The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-08

WASHINGTON, Nov. Z. = The big
capitol building was a scene of wreck
and desolation todny following the ex-
plosion and fire which wrought such
serious havoc last night. The engines
and f1Eemen have gone, and in their
place a small army of workmen was
carrying off the debris Of bricks and
mortar, charred woodwork, soaked and
half-burned official papers and docu-
ments which had been heaped in CON
fusion in the basement and sub-bnse-
ment, under the quarters occupied by
the United States supreme court. An
examination of the court room showed
that the damage was confined to dis
colored halls and ceiling and soaked
carpets. No substantial damage had
been done. The bench occupied by the
justices was uninjured and even the
or1efs and papers left by some of the
JCStlceS under paper weights remained
undisturbed. But. while the fire had
made no progress here, smoke and
water had left this chamber, which
has long been regarded as a model of
classic beauty, in sorry condition. The
WINDOWS and sash Of the fine old CO.
ion1al windows thanking the bench are
In ruins. The frescoed ceilings, which
recently had been done over, are blur
red and spotted. the carpets and dra-
peries are soaked. while the whole
u,
pect usually found after a fire. The
personal effects of the justices, robes.
ETC., were found to be uninjured, The
main loss of the court was in the mar
shads office and in the storage room
Where valuable old records are kept.
Inc extent OF this last loss is not yet
eAactIy determined, but the court Of
nclaIs expect to nbke a critical exam
lnation during the day.
Sergeant-at-Arms Bright, Of the SEN
ate, was busy this morning making
temporary provision for the sessions
OF the court. Senator McMnlan's com
miutee room. on the District of Column
bia, was hastily prepared with bench
ana seats for the justices, and "a. dozen
rows OF seats for attorneys and spec
Uators' The quarters are rather
cramped, however, and the chief JUS
Cice ana nve Justices will have to sit
oi one sioe or long oak table.
Arch1tect Clark, of the capitol. is nd
vanced In age and very feeble, so that
the active work of investigating the
cause OF the explosion and clea
away the wreckage is in the hands Of
Mr.. Wood C''4'i 'o4'
~, Il nave !: made a preliminary examin-
duon' Mr. Wood said today. land T
am not able to say what caused the
explosion, though the main attention is
pelng given to the gas supply. find
tnaC the general damage Sustained nv
Inc building is not as serious as at
tiIst supposed. The heavy foundations
10 the building do not appear to he
disturbed, and the walls bIoU, ~ us pe
ore connned to the thin encircIing
MaIis, pullt to encircle pipes. etc. None
u tHe heoVy sustaining arches or nil
xaI5 nave given way so far as 7 can
III liz, 1 VIII make a fuller examination
t Mi,n netter nght, later. to make GER
IT. do oh tllese points. For the present
II does not seem that a. rebuiIdinp oe
any part OF the capitol will be neces-
suTy. The work will be that of renaiI-
tus' ana nope we can finish this hy
cHe tulIie congress convenes. We have
q small balance for this, but in anV
event the work will be done''
While this damage was reo.re+tad a.
as A'oI considered frreprabIe
ONLY IRREPARABLE
The only damage that could not ba
MADE good was done in the file room, oF
the supreme court of the ba sene,,+
Wnere were stored all the official rec
: ana the original copies of opin-
ions from the foundation of the gov
e .a,.,.L All these opinions have been
printed, but the original manuscrints
were highly valued. This room was al
LIosI over the scene of the explosion
ana IL was one of the first comma
mt miehts OF the capitol to be ATTACHED
tne documents here We're stored AWAY
III an orderly manner in wooden cases
anu meme OF them had any other pro
Lectlon, except the records of the oo,17st
trcn It92 to 1882, which were encaseS
III Tin boxes. The flames appear to
nave completely enveloped this room
put tney were only sufficiently intense
TO paoly char all the woodwork and
i ~. Oh the documents. Comparative
~ rev or the papers were absolutely
destroyed, but those which suffered
this fate were among the most vaII,e~
Die In the room. They included the
original opinions of the court in the
early days Of the republic, and amone.
c1tein were many manuscripts preparad
IN the handwriting Of the jurists Of
the Gays OF Washington, Jefferson and
Au , mere We're in the list many
opinions in manuscript written hv
marshall, Story, Samuel Chase. Bush
rou ashng'ton and others Of the ius-
tlces of the period between 1880 and
1871, and therefore priced as relics Of
the early days of the court. They were
also occasionally referred to to settle
ulspuleu POINTS concerning words or
ctuatlon marks. These papers were
stored under the arch Of the room. and
seem TO nave been completely consun
ed. On the other hand, the official rec
ords OF the courts proceedings. cover
ing the same period, appear to have
Oeen preserved, and probably in good
condition. These were encased in fin
boxes, and these in turn placed within
wooden cases. The debris is in such
disorder as to have rendered it impos-
slble to open the wooden doors this
AFTERNOON, but these doors were not
penetrated at any place; hence the be-
lief that the records themselves are
intact. Many of the more modern doc
uments, including letters and opinions
or recent date. were also SO badly
burned that 1T will be impossible to
restore them, but none of these ap-
pears to have suffered such complete
demolition as befell the early opinions,
NO documents affecting the present
docket Of the court were injured.
Ihe fire at one time threatened to
invade the senate document room,
reaching to within four or five feet of
1t. Mr.. AMI Smith, the superintendent
OF the room, was on hand prepared to
contest its progress with the aid of
the fire department, but the chances
are that, If it had gained any head
way in this department, the damage
would have been far more serious. as
the apartment is extensive and CON
tains much exposed paper.
Sergeant alarms Bright has tele
graphed Senator Mcmillan concerning
the use Of the senator's COMMITTEES
room for the supreme court If it is
not convenient to continue its use.
another committee room, or, If need be.
the senate chamber will be utilized as
court room.