The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-08
lass PROVES TO BE LITTLE.
nm CAPITOL MAY BE REPAIRED
At A COST OF 100000.

n,wnee Is Not SO Great as He
rirst Thougbt-NOt Many Records
Des,royed, Although Badly Char
..5 and Damaged by Water-VaIu-
lille Law Books Escaped Injury.
supreme Court sits in Senate
chamber.
washington, Nov. Assistant Archi-
lao, of the Capitol Wood, after an in
soecti5n Of the wrecked part OF the capt.
-, expressed the opinion late this aft
.rroon that the damage to the building
could he repaired for $4,000.
arf is by no means so serious as first
,boueht it was" said Mr. Wood Il ind
tbat tae foundations of the building were
moi dqmaged in the least, and that the
onlv injury done to the structure by the
emission was done to the arched floors.
Tbese we're struck from beneath, and af-
torded the least resistance, gave way SO
readily that the foundation walls were
not injured in any respect"
Mr.. Wood believes the explosion was
caused by gas, but says he has not yet
been able. on account of the debris, to
make d sufficiently critical examination to
Mace he exact spot at which the igni-
don occurred. Other architects who have
Inspected the scene of the catastrophe also
attribute it to an explosion of gas, but
like Mr. Wood, decline to go into details
in their theories, Some express the opin-
Jon that a broken main and a burning
jet are responsible for the occurrence.
The work of removing the rubbish caus-
ed by the explosion proceeded rapidly all
day, seventy-five or one hundred men be-
ing employed for this purpose. As soon
as the refuse is sufficiently cleared out
the work of repairing the damage will be-,
gin Mr.. Wood thinks that the Supreme
Court room will be ready for occupancy
within two weeks. Here, as elsewhere,
the damage was less than was thought,
and the opinion is expressed that nothing
more than repainting Of the walls, putting
In new doors, new skylights and new up
hosiery will be necessary to render the
chamber fit for service. Fire did very
little damage to this room, but the con-
cussion did some, and the smoke and wa
ter more, The ceiling of this part of the
building and some of the partitions are
Of wood, and there is no doubt that very
serious damage would have resulted If the
fire had once gotten d Roadway here As
ii adjoins the dome, there has been some
speculation as towhat effect il would have
had on that structure
None of the very valuable books in the
law library We're injured. The only dam
age that cannot be made good was done
In the file room of the Supreme Court in
the basement, where were stored all the
oHleial records and. the original copies Of
opinions from the foundations of the gov
eminent All these opinions have been
printed but the original manuscripts were
highly valued.
ms room vas almost over the scene of
the explosion, and it was one Of the com
pariments of the capitol to be attacked
Inc documents here were stored away in
an orderly manner, in wooden cases. and
none or them had any other protection,
except he'records of the court from 1892
to 1882 which were encased in tin boxes.
The flames appear to have COMPLETELY en-
Veioped this room, but they were only
suihclently intense to badly char all the
woodwork and many of the documents.
Comparatively few of the papers were alb
solutely destroyed, but those which suf-
Tered this fate were among the most val
liable in the room. They Include the orig
inal opinions of the court in the early
days of The republic and among them were
many manuscripts prepared in the hand
writing of the jurists of the days of Wash
mgton, jefferson and Adams. There were
IN the list many opinions in manuscript
written by Marshall Story, Samuel Chose,
Bushrod Washington and others of the
justices of the period between 1890 and 1880.
and therefore, priced as relics of the
early days of the court They were also
OCCASIONALLY referred TO to settle disputed
points concerning words or punctuation
marks These papers were stored under
the arch of the room, and seem to have
oeen completely consumed. On the other
hand, the official records of the courts
Proceedings covering the same PERIOD ap-
pear to have been preserved and probably
in good condition. These were encased in
tin boxes and these, in turn, placed with
IN wooden cases.
Many of the more modern documents,
Including letters and opinions of recent
date We're also so badly burned that it
vii be impossible to restore them, but
none Of these appear to have suffered such
complete demolition as befel the early
opinions. No documents affecting the pres
enl docket of the court were injured.
The fire at one time threatened to in
wade the Senate document docket room,
report was current during the morning
mat the west central wall of the capitol
was cracked as a result of the explosion.
Architect Wood made a careful examina-
uon of the crack 1t proved, however, to
he in the outer or veneer wall, and not in
me six foot foundation wall on the west
side This main wall has stood over one
hundred years and Is still in fairly good
condition. When additions We're made
veneer wan about one inch thick was
added
The explosion last night blew out a
heavy stone door frame in the outer wall,
and this in turn loosened several stones
In the veneer wal Mr.. Wood satisfied
himself that the main wall had not been
dis urbed -.
The Supreme Court sat today in the
room Of the Senate committee on the Dis
uet of Columbia. The committee room is
quite a connexions office room, well fur
hlshed with tables, chairs, desks and other
oHice furniture. so that little difficulty
was encountered in Transforming it into
suitable place for the court. The long
Center table need hx fh,a aof,af1afffaa v.,bov,