The Washington times., 1901-12-15
Printing Office

! cause the building to collapse. This in
! cludes- every man. woman and child in
the Quaker City. the average weight Of
whom would be about seventy pounds.
/ These figures are compiled from the Off
cial estimate made by Captain Sewell,
who says that the floors are designed for
a live load OF 500 pounds per square foot,
uniformly distributed.
The total floor area being more than
/ 10000 square feet, the calculation is a
! simple one. The engineer in charge adds
! that his estimate of strength Of the struc-
ture is based upon the specification that
! the structure must be capable of stand
ing dead load of rs pounds per square
foot. or total OF 5O,e0oOOO pounds.
The massive character of the machin-
| cry to be operated in this gigantic print
, cry made it necessary for the Government
to require an unusually high unit strain
| in the steel work, and the very highest
| quality Of material aud workmanship.
All Modern improvements.
In addition to steam heat, electric light
/ and power. interior tel phone and alarm
systems, elevators, stand-pipos and water
! tanks. there viii be installed in the
structure every provision for the safe
and speedy exit in case of fire or panic,
| and for the health and comfort of the
employees.
Since work was commenced on this mani
moth cdifce there have been constantly
employed in its erection from 80 to COO
men, skilled and unskilled laborers, me
chanics, and experts in special lines of
construction.
The various branches Of work have been
carried On under the contract system. the
bricklaying excepted. each Job being
closely inspected and passed upon rs It
progressed by the army expert in charge.
The men employed on the building re-
ceive wages ranging from s1.5O 10 $L5o
per day, though in sCme instances spe-
cially skilled mechanics are paid far in
excess Of the latter figure
Red Brick and Sandstone.
The exterior finish Of the building is of
handmade red bricks-d few pressed,
hut most of them not pressed-with
sand finish except in the interior court.
where an almost whitc-faced brick is
used TO improve the light The red brick
viii be trimmed with Maynard sandstone,
and a considerable amount Of ornamental
terra Gotta. The cut-stcEe and ornamen-
tai terra Gotta cost more than It was
thought 1t would. hut the estimate was
based on a general idea. and not on actual
knowledge Of what would be required.
The saving on the steel contract, how
ever, enabled the architects plans to be
adopted without change. providing for q
much better building than it was original
l. intended to construct. Mr.. Hnrs de-
sign is very simple and digniaed one,
and does not contain any excess of orna-
mentation.
The Interior Decorations.
Inside the building the walls will be
finished with dado Of ornamental bricks
about six feet high, and above that the
white-faved bricks. 4 few rooms. used for
office purposes, will be plastered, and the
main entrance will be finished in plaster
and marble. In addition 10 these dadoes
on the main walls. enameled bricks will
be used to line ali stairway walls, ele-
yator walls. and toilet rooms.
An improved feature Of the interior Of
the structure will be u.at all stairway
walls will be shut off from the main
building from top to bottom by brick
walls, having only one freproof door for
communication at each floor level. All
brick work is being laid in Portland ce-
ment mortar to prevent shrinkage, and
add to the rlgidity Of the finished struc-
ture.
Cast iron baseboards are to be used
throughout the builling and corner
guards of cast iron will be used on all
salient angles Of brick work to prevent
be lined with cast iron tanks, and the
weather surface Of the roof VIII be of
yitrifed tiles laid In Neuchatel asphalt
All floors Of working rooms will be fin
ished in hard maple, laid in blocks in
Neuchatel asphalt All the doors, except
those for the executive Offices, will be
hreproof.
Heat and Ventilation.
The system Of heating adopted is the d.
rect~lndirect. COILS VIII De placed in
pockets under the windows. fresh air will
be admitted under the window sills and
DETECTED by a bafle-plate through the
coils and into the building. Large ven
tllating shafts carried up through the
centre of the rooms will have register
opening into each story, and exhaust fans
at the top will ensure draft.
1t is realized by those in charge Of the
construction OF the building that this sys-
TEN is not as perfect as an indirect sys-
TEN, with fans to force the fresh warm
air into the rooms through properly ar
ranged ducts, but the space required for
blowers and indirect coils in the base
ment and for ducts through the building
could not be spared. and it was necessary
to select the next best plan.
The fresh air inlets are provided with |
strong and simple dampers, whereby they
can be wholly or partially closed. This |
precaution, together with the positive ac-
tion of the exhaust fans, will make the |
system more successful here than it has |
been in many cases where too much cold |
air was admitted in severe weather and |
the inlets have been wholly and perma-
nently closed by the occupants Of the
building, thus making systematic ventila- |