Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1898-11-11
EXPLOSION IN THE CAPITOL
QUARTER OF A MILLION LOST
Esenpinp Gas Exploded in the Capt.
toll Building In WashInst"n'
WreckinE the Rooms OF the su-
preme Court and Destroying VAL
liable Books and Documents.

WASHINGTON. Nov. 1.-Au explosion
and fire at 5:l3 yesterday afternoon
wrecked the supreme court room and the
rooms Immediately adjoining it on the
main floor OF the capitol. The entire CEN
tr,l and eastern part Of the great marble
pile from the main floor TO the sub,er-
ranean basement practically Is mass "t
ruins. The force OF the explosion was so
heavy that the coping stones on the outer
walls Just east OF the pont where the
explosion occurred were bulged out near
" two inches, and locked doors were
forced from their hinges quite $50 feet
from the scene. Fire followed the explo-
sion 50 quickly a, TO seem practically SIM
ultaneous with it.
The explosion shook the Immense strur-
ture to it's foundations, and was heard
several squares from the capitol. 1t oc-
Cured in Il small room tightly enclosed
by heavy stone walls in the subterranean
basement immedia tely below the main en-
trance to the old capitol building. In this
room was 5OO-light gas meter, which
was fed by Il four-inch main. 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 elevator, which had been
completely destroyed by the force OF the
explosion. and communicated with the
record room OF the supreme court, the Oh
la. 10, al ~ no
supreme court library. Before the flame
could be subdued the priceless document'
in the record room had been almost total
ly DESTROYED and serious damage had beer
{ done in the marshals office and som'
! minor rooms in the immediate vicinity
=. The library of the supreme court, Located
> Immediately beneath the supreme cour
. room, was badly damaged by fire, smok
;, and water.
II Throughout the lower central portion
of the old capitol building, doors, win
= dows and fittings in committee rooms
= and other apartments, are badly damaged
Just north of the crypt an archway a
. most over the meter room was completed
:, blown out and great masses OF maSonr
- torn from the floor were hurled to tn
ceiling with such force as to burst tn
:. stone and plaster of the walls above. POI
- derous tlagstones were wrenched fro,
their resting places and throughout tn
:. corridors the frescoing on the ceiling an
=, walls of the corridors were utterly ruiz
- ed. No damage was done to the mai
>. foundations of the building as these al
-. OF solid masonry deeply embedded an
. % feet four inches thick.
Justice Harlan said that while the To-
- of the records was irreparable. it was 10
=. tunate that the later records OF the cour
y, y which are kept in the office OF the cler
on the main floor, were not injured. :
-, documents for reference at this time an
-, later, Justice Harlan thought these we
- of far greater value than the records d
hn stroyed. Fortunately the clerks oii
~ was not in the least damaged by fire al
h. the explosion did no damage in it exec
Il, to blow one window out.
n In the opinion OF the capitol oficia
~, and mechanics who examined the stlu
ture the loss will reach probably $20'
600 to the building. The loss OH the
brary and records, as stated above, c:
scarcely be estimated in dollars and cen
r. A million dollars could not replace the
because of many OF them no duplicai
are in existence