The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-12-31
IN
HONOLULU
STREETS
Wires Threaten the
Lives Of the
People.

At 10 o'clock last night the Coroner's
J.'ry empane'tad y reiaiirira the caLse
of the death Of Charles All Fai, who was
killed In McInerny's sto'e on Saturday
afternoon = nile handing q lever switch
coErcctt.tg with the electric lights in
the store. found a verdict in which tine
H1wa.iUn Electric CJ'npany, Limited.
vas censu'ed for not taking proper
precluu ~. IN the o.. nSiug Of its wires
and exercising proper surveillance over
the system, believing that from sumo
negligence on the part of the company
the boy ha come - mis- death. in the
Nrrdic' Is . recommendation to the Su.
perrin. md ut of Prbllc Works that
competent inspector be appointed IL i'm
spect the electric wires In his city. ex-
pert testimony haVi ~ been riid 81 be-
fore the jury That the wires CT the
electric light company We're in a CON
dtion dangerous tc property and life,
owing to impa 'i,ct wi. ug HnG lack o.
necessary attention. The jury recon-
mends that This inspector have rae
power to conde nm all v ire; fond unit
for public service.
After listening to the testimony of
electrical experts COR several hours y"G-
Witnesses account of the manner In
which the young Chinese met death from
the electric current, and probing the
matter to the bottom, the fury was of
the opinion that although no dir.ct tes-
imony had been offered to indicate thet
any one was directly to blame IN this
particular case, yet from the condition
of the electric wires in this ci.y, other
lives would be sacrificed unless sur1e
attention was given to rectfylng the
imperfections. Following Is the YER
diet:
This jury finds that one Charles An
Fai came to his death at Honolulu, ISL
and of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on
the 18th day of December, A. D.. 1901.
from an electric shock received from
switch in the store of Il. A. McInerney.
in said Honolulu, connecting the wires
in said store with the wires OF the Ha-
waiian Electric Light Company, while
said Charles All Fai was In the act OF
turning on the current.
And IL the necessary precautions had
been used by the Hawaiian Electric
Light Company 1t Is the belief of the
jury that the said Charles All Fai would
not have so met his death.
And in view OF the expert testimony Of
electricians adduced in the case, this jury
Electric Light Company are In a condl
ton dangerous to property and life, ow'
ing to imperfect wiring and lack Of nee
essary attention. p,
Therefore, this jury recommends that
the Superintendent of Public Works ap.
point competent inspector to Inspect
all electric wires in the city of Hobolulu.
with the power to condemn and to per.
| form all other such acts as in the prem
ises may seem meet.
CHAS. +. CHILLINGWORTH.
Coroner.
CHAs. b. WILSON.
VIM. BERLOWITZ,
JOHN II. WISE.
r. c. GEER,
r. KELLETT,
A. p. TAYLOR,
Jurors.
An afternoon meeting was held
which was principally occupied by liza
tening to electricians expound on the
theories and mysteries of the profess
sion An adjournment was taken until
1880 last evening. at which tina Wn
Carey, a lineman for the Hawaiian
Electric Light Company. and T. Leslie
De Cew, electrical inspector for the
Board of Fire Underwriters Of the Ter
ritory of Hawaii. and Superntend n;
Frazee of the Territorial Electric Light
system, testified. Both the latter gem
tlemen stated that the wires of the Ha-
waiian Electric Company We're in a
dangerous condition in many parts Of
the city and on Fort street there was
one wire which was. bare of insulation,
making II especially dangerous to life
and property.
| The jury wished to find from VIM. Ca
rey just what had been done by Electric
| Company with reference to the wires
and transformers on the electric wire
pole on Fort street opposite McInerny's
store since Saturday evening. The young
| fellow answered the questions p omptly
and did not seem ovasiyc. lie said that
after the tragedy he went to the scene
and Immediately climbed the polo and
made an inspection. He found every
| thing In position, and there wassnothing
to indicate that anything had happened
| there to cause trouble IN Mclnerny's
store, lie came down again, and met
Manager Gartloy, who told him to go up
again, At that time he shifted an insu-
lated wire from "A close proximity to
nut which holds an arm on n pole and
then came down again. lie found moth
ing whatever that would in his opinion
have caused any trouble In the wires
leading from the transformer The
wires were not sagging enough to cause
them TO brush against one other.
| Superintendent Frazee sad he had
taken notice of the manner in which the
electric wires are strung at present.
Some needed pulling up. Pins and cross
arms In many places We're in a position
TO give way thus letting the wires fall
10 the street. They needed overhauling,
He said the tightening Of of these wires
would reduce the danger to life and
property. He was of the opinion that
more than no volts had killed All Fai.
He thought 1t was the fault of the Elec-
trio Company. ,s
| Mr.. De Cew was a splendid witness. He
said nc was an inspector of new wiring
but not the old. He was of the opinion
that more than ITO volts had caused the
boys death. One hundred and ten volts
might kill man with a weak heart. but
not one In normal condition.