Evening star., 1922-02-12

| even scratched. The hange Of the
I-beam which supported the big truss
| itself, which last left the bearing. was
not bent. Neither was the I-beam
loosened in the wall.
Truss Jerked ON Bearings.
These circumstances prove that
| the main truss did not break and that
it did not bend so as to slip from it's
seat. They prove further that the
| main truss responded to some tre-
mendous force which suddenly jerked
it or its bearings. This force must
have been exerted at the end Of the
main truss resting on the large
column: 1t must be mentioned here
| that the subsidiary truss connecting
cleared its bearing without bending
| the fanges of the I beam on which
1t rested, but the secondary trusses
which extended from the main truss
to the east wall bent the fianges on
their l beams as they slipped from
their bearings. This shows these
| trusses did not leave their bearings
| until the main truss, to which they
were attached, had fallen some dis
tance.
"The fact that the main truss was
falling before the secondary trusses
left their bearings on the east and
west walls explains the V-shape as
sumed by the roof as it came down,
which so many eyewitnesses have
described. l omitted to say that when
the secondary trusses bent the hange
OF their bearings and left the east
wall they marked the wall as they
! went down. describing an angle of
thirty degrees from the vertical as
they pitched southwark and toward
the floor. incidentally, these mark
! inEs on the wall are an evidence of
the apparent spinning or rotating
movement of the roof, which has
been SO often mentioned by those who
witnessed the collapse. The facts apd
circumstances which l have stated
lead me to the conclusion that the
primary fault is not to be found in
the trusses and girders. Whatever
fault was in the overhead steel was
more In its size than its quality.
What Columns Show.
This brings US to the consideration
of the two columns. These two col
umns had to bear approximately two
thirds of the entire burden of the
roof. This burden would perhaps
amount to seventy-five tons Of dead
load This does no. of course, include
the snow. An examination of the COL
umns has forced upon me the convic-
tlon that they are the members that
rallied. This theory explains all the
facts revealed by the wreck These
columns both had joints at the bal
cony. which was attached to them and
which they in part supported. A care
full scrutiny Of the large column which
supported the main truss shows two
defects.
First. it was not plumb, but was
leaning toward the south This fact
was known to the plasterer at
the time it was constructed and he
piastered the column so as to give
1T the appearance of being plumb. The
c nV he
west side was two inches thick and
was hardly a half inch thick at the
base; whereas, on the southeast face
of the column the plaster was more
than two inches thick at the base and
not more than one inch thick at the
joint itself. The fitting of the joint
on the southwest side of the column
was all right. The holes in the col
| umn and in the splice plate corre-
sponded, but on the northeast side
there was an evident gap between the
as shown by the holes in the column
and in the splice plate. 1t is clear
from examination of the surface of
| the upper and lower parts of the
| column that they were not in con-
tact at this edge.
This, of course, weakened the
column at the joint and caused its
detection toward the south. All the
| facts and circumstances tend to prove
| that the large column yielded at this
| point. AS already said, it was lean
4 ing toward the south. AS matter of
| fact, when it yielded it fell toward
| the south. shearing the bolts and the
! splice plate on the northeast side.
| This column had no lateral support
| from the south wall. When the big
| column yielded. it fell toward the
south. This jerked the main truss.
| which it supported. from it's bearings
| on the western wall.
| Result of Fall.
| LAS the large columns fell it drew
| after it the smaller column. which was
| attached to it by a beam: the smaller
+; column in turn as it fell jerked the
/: truss which connected it with the
| east wall from its bearings. As this
| large column fell toward the south it
| forced the roof toward the south and
! the south wall above the roof fell on
the outside of the building. but as
the column descended. it then pulled
! the beams or purlineS which rested
on the south wall down on the inside.