The Hawaiian gazette., 1904-08-19
JUDICIARY
BUILDING
An Account Of Some
Patchwork Done
Therein.
tFrom Thursdays Advertiser.)


Judge Gear had talk with Chief
Justice Frear yesterday regarding q
place to hold the criminal division ses-
sions of the September term In, owing
to the unsafe condition of his court
room. The Supreme Court chamber,
, the floor of which was lately repaired,
may be given for the purpose, but moth
ing is decided. The Chief Justice face
tiously suggested that Judge Gear have
his chair suspended with chain cables
to the ceiling and thereby relieve the
floor of few hundredweight.
The condition of the Judiciary build
ing is an old story. Eighteen or TWEEN
ty years ago the late C. T. Gulick, as
Minister of the Interior, begged the
Legislature for means of repairing the
structure where 1t was developing
weakness. He spoke of its foundations
as having been laid in a black sand
deposit
When the Provisional Government
forces We're using the rear of the old
legislative chamber, where the U. S.
District Attorneys Office Is now locat.
ed, for barracks in 1893. two soldiers
enjoying a siesta had a narrow escape
from being pulverized In bed with the
fall of half a ton of plaster. On the
floor above was then the law library
containing many tons of books. A
hurried examination showed that the
joists beneath that great weight were
thoroughly honeycombed with the raw
ages of insects and the library was re-
moved to the quarters of the old Gov
eminent library at the opposite end of
the building, where it became perma-
nently established.
Within the past year an examination
was made of the floor of the main
courtroom upstairs, now occupied by
the Supreme Court and 1t being found
in an extremely unsafe condition was
repaired Attention had been called to
the weakness of that floor years pre-
viously, yet an awful disaster was de-
fed term after term of the Circuit
Court, when several hundred people
would be assembled upon it, until acute
symptoms of impending collapse were
observed in the ceiling of the Federal
courtroom beneath.
Another piece of patching was done
In the building several years ago when
the wooden balcony on the Queen street
side was replaced with concrete on iron
joists. Also, within few months past.
a fireproof vault for probate records
was built I'M the space previously oc-
cupied by a side corridor leading to the
rear balcony and to the chief clerks
office. All sorts of alterations in rooms
for civil and judiciary offices, on both
floors, have been made from time to
time, doorways sometimes having to
be hacked through concrete walls.
One stairway affords the only commu-
ncaton between the first and second
floors. Lately, while safe was being
hoisted up the stairs on skids, the stair
way was blocked for about two hours.
Chief Justice Frear, on that occasion,
was one of few who accepted the
risk of going downstairs in front of the
safe while 1T was stuck balancing on
plank at the landing with smooth
planks covering the stairs at the sides.
A break or slip of the tackle would
have brought the ponderous article
crashing to the bottom with sure death
to anybody in the way.
There are signs of structural weak
ness to be seen on the exterior near the
front entrance of the building. The
age and the history of the judiciary
building would suggest having 1t thor
oughly examined by n board of experts
before any large amount of money is
expended upon repairs other than tenn
porary ones to make 1t safe for its
present purposes, until the whole SUBJ
1ect of Territorial buildings at the cap
ital can be settled.
Should It be decided that the walls
are good for fastening a remodeled in
terror to, the repairs ought to be made
ON modernized plan. This would in
clude an electric elevator in the tow
er, besides an ample stairway at each
end, the clock to be raised to the high
est floor of the tower and passengers
landed there with only one flight of
stairs to Climb. There is a superb view
from the top of the tower. whi,h could
be made one of the first attractions to
tourists simply by making it easily ac-
cessible