The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-07-23
Sag In Lower Truss Cord Of
Trusses Can Be Rem T.
edied Easily
MONEY IS AVAILABLE
FOR NECESSARY WORK
Letting Down Of Supports Was
First Discovered During Car
niVaI In February

Though the National Guard Armory
has been closed to drills and assemblies
until further notice by order Of Ad.
jutant- General J. W. Jones, at the be-.
hest Of Charles r. Forbes, superintend-
ent of public works, there Is no feel
ing that the big concrete structure Is
liable to crumble and collapse. II is
| admitted that there is sag in the
| lower truss cord of the roof trusses, but
| the sag has existed for some time and
| the order closing the armory was issued
by the acknowledgement as precaution
| against possible accident.
Aoof Perfectly Safe
Jack Lucas of the Honolulu Planning
Mill, which constructed the building
except for the steel work, accompanied
by Colonel Jones, assembled to the roof
of the building yesterday afternoon
and made extensive examination. After
che inspection Mr. Lucas said the roof
was as straight as die and that the
| only part of the construction affected
Is the lower cord Of the roof trusses
| The roof is perfectly safe, - said
Mr.. Lucas, "and the sagging of the
trusses can be easily remedied. 1 am
| willing to 60 up on the roof and sleep
there at night, for there is not the
slightest danger"
Noticed Last February
Superintendent of Public Works
Forbes, in speaking Of the affair, said
yesterday:
IL applied for the stress sheets to
heck up the structure, and investiga'
ton showed that the lower truss cords
had sagged In the center. When no.
ticed that | requested Colonel Jones to
discontinue drills until we had checked
up and made the necessary change in
.ue tIusses.
az think that we shall have to get
in ana put in some added members.
Specifically the building shows no sligo
of failure, but the truss cords can be
seen to have sagged down. The first
time ] had any intimation of this con
dition of things was when Director.
General Dougherty Of the Mid-Paci6c
| Carnival. asked me, last February, if he
could suspend a bandstand from the
truss cords.
81 told him that they would not
stand the additional weight imposed, as
they then had the appearance of not
being as strong as they should be. The
fault lies with the designer of tbs
trusses. Money is available with which
to make the necessary repairs and the
work should be completed in about
six weeks.
The sag is easily perceived in all of
the six trusses supporting the roof over
the drill hall. How long the condition
has existed is matter of debate. None
| Of hn oh hn L
Colonel Jones says the trusses are
strong enough to bear a much heavier
weight than the armOTy roof. He says
he has no idea as to what is the cause
Of the sag, but that the remedy is sim
pie, in that it will not be necessary to
remove the roof to straighten the
trusses.
The last Legislature made an apprO
priation of $4,000 to complete
he armory. This appropriation il
now available and Colonel Jonel
has written letter in reply t.
Mr.. Forbes requesting that the mat
ter of the roof be attended to al
quickly as possible, aud that measures
he taken to strengthen the building
generally, before work is begun on pro
viding storerooms for the companies
The money being on hand, the strength
ching of the building may be begun a
any time, and little delay is looked for
Colonel Jones' Order
The letter from Superintendent
Forbes and the order by Colonel Jonei
closing the armOry is as follows:
July 22, 1915,
General Orders No. 22.
| The following communication hay
ing been received from the superin
tendent of public works, the drill hal
of the armOry will not be used fol
drills and assemblies until further or
der:
department of Public Works,
Honolulu, T. H., July 20, 1915.
"COl, J. W. Jones, Adjutant- { General
National Guard ArmOry, Honolulu;
clear SIRE sag Of truss cords
armOry.
81 notice that there is a consider
able sag in the lower truss cord of tn,
trusses in the armory. | desire I,
acquamt you with this fact and wouI,
suggest that drills in the armory b,
suspended until these trusses hav,
been checked. | will endeavor to ge
the stress sheets from Messrs. RIPLEY
& Davis.
81 will be glad to confer with yol
further on this matter. Very truly
yours, CHARLES r. FORBES,
Superintendent of Public Works. "
BY order Of the Governor.
JOHN w. JONES,
Colonel, the Adjutant General, Chiei
of Staff.