The Washington herald., 1907-11-13
OLD RECORDS FILED
Steel Cases Will Safeguard
Documents Of Courts.
CUSTODIAN AFRAID OF FIRE
Col. Young Obtained $4,000 from
? Congress for the Proper Prescrvn-
tiOn OF More Than 100000 Legal
Papers, the Loss of which Would
Mean Endless Litigation.

Through the efforts of Col John r.
Young. clerk of the Supreme Court of the
District of Columbia, the valuable records
and hles OF the court stretching over a
century will be saved from the ever-pres-
ent possibility of a fire and consequent
destruction.
For several days, drays have been ar
riving at the court and depositing large
packing boxes, and these now litter every
corridor Of the courthouse building-in
years gone by the City, Hall. These boxes
contain the most approved and up-to-
date steel freproof fling cases. sufficient
to take care Of the records as they now
exist and for several years to come.
They will be installed just as soon as
a cement floor is laid on the rooms in
the basement where a majority Of the
files are now kept. Col. Young has al
ways been apprehensive Of fire. and OBJ
tanned from Congress the sum of $4,000
to install modern filing cases.
A courthouse necessarily contains rec
ords that are vital to property holders,
and II they are destroyed it Is a source
Of endless expense and litigation. The
courthouse Of this city has records from
the time the seat or government was
established in this city. and among the
deeds are several signed by George
Washington and David Burns, the &C.
centric Scotchman with whom Washing
lon bargained for a large portion OF the
land upon which the city of Washing
ton now stands.
Col. Young placed the condition OF the
records of the court of which he is the
clerk before the chairman of the Com
mittee on Appropriations OF the House
in the following communications
Col. YOung's Letter.
I beg leave TO respectfully call your
attention, and through you that Of your
committee, 70 the perllous condition OF
the records of this court by reason Of
danger OF destruction by IRE.
The files rooms Of this office contain
the records OF this court and that Of its
predecessor. covering the period from
1901 to the present time. There have ac-
cumulated since the organization OF this
court, In March, 1868, 10000 ch2ncery
suits. 5000 lawsuits. and $500 criminal
cases. besides United States District
ODuEI anu DtLLhtuplNy CASTS
while the rooms occupied by this
Office are OF freproof construction. the
file cases. furniture and all fittings except
safes are made Of wood, mostly pine.
and are of a crude, cheap and antiquated
style. Should fire occur, the destruction
Of these records In whole or very large
part would be inevitable and their loss
would be irreparable.
1T is fair 10 say that title TO practi-
caIIy a greater part OF the real estate
in the city Of Washington and District
of Columbia depends on one or more Of
these chancery suits. The law causes
also, through execution sales, are i'm
pOTtant links in many titles.
Congress has already made provisions
to safeguard the records of the register
Of wills, recorder of deeds. and surveyor
of the District Of Columbia, located in
the same building. The records Of this
office could not be reproduced in case Of
destruction. any more than the records OF
those above referred 10. and they are
quite as important
Cites Chicago Fire
1T is a matter Of common knowledge
that destruction of records affecting
IlLltS 10 ld0Q Is dlNdgS q Sitdh NetGAlllNs
Although more than thirty years have
passed since the great Chicago fire, the
loss and inconvenience resulting from
burned records has not yet ceased to be
felt, although the legislature went to the
utmost Of its power in efforts to provide
relief, the cost to the public being very
burdensome. A moments reflection would
show what would result from even a
partial destruction of the records in ques-
ton"
In addition. Col. Young called the at
tention of the committee 20 the fact that
fire lasting not more than thirty minutes
would infiict many times the amount Of
damages that fireprcof files would cost.
In addition to securing from the COM
mittee the sum of $4,000 for the filing
cases, Col Young secured an appropria-
ton of 5000 to rebind, repair. and save
from destruction several hundred volumes
of the records Of the late Circuit Court
Of the District, covering the period from
1901 to 1863, the date Of the organization
of the present court.
nrdor. for Uaddtuy naoa-,tto--