Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-16
ELEVEN WARRANTS OUT
Fire Escape Regulations viii
Be. RigidIy Enforced.
PROSECUTIONS HAVE BEGUN
Charges Filed Against Owners Of
Hotels and Halls.
PROSECUTIONS HAVE BEGUN
OTHERS WILL FOLLOW SOON
Action Ordered by District Commits
sioners After Being Convinced That
LAW Would Not Be Obeyed.

Prosecutions for failure to comply with
the new fire escape law Of the District,
which has been In effect for about one
year, have been begun. and as a result
Of applications made to the Police Court
today by representatives Of the building
inspector of the District. eleven warrants
were issued against proprietors of hotels
and owners Of Office buildings. charging
them with violating the fire escape law.
These warrants were sent to police head
quarters this afternoon and were distrib-
uted to the various precincts to be served.
II is expected that many OF the cases VIII
come UP in the Police Court tomorrowl
morning.
The warrants, which were issued today
are for the following Daniel Nichols for
falling to put a fire escape on the building
at 2lS Az street northwest and ON a hotel
at 4S7 Pennsylvania avenue northwest;
Adolphine Reuter-, for hotel at Az street
and Pennsylvania avenue; Franklin p.
Nash, for an entertainment hal in Ana
costa; Edmund l.. Bailey. for the Bailey
Hotel, 229 New Jersey avenue: Don A. Sam
ford for the Arizona Hotel. SO G street
northwest, and for building at $40 K street
northwest; Henry NJ. Baker. for the Capt.
tai Hotel, at Sd street and Pennsylvania
avenue northwest; Clarence f. Norment,
for the Central National Bank building 7th
street and Pennsylvania avenue; James ".
Taylor for the Iinthicum Institute on .
street between 31st and sd streets north
west and Christian Heurich. for a hotel at
SOC Pennsylvania avenue.
First Cases Under New Law.
These the first warrants under the
new fire-escape Law, although il has beeu
in effect about year. some months aga
il WAS decided to withhold licenses of hotels
which did not comply with the fire-escape
regulations, and following their non-com-
pliance with that law to bring prosecutions
charging the owners with failure to pro-
cure a license. This was recognized an
indirect way of reaching the desired end,
but II served to wake up several of the,
hotel proprietors, It is asserted. and fire.
escapes were soon installed. Practically
all of those cases We're dropped after beins
filed In the Police Court.
In the eleven cases which are now
brought ii Is alleged that the owners have
not compiled with the fire-escape regula-
tions and do not appear TO be taking steps
TO do so. Inspector Crichton Of the builds
ing inspectors office appears the presses
cutting witness in the various cases, and he.
filed them after an investigation of the
different hotels and office buildings and on
the recommends ton of the District buildings
inspector and the Commissioners
The penalty prescribed by the law ION
failure to erect the proper Microscopes on
the buildings specified In the law ~ hn9
of not less than 800 more than 500.
and S for each day that the owner falls to
comply with the regulations.
Ordered by Commissioners.
The prosecution was ordered by the Come
missioners of the District. They content
that the "hotel people have been given
every opportunity to comply with the law,
and the ones for whom warrants were is%
sued today have, they allege. shown absof
lutely no evidence of intending TO obey Tho
law
According to Building Inspector Ashford,
a or more warrants for hotel men
are to be sworn out within the next week
or so, at the rate of three or four a day.