
| Der of workInen its list of accidents will
compare more than favorably with any
large factory or workshop in the world.
I repeat that we did not have stampede
and serious results this morning is due
10 the fact that the sound of the falling
| ceiling did not reach the composing rooms
and bindery. where hundreds of females
| are employed.
| These people re in 4 state of nervous
tension all the time. and it would not re-
quire much OF n noise 10 magnify minor
accident into great catastrophe. For
thirteen years my predecessors and myself
have been calling the attention OF Congress
to the necessity of a new building
Mr.. Benedict also said that all the heavy
machinery had been removed from the
weaker portions Of the structure and thai
the lava over the one in which tht
accident occurred today had all been nailed
up.
MR.. BENEDICTs CRITICISM.
Mr.. Benedict believes that Buddenseik, tie
infamous Brooklyn architect. is a prince Of
builders compared with the contractors
who slapped together the great pile OF
brick at North Capitol and H streets. TIC
bear out his assertion. the Public Printer
keeps on his desk practical exhibit OF
the stuff the rattlety-bang edifice is mads
or. 1t is piece of so-calied mortar, takeI
from crevice in the main wall on the Fl
street side.
| This" =" said Mr Renedicf holding , min,