Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-17
STAIRWAYS OF PINE
APPARENT VIOLATION OF REGU-
LATIoNs AT POLICE COURT.
Going From Bad to Worse, According
to an Official-Poor Economy
Alleged.

Visitors to the Police Court. as we'll as
many officials of the court and others who
frequently have business there, have ex-
pressed themselves as astounded at the way
in which the building inspectors Office has
tried to remedy the conditions of the court,
resulting from the inadequate stairways in
the building. Two flights of stairs, made
entirely of wood, mostly pine and only four
feet wide, are being constructed from the
entrance floor to the first floor, and they
are expected to remedy the conditions
against which a wall of protest went up as
soon as the new court building was occu-
pied.
1T is going from bad to worse" an Of
fetal of the court remarked. as he gazed
upon the stairs now under construction.
In the view of several who have seen
them, the new stairs directly violate the
building regulations, issued from the same
office which is responsible for the new
stairs. The rules, to which reference is
made, are under the general classification
of Regulations for the public safety in
theaters and other public places of amuse-
ment and assembly in the District of Co.
lumbia."
What Regulation Requires.
Section 1S1 is as follows:
stone or other incombustible materials.
. There shall be two stat ways from each
floor Of an auditorium, starting not less
than five feet wide at the upper gallery and
increasing one foot in width for each 100
seats in the galleries below.
When 1t is considered that crowds of
from 800 to LOCO and over gather in the
time, in order to be in attendance for the
opening of court at $50 o'clock am, and
many leaving in a body when. the court
adjourns. it is held by those around the
court that it is a place "of public assem-
bly," within the meaning of the law.
The regulations. in the first place, call
for tirepI oof materials in construction of
stairs, and yet the new flights for the Po-
lice Court building are chiefly of pine, one
of the most combustible Of woods. In case
Of a fire near the stairways, they would
be among the first parts of the building
to be food for the flames, and would be
practically useless.
When pressed for an explanation as to
why such cheap stairs were built. it Is
stated by court officials, the building in
spector explained that there is little money
available. Those who have criticised the
new work, however have pointed out that
hundreds of lives are to be endangered to
save a few dollars.
improvements" Are Inadequate.
Passing this objection, however, the crit
les say that the improvements are en-
trely inadequate. The stairs only run from
the entrance floor to the first floor. There
remain two flights of stairs to the upper
court room. and the only means of access
to that court room is by the original stair
way, three feet six inches wide While
1T is true that the greatest crowd uses only
the one flight, still it is claimed that the
present stairways are inadequate to handle
the number of people who must go to the
higher floors and to the upper court room.
In the light of the building regulations,
too. it is argued, more stairways must be
provided to the upper court. The regula-
tons require stairway at least five feet
wide from the public auditorium, as the
upper court room is, to the ground floor;
and yet one only three feet six inches wide
is provided. That could be remedied, it
has been suggested, by extending the new
stairways to the mezzanine and second
floors in a manner similar to the new
flights from the ground to the first floor,