Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-10

construction which caused you to give il
special attention."
NO II was I'D to the requirements o,
the permit. Naturally / was interested
in IL because 1t was the largest building
IN my territory
What was your opinion of the ma
terials used and the eSnstrucs,on .nd ;ror
work were all fair. l would call II
good job"
was there anything about this build
ing which you believed violation OF the
building regulations?
There was not
In any of your visits to the building
was anything brought to your attention
which you thought calculated to endan-
ger the lives of the wOrkmen?
No; / cannot say that there was
Not Of the Best.
In several of his answers Mr.. Clark
seemed to intimate that the contractor
and builder had complied with all require
ments of the regulations and of the per-
nit, as it was issued. and yet that the
construction was not of the best. Cor
oner hewitt questioned him closely as to
his meaning. and Clark said the permit
called for a ive-story building: subse-
ouently another permit was issued foI
another story but the contractor had not
yet reached the point IN MS puiid,he
of foundation walls. and supporting
beams
Had the contractor performed this
work more rapidly than usual? the cor
oner asked.
ave have no regulation covering that
point" Clark replied.
DO YOU think IL was put up too rap
idly"
Yes. doctor. 1 think it was
Was work pushed forward while the
walls were vet what you call green
Yes" and the witness continued. sta
ing. in his opinion. that the concrete
work was rammed too close to the sup
b portfns rods Clark said there were no
regulations in the District building laws
to govern the placing of forms 10 hoIo
the concrete. or of laying scanolding or
other platforms for the use of the work
men.
MIR. Clark also said he had spoken to
Acting Inspector of Buildings Poynton
as late as $40 o'clock yesterday morning
of the necessity for having the reinforced
construction begun without delay IN the
Goth and P streets building. and he de-
clared Mr. Poynton instructed one or tne
subcontractors. who was then In the Of
fee to Immediately START with the plac-
ing of the heavy beams. =
Witness was positive, however. IN ue-
claring that the lack OF these supports
was not responsible for the accident; out
he believed it was caused by the lnse-
cure support of the ends of the concrete
forms. the too rapid execution of the work
and rammnig the concrete too close 10
the walls.
Mr.. Poynton on the Stand.
Arthur NJ. Poynton. deputy inspector OF
buildings the next witness, was required
to si.e the history of the apartment house
in question. He said the first permit
called for a five-story building of eighty
feet frontage on one street and ninety
feet on the other. the building TO average
sixty-six and half feet from the stree.
level When the permit was issued 1of
the sixth or additional story MI. Poyn-
ton said it was required that the walls OF
the first two stories should be Increased
from eighteen to twenty-five InS ,nsta IN
thickness, the next two should be eighteen
inches in thickness and the upper TWO
floors thirteen inches.
las / understood it," Mr.. Poynton con-
tinued. there was an agreement reache9 q
between the architect. Mr.. Beers. and
Building Inspector Ashford by which II
was specified that pilasters should be SUBJ
stituted between the floors to carry the
added weight of the sixth stor. in lieu
of the supports which snouio nave sohe
into the walls"
In your opinion was the house belng
built in strict accordance with the law?
Coroner hewitt inquired
After much hesitation witness replied:
81 do not know whether the Law author
lies the building inspector to agree to
5 these supports instead of the heavier foun-
datiens.
ado YOU believe it was being constructed
in a too hasty or an incompetent man
ner?'
II do"
Mr.. Poynton said the brick walls were
only about ten days ahead OF the .. con .
should not follow the b; ick more closely
than two weeks He could not give an
exact opinion of the cause OF the acct
dent. though he said the walls were yet
yx S0t hoy
by the bullying OF one Of the piers or a
dropping of the concrete forms"
Mr.. Poynton explained that the build
lg regulations have not been amended
since 1902, at which time there was little
concrete construction in the city. but q
revision of the regulations is now In
progress and in the new laws concrete
construction will be fully covered
As to Possible Error.
The next series of questions was cal
culated to show that Assistant Inspector
Clark should have discovered something
in error in the building of the house and
reported 1t to his chief. This would have
had the effect of summarily stopping the
work
Witness did say that Clark reported
yesterday morning that the supporting
pilasters (steel beams fastened perpendc-
ularly outside the walls) we're not being
installed, and as a result the architect was
warned that concrete construction would
be stopped in forty-eight hours if the
pilasters were not in place. Mr.. POynton
said the plasters would have had no eff
feet In preventing the accident.
Explanation of the plans of the damaged
apartment house was given by c. w.
Somervilie, computer of the building de-
partment. These plans. he said he had
passed as satisfactory and within the
requirements of the regulations prior to
the issuing of the permit.
Mr.. Somerville advanced another theory
as to the cause of the accident when he
said he believed the ''centerine, or the
supports for the concrete slabs. gave way.
Witness said he also was impressed with
the idea that the apartment house was
being constructed too rapidly. this idea
occurring to him soon after work under
the permit was begun. He was positive.
however that ii was not his duty to call
was not making field inspection or keep
ing accurate dates on the progress of the
structure.
Mr.. Somerville stated the type of con-
crete floor employed fn the 10th and p
streets building averaged ninet y-six
pounds to the square foot. He did not
believe the walls bulged and caused the
floors to fall. but rather that the walls
were bulged when struck by the floors.
With the conclusion of the testimony
of Mr.. Somerville. at I O'clock Coroner
hewitt ordered a recess until . o'clock.
Additional Counsel Appear.
Additional counsel appeared at the in
quest st the opening of the session this
afternoon Attorney George q Hooyor