The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-07
RUIN WROUGHT
By AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE IN THE
CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON.
Supreme Court Room and the Rooms
Immediately Adjoining on the Main
Floor Completely Wrecked.
OUTER WALLS BULGED OUT
AND CENTRAL EASTERN PART OF
THE GREAT MARBLE PILE.
From the Main Floor to the subterra-
mean Basement, Practically
Mass of Charred Ruins.
MANY RECORDS DESTROYED
AND THE LIBRARY OF 10000 LAW
VOLUMES BADLY DAMAGED.
Papers of Historic Value, Dating from
1892 to 1892, Burned, but Later
Documents Not Injured.
Papers Of Historic Value, Dating from
1892 to 1892, Burned, but Later
Documents Not Injured.
PROBABLY CAUSED BY GAS
WHICH LEAKED FROM A LARGE ME-
TER AND EXPLODED.
The Flames Enabled to Reach the
Rooms Above Through the EIeva-
tor Shaft-Estimates of Loss.

WASHINGTON, Nov. SAN explosion
and fire at 5:13 o'clock this afternoon
wrecked the Supreme Court room and the
rooms Immediately adjoining it on the main
floor of the Capitol. The damage is enor-
nous. The entire central eastern part of
the great marble pile, from the main floor
to the subterranean basement, practically
is a mass of ruins. The force of the ex-
plosion was so heavy that the coping stones
on the outer walls just east of the point
where the explosion occurred, were bulged
out nearly two inches; windows in all that
part of the building were blown out, and
locked doors were forced from their hinges
quite u hundred and fifty feet from the
scene Of it. Fire followed the explosion SO
quickly as to seem practically simultaneous
with it.
The explosion shook the immense struc-
ture to it's foundations and was heard sew
eral squares from the Capitol 1t occurred
. in small room tightly inclosed by heavy
stone walls in the subterranean basement
Immediately below the main entrance to the
old Capitol building. In this room was a
five-hundred light gas meter which was fed
by four-inch main. Very little gas is used
in that part of the building, but at the
time of the explosion the gas had not been
turned off at the meter. The meter itself
was wrecked and the gas pouring from the
main caught fire. The flames originating
from the explosion darted up the shaft of
the force of the explosion, and commune
Gated with the record room of the Supreme
Court, the office of the marshal of the court
and the Supreme Court library. Before the
flames could be subdued the priceless docu-
ments in the record room had been almost
totally destroyed and serious damage had
been done in the marshal's Office and some
minor rooms in the immediate vicinity.
HAVOC IN THE LIBRARY.
The library of the Supreme Court located
Immediately beneath the Supreme Court
room, was badly damaged by fire, smoke
and water, water practically destroying the
great collection of law reference books. The
library contains about twenty thousand
volumes and was used not only by the JUS
tices of the Supreme Court but by MEM
bers of Congress and lawyers practcing be-
fore the Supreme Court. Mr.. Justice Harlan
said tonight that the library was very valu-
able. Many of the works it contained
would. he thought, be difficult to replace.
Librarian Clarke, after a cursory examina-
tion, necessarily made by the light of Ian
terms, expressed the opinion that many of
the books could be saved although they had
been drenched by water from the streams
poured into the library for two hours or
more after the explosion occurred.
The most serious damage, in the opinion
of the justices of the Supreme Court. is to
the records stored in the subbasement.
These included all of the records of the Su-
preme Court from 1892 to 1882. The room
contains records OF cases and opinions rem
dered by the fathers of the judiciary of the
government Apparently the documents in
this room are either totally destroyed or so
badly damaged by fire and water as to be
useless. Justice Harlan said that while the
loss of the records was irreparable, it was
fortunate that the later records of the court.
which are kept In the Office of the clerk on
the main floor, were rot injured. AS docu-
ments for reference at this time and later
Justice Harlan thought these were of far
greater value than the records destroyed
Fortunately the clerks office was not in the
least damaged by fire and the explosion did
no damage in 1t except to blow out one win
dow
SOME RECORDS MAY BE SAVED.
Mr.. James McKenney. clerk OF the su-
preme Court. expressed the hope. after maxi
ing an examination of the old records room,
that some at least Of the documents. price,
less from the viewpoint of the historian.
rOuld be saved. Tonight. however. owing