Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1898-11-07
CAPITOL DAMAGED.
Fearful Explosion of Gas In
Washington.
SUPREME COURTROOM WRECKED,
Entire Central Eastern Part of the
Building From Main Floor TO subter-
raHcan Basement Practically Mass of
Ruins-Records and Books Damaged.

and fire wrecked the supreme court
room and the rooms Immediately adj
| joining it on the main floor of the CAPT.
tol and the damage was enormous. 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 explo-
sion 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 build
ing were blown out and locked doors
were forced from their hinges quite 100
feet from the scene of it.
Fire followed the explosion so quickly
as to seem practically simultaneous
with 1t. The explosion shook the inn
mense structure TO its foundations and
was heard several squares from the
capitol. 1t occurred in small room
tightly enclosed by heavy stone walls
III the subterranean basement imme-
diately below the main entrance to the
old capitol building. III this room was
a 500 light gas meter, which was FED by
four-inch main. Very little gas is
used in that part of the building, but
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 com
municated 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 documents in the
record room had been almost totally de-
stroyed and serious damage had been
done in the marshal's office and some
minor rooms III the immediate vicinity.
The library of the supreme court,
located Immediately beneath the SUI
preme courtroom was badly damaged
by fire, smoke and water Librarian
Clarke, after cursory examination
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 wateri
Justice Harlan said that while the loss
of the records was irreparabIe, it was
fortunate that the later records of the
court, which are kept in the Office of the
clerk on the main floor, were not in
i
this time and later Justice Harlan
thought these were of far greater value
than the records destroyed. Fortu-
nately the clerks office was not in the
least damaged by fire, and the explosion
did no damage in it except to blow out
one window.
Mr.. James McKenny, clerk of the SUI
preme court, expressed the hope, after
making an examination of the old record
room, that some at least of the docu-
mentS, priceless from the view point OF
the historian, could be saved.
While many theories are offered as to
the cause of the explosion, it seems be-
yond doubt to have been due to es-
Gaping gas.
Only a few persons, principally off,
GERS of the capitol police, were in the
building at the time, but several of
them had narrow escapes. Before the
fire department, which responded to an
alarm sent III by policeman three
squares from the capitol, had arrived,
@. p. Gliem, chief electrician of the
capitol, and FL. W., Taylor, chief en-
gineer of the house side, had stream
playing into the supreme court record
room, which by that time was a roaring
furnace Within a few minutes after
the arrival of the fire department the
flames were under control, although as
precautionary measure streams were
poured into the marshal's office, the
| library and the subterranean basement
| for about two hours.
In the opinion of capitol officials and
mechanics, who examined the structure,
the loss will reach probably 100000 to
| the building. The loss on the library
| and rac0rds can he scarcely estimated
in dollars and cents. A million dollars
could not replace them.
GOMEZ MIl LING TO MALI