The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-07

w,tn~ss~> rru ~ thr Coalition ss the
I9<1i lslluR

ia" INV ~Stt CATION To place thu respOnsI
biiitY for fh" n~s oi tho lives II twsnty
Ave girls and womsn mt tho High street
factory tir" IN Newark week ago last
Saturday was bsglln by the Coroner =
jury at the court house in that city yes
tsrdav. Coroner Edwin Steiner pr,sld-ti
and the questioning was conducted by
Prosecutor Mott. Seven witnesses t.s
uEed
| ~ was brou ght gif in the testimony
mat while the fire escape balconies on
tho High street side were within tho law
as To width and length they did not COM
ply a. to the Insight required FOR the hal
cony ratings, which were four inches shy
The conduct of rho firem"n WAS com
mended
TN" tenant Of the building Cundrmn.d
~" fir" ESCAPES m his testimony ard "a id
'ln' h" h2d told th" landlord several
wears ago that thr facilities for fir" pro-
'cction were poor " Irving Wolf. vice
shat d" had mo- reason Al any rims. - dis
trlis' the exits Another witness who was
Employed IN the building confirmed the
Information obtained a. the tirn., II thu.
fire that door rs locked az the foot of
the stairway on ths third floor leading
from tho fourth floor. He asserted that
1t delayed him in giving the alarm 10 th.
Fourth floor employees
The death of Carrie Robrscht Of IL
Hampton street WAS used As the basis
of the inquiry She was amp loved in
the Wolf Muslin l'ndergarmsut Com
pany on the fourth floor. whore all the
other victims worked
Edward u. Kemp. a surveyor. produced
maps of tho building and runs, which
hs made AZ tho direction az thu, county
officials Unexplained the maps IN detail
giving measurements Of the lire escapes
stairway and windows II. said ina,
rh" railing was only 'hirry-two inches
high
In" Prosecutor asked him II ho was
positiv" and he replied that h. was Tn.
Prosecutor .nform.d the jury that the
law relulr"d "a railing thirty six inches
high He testified as Ia tn. stairway on
'ha High street side entrance to which
ho said was fest I inches sid" n. said
that the stairway WAS "nclost-i by two
inch partition wall In answer to "A ,,Io--
iion he said that h" would not cali IN.
stairway froproof. Mr. Kemp said that
the distance from tho floor 90 tn. sill
loading To tho fire escap" on the second
tOnT was f."t . inches \ step was
prov 'd"d. he said to r"ach the ill on tn.
insid"
Tn" witness could not explain how the
fire escapes were held and he wa, ordered
ruins and find out Neither could he
explain whether the "a -haI were old
fashioned or possess-d pulleys and i:
there was anything observable that might
prevent opening the windows
Mr. Wolf. who said h" lived a, Far
ROckaway. said that the Newark hranCn
~ tn. muslin factory had la,n IN the
High ,tr~ei factory for about five y.a-s
II" al Their" we-" about on. huudr .d
and -iNte"n Parsons ON tn. payroll AZ
ha. fHfFN.. as t@a. tr.. Ill
and women except Roy Davidson He
testified that Miss Anna Iiaag who died
OF her injuries suffered AT tha fire Wa
for"wornan and had full charge nj IN.
factory
MIR Wolf test ified that Mis-. Haac was
instructed to see that the quarters OF
the company complied with all require
mems Oi insurance companies and buI!d-
ing inspectors. He said that h" com
planned {" tho landlord about tho CoudI-
ton Of 'he window sashes which w.r,.
NOT provided with ppllrys
he witness admitted that hc never
CAV" the fir" ESCAPES any paTiI'ul att"n-
ton II" said that he dep.ndrd nn IN"
pmldinS inspector II" asserted that
besides the fire escapes and srarwaY III.
only other mean sri "gress was an elevator.
uur this was OF little Use he admitted
\ description Of the beginning of the
fire was given by Eugene HcQuat. super
In'"ndent NJ tn" Anchor Lamp Company.
~ was IN tn- apartment ~ inns concern
on tn" third floor where the fr'' started
He said that no on" will ever know how
IA" fir. started Miss Sadi. Hamp-ou
who vas using Ea=o!ene at a fiI.lm-nt
machine. h. said. suddenly called him
I" put out "A ;Ir"
he glass bottle use for gasOl.n"
WIS cap-I2ed and flames wer. streaming
from II g"' three pals Of sand and had
II nearly out when sparks flew into n falls.
ceiling Tn. tiIr Their" bars' OUT like a
stream from IA cannon II was useless 'H
fight longer 80 ordered al rhe girls out
The inquiry wall be- resumed at IN
t. clock This morning