Omaha daily bee., 1899-08-12
TO FIX The RESPONSIBILITY
Ooroner's Inquest Investigating Causes Which
Led to Death of Firemen.
NO PREDICTION AS TO PROBABLE OUTCOME
Jury Proceeds on Theory that Fire
men Were Elcctrocutcd, hut No
Evidence that wires Were
Charged Yet Adduced.

death OF Otto Giseke, George Bendsen, James
Adams and Charles Hopper, the ireme who
were killed at the Mercer Chemical company
fire Wednesday evening, was caused by con-
tact OF the ladder, which they were lowering,
with a live electric wire. But the RESPONSE
bility Of fixing the blame-if any exists
rests with the coroner's jury, which held it's
first session Friday afternoon at the Office
of Coroner Swanson, Seventeenth and Cum
ing streets. In the absence of the coroner,
Deputy Sheriff John Lewis of1ciated in that
capacity. The jury was composed Of w. v.
Shriver, William White, Fred p. Dow, c. L.
Thomas, c.. Hansen and S. H. Farnsworth.
The examination was in charge OF County
Attorney George w. Shields and Attorney
w. w. Morsman, representing the
Houston Electric Light company. Seven wit
nesses appeared before the jury. Three Of
them-Dr. S. X. Spaulding, city health COM
missioner; Miles M. Schoield, member Of the
Council Bluffs fire department, and George
G. Farmer, one OF the Omaha fremen who
was shocked, but recovered-spoke in a gen.
eraf way of the fire and the incidents lead
ing up to and attending the death of the
four hremen. The testimony Of the other
four-James e. ~Brinkman, foreman Of the
Thomson-Houston Electric Light linemen;
hhhtbiti " Nv lhohh
Telephone company; Edward F. Schurig. city
electrician, and Fred d. Penoyer, lineman
for the American District Telegraph COM
pany-was of a technical nature, and had re-
lation principally to the wires which were in
the alley in the rear OF the Mercer block,
and their condition directly before, at the
time OF and after the accident. A number
OF other witnesses will be examined at the
sitting Of the jury today. which will begin
this morning at 9 o'clock.
Dr.. spauIding's Testimony.
DR.. Spaulding testified that he arrived at
the scene of the disaster after the men had
been electrocuted. He found Hopper at the
end of the alley, near Eleventh street. and
the other ~three-Giseke, Bendsen and Adams
were in the rear Of the Mercer block. He
examined Hopper first and discovered that
life was already extinct. Physicians were
laboring with the other three men when he
arrived upon the scene and efforts to resus-
citate them by artificial respiration were
being made by physicians. but these were
Of no avail. IL believe" said DR.. Spauld-
ing, that all of the men were dead when /
first saw them. The condition Of their bodies
indicated that they had experienced a severe
shock and my opinion is that death resulted
from this cause"
Miles M. Schoield stated that when he
reached the rear of the Mercer block he saw
the ladder raised and noticed q fireman,
whom he afterwards learned was Albert Liv-
ingston, go UP the ladder and release one of
the wires which had become ~entangled with
the connection of the main ladder and the
extension. Livingston gave a signal to the
men below to remove the truck a little to
the left, which they did. He then descended
o. 49, -.1u IL a----
proceeded to lower the ladder. He thought
that they turned the crank on the truck
several times before the shock came. He
stated that he heard no one give any warn
ing regarding the wires through when the
ladder was descending.
"Watch Out. the Wires Are AIive!,
George G.. Farmer, a member Of No. 3
Hose company, gave substantially the same
statement as Schofeld regarding the move
ments of Livingston. He said that when
Livingston started up the ladder to olsen
tangle the wire which had become caught
in it, some one shouted to him, Watch out.
the wires are ahve!' Livingston hesitated
a moment, but Immediately proceeded when
Brinkman said that the wire was all right.
When he reached the ground the men
started to lower the ladder, which Farmer
stated was above the wires a few feet. He
said: 1--WE had made about a half dozen rev.
o%lutions Of the crank when the shock came.
/ found myself unable to loosen my hold
on the crank. but Captain Simpson jerked
my left hand off and we both fell to the
ground, Simpson receiving a severe shock
because of catching hold Of me. / was
dead to the world for five or ten minutes"
Farmer stated that he Joined the depart
ment June 81 last and, in reply to a ques-
tion from one of the jurors, said that he had
never received any instructions regarding
the cutting of wires at a fire. He said he
believed the wires were properly insulated
and consequently had no fears of them.
Expert Witness on Stand.
James E. Brinkman was the first expert
electrical witness. He detailed at some
length the position OF the wires which ex-
tended through the alley, to the rear and
parallel with the Mercer block. There are
eleven wires and he characterized them as
follows, beginning with the south wire,
closest to the building: No. /, "teaser' wire,
carrying 1000 volts; Nos. 2 and 8, complete
alternating circuit. which feed the mean
descent lights, voltage, 2,0O0; Nos. 4 and
8, opera house circuit, voltage, 1000; No.
6, arc circuit. voltage, $500; Nos. 7, s and
9, secondary wires, maximum voltage, POS;
| Nos. 10 and IL, power wires, voltage. 500.
iuesc NiIcs, ITO odlu, dIe louIlttH llCucS
| apart. He said that the ladder went up be-
tween wires 6 and 7, but that because 1t
was probably thirty inches in width, 1t also
came in contact with wire No. 5 of the
opera house circuit. The wire which be-
came caught in the ladder and which Liv-
ingston went up to release belonged to the
arc circuit, and he told him that It was
dead on the theory that the city arc lights
had not been turned on, the hour being at
that time yet too early. He also assumed
that the opera house wire, No. 8, which the
fodder undoubtedly touched, was dead, be-
cause on the afternoons when the opera
houses use the lights they are always turned
off by SIS, and he did not think that wire
| No. 7, the other one touched by the ladder,
could have inflicted any damage, because
OF its small voltage. After the fire Brink
man cut down wires Nos. 5, 6 and 7, be-
tween the arches over which they were
strung in the rear of the Mercer block and
found that the insulation on all Of them
had been broken. The break on each
seemed to be fresh and he believed 1t was
caused by the contact OF the iron bound
ladder with the wires while the ladder was
being turned around preparatory to lowering
1t, Brlnkman testified that for the past
two or three years there has been no system
of communication whereby the electric light
company was notified instantly Of a fire.
Frank Gardner stated that he inspected
the position of the ladder up between the