The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-07

| three squares from the Capltoi, hau aEIlNeu,
C. P. GLEN, chief electrician of the Capitol,
and II. W. Taylor, chief engineer of the
House side, had a stream playing into the
| Supreme Court record room which by that
time was roaring furnace. Within few
minutes after the arrival of the fire depart
ment flames were under contral, although
as a precautionary measure streams were
poured into the marshal's office, the library
and the subterranean basement for two
hours. The fremen were unable, however,
for a considerable time to extinguish the
flame of gas which shot out or the rour-inch
main in the meter room. From the main
| the fire swept through an orif1ce in the
| basement floor, caused by the explosion,
and attacked the consultation room of the
Supreme Court justices on the main floor.
Some damage was done to the furniture and
fittings of this room, but 1t was inconsidera-
BILE as compared with that done elsewhere.
The reading room of the justices was un-
damaged.
THE GAS FINALLY TURNED OFF.
1t was evident that the fire could not be
extinguished until the gas was shut Off The
fremen then turned two streams upon the
main, thus choking the flow of gas and at
the same time cooling the pipe. Electrician
GLEN. Drawing the intense heat, entered the
meter room and cut off the gas at the floor
valve of the main.
throughout the lower central portion of
the old Capitol building doors, windows and
fittings in committee rooms and other
apartments are badly damaged. Just north
of the crypt an archway almost over the
meter room was completely blown out and
great masses of masonry torn from the floor
were hurled to the ceiling with such force as
to burst the stone and plaster of the walls
above Ponderous hagstones were wrenched
from their resting places, and throughout
the corridors the frescoeing on the ceilings
and walls Of the corridors were utterly
ruined No damage was done to the main
foundations of the building, as these are OF
solid masonry, deeply imbedded and
twenty-five feet four inches thick.
The elctric lighting apparatus. including
dynamos, boilers and wirings, was not dam
aged. In order to enable the fremen to
work without peril from live wires. Electri-
clan Gliem cut off the current from all
wires except one circuit, which lighted the
lower western part of the building. Within
thirty feet of the scene of the explosion
solitary incandescent lamp, marking the ex-
act center of the Capitol structure and
hanging directly over the bier in which it
was proposed to lay the remains of George
Washington, burned brilliantly.
WORKS OF ART DESTROYED.
Among the losses which will be most sim
cerely regretted are those of busts of Chief
Justice Marshall and other distinguished
members of the Supreme Court, which were
arranged on small pedestals about the Su-
preme Court Chamber. In the smoke and
ruin which followed the explosion these
valuable works of art were either badly
damaged or wholly destroyed, and with
their destruction the country has suffered
an irreparable loss. Many of them have
been treasured as exhibits in the Supreme
Court chamber for half a century.
The Capitol building has been damaged a
number of times before by fire, but it is
believed that to-night's fire will prove to
be the most disastrous in the history of the
| building On two occasions prior to this
fires have been started by explosions of gas.
Seventeen years ago a large amount of
building by an explosion of this kind, and
in 1876 there was an explosion of gas that
killed one man and came near killing an
other.
No intelligent estimate of the money loss
by the explosion and fire can yet be made.
III the opinion of Capitol officials and me-
chanics who examined the structure to-
night the loss will reach probably 100000
to the building. The loss on the library
and records, as stated above, can be
scarcely estimated in dollars and cents. A
million dollars could not replace them, be-
cause of many of them no duplicates are in
existence.
Arrangements were completed tonight by
Librarian Clark. of the Supreme Court, and
Col. Richard ]. Bright, sergeant-at-arms of
the Senate, by which the sittings of the SUI
preme Court will not be interrupted. The
court will convene tomorrow in the room
of the Senate committee on the District of
in the Capitol How long the sessions of the
court will be held there will be determined
by the justices themselves.
burned i'm His Blacksmith shop.
DETROIT, Mich. Nov. 6.-Patrick
Murphy, aged forty, who lived alone in the