Evening star., 1896-10-05

Floors condemned and ordered recon-
structed
From report ending Saturday. August l.
Brick work o. K Joist condemned
From report ending Saturday August I5
Under roof. Satisfactory.
FROM report ending Saturday August 81
READY Tor roof, satisfactory, less than 75
feet in height.
Examined the building,
rarty of local contractors and builders.
inclt cling Messrs. Heisley, McLaushlin. Oh
Wer' henderson and Brown, who will ap-
pear as witnesses at the coroner's inquest.
to be held tomorrow to determine ,be 70.
sponsibility for the death of James Fitz
gerald, whose body was found in the ruins
OF the establishment of Mr.. Charles l.
beatty, LIB Pennsylvania avenue this
morning made an inspection of the Albert
ouiio!Es, the West wall of which fell and
uenionsheo the structures wherein were
loca'ea Beatty's restaurant and Kelley's
caae' curing the storm Tuesday night last
The party first ascended to the roof Of
the rear building OF 12l1 Pennsylvania
avenue, and from there obtained an excel
ieht view or the situation. From remarks
eAchah heeo by the builders IL seemed to be
tne general opinion that the fall of the
west wall was not due to the force of
vino pressure from the inside but to suc-
.ion from the outside, augmented by vi
puliders claimed that the wall was moi
properly tied. and that the bricks of a
portion of the wall al least were not SCI
enu mortared as they should have been
me party hext adjourned 10 the south
sac or PENNSYLVANIA avenue and took a
slSntlng view Of the east wall of ,he Albert
briId:rg. which is standing and. to the
Shn asa, observer, appears 10 be all right,
me Dcnoers however, agreed that the
wall winds, and that the ceater has
moved Westward, so as to render that
poruon about six inches out Of plumb with
tne NORTH and south ends
several OF the party proceeded 10 the on
trance OF the Albert building with the in
tehtion OF inspecting the interior They
were % met at the doorway however, by Mr.
Apert ara Mr.. Glenn Brown architect
only those summoned by the coroner so
MI. Abert stated, would he permitted to
| enter. All except Mr.. Oliver decided thai
uiies oia not care to proceed further. The
name or the latter was jotted down hy Mr.
| Abert and he passed inside
ootii MT Kelley and Mr.. Finley who
were In the buildings when the Albert wall
S, upon them, In conversation with
otar reporter said that for some time
past they had stood in fear of the wall and
when the crash occurred they were aware
OF the nature Of the calamity at once
Called On the Commissioners,
Mr. John H. Hewlett, the builder who
preferred charges against the building de-
psrtment OF the District for poor work IN
| connection with the fall of the Albert build
ing, l2i1 Pennsylvania avenue, on the night
| OF the big storm, was at the Commission
ers ONCE today. Among other things, he
said: The west wall of that building was
built on an old, insecure wall. There is no
| appearance of the fallen wall ever having
! been anchored, except two small strap
| aLchors to hold elevator or guide posts in
| place. NO anchors were worked in The
| middle of the side walls to connect them
| with the front wall There is no evidence
OF anchors in the girders, except two small
| Hoies punGhed IN the gfrder. Look at the
| sirder bullt In the middle thickness of the
| Side wall, which is a source of weakness
| against lateral pressure. Then notice the
| mortar 1t is simply lime and sand and
| should have been all cement and sand
| From a conversation I heard around the
| building, 1t Is evident that there is combi-
| nation among all interested or responsible
! to suppress the real state of the building
| at the time the wall fell. / am of the
| opinion that the coroner should summon
mere expert witnesses from the professional
men OF the city, such as Bernard Green OF
| the new library"
| the occupant of 1913 Pennsylvania avenue
| which was demolished by the fall of the
| Albert building, appeared before the Com
| missioners with photographs of the wrecked
building. He pointed out the girders, and
called attention to the absence of any
| signs of anchors there. The Commission
ers replied that they had instructed their
| attorney to be present at the inquest to-
morrow, and no stone would be left un-
| turned to get at the true facts.
| Mr.. VIM. Stone Albert the owner of the
| building, whose west wall demolished build.
ings numbered l2l3 and 12l5, had hearing
| before the Commissioners this afternoon
He called, he said, in relation to the mum
Der of applications he had received from
private citizens who desired to inspect tn,
prem ises. While he had no objection tc
| sucn inspection, he did not care to take tn.
responsibility. He was willing to put tn,
| building in the hands of the police unit
after the inquest tomorrow and allow any.
body to go in. He desired to emphasize tn,
fact that there was no desire on his part Il
cover up anything. Nothing about III.
building had been touched until aftei
Building Inspector Brady and his assist
ant, Mr.. b. c. King. had gone over tn,
building, and ordered him to proceed a
| once with the reconstruction, upon exactl,
the same plans. He thought it would be /
good idea to inform the coroner that if hi.
card be presented at the building by any
| one he desired to summon as a witness
| every facility would he afforded TO Civ.
him all information. This was approve,
by the Commissioners, and the secretar,
directed to notify the coroner of Mr.
Abert's invitation.
| NIGHT PUBLIC SCHOOLS