Evening star., 1922-02-13
ENGINEER bLAMES
ROOF DES|GNERFO
THEATER COLLAPSE
E. E. Ruebsam, at Inquest,
Says Plans and Work.
manship Defective.
SCORES ANY ATTEMPT
TO PASS RESPONSIBILITY
Says Man Planning Structure
Should Personally See That
Work Is Properly Done.

VV4A 40 = A4VpSAAy OS@AS'
After finding many faults. such as de-
fective designing and erection Of the
steel roof framing Of the knickerbocker
Theater. Ernest c. Ruebsam. for num-
ber of years engineer in charge OF struc-
tural steel work of all federal buildings
erected. told the jury at the inquest in
/ the boardroom of the District building
today that the designer of the framing
which collapsed should be- blamed.
Mr.. Ruebsam frankly told the jury
that the engineer who designed the
plans should have seen that they were
strong enough. and should have seen
that materials were properly erected.
He scored any effort to hide behind
a building department, adding that
in this particular case the building
department had nothing to indicate
on the plans as to size of materials.
He undertook to show the jury how
materials could be changed when the
plans did not carry dimensions.
Trusses and beams did not have
sufficient wall bearings. he said
trusses were not properly built-they
had no connecting plates to throw
any local strain throughout the truss.
The failure of the main truss. known
initial failure. due to the fact. he
said, that it was improperly built
and was overstressed.
This was matter of inspection.
which the designing engineer. he said.
should have looked after. He secuted
the suggestion of the architect Geare
that the break in the main truss
caused the failure. That break. he
said, was due to impact with the
ground.
Steel Reinforcing Inspected.
Harry ]. Freeman. foreman in
charge Of the tile and concrete work,
testified that J. R. Downman. District
building inspector. inspected the steel
reinforcement personally before the
concrete was poured on the root.
j. r. bowman. the District con-
crete inspector, was recalled to the
stand, and was testifying when. at
1890 O'Clock. a recess was ordered
until 2 o'clock. when he will resume
his testimony. 4 :
said that he did not believe the case
would 20 to the jury until tomorrow
morning, as the entire afternoon and
part Of the morning will be given
over to the taking Of more testimony.
Harry j. Freeman: a:l = i. street ,st
Hammett Fireproofing Company and
who superintended the masonry work
in the Knickerbocker Theater. was
the first witness called.
Did you inspect 1t each day."
asked Maj. Gordon. :
Yes. sir" the witness answered.
Was it your duty to see that the
tile was filled with concrete?" Maj.
Gordon asked.
YES sir: but it was not supposed
to be filled except under the twenty
inch I-beam bearing for the main
truss"
was it your duty to see that the
hollow tile under the bearing plates
I'VE weren't supposed to fill them.
The only one. as / said, was under
the main girder."
. tile under the main girder was
Tapped Into Place.
Yes, sir; the mortar was made up
and passed up 1t was tapped down
by sticks" the witness responded.
Showing him two photos. Mai.
Gordon asked If he could tell
whether the tile was filled with con-
crete.
He answered In the affirmative as
to the tile under the main beam.
He Identified photographs of the
bearing for the beam under the main
truss. He said it, showed the tiles
filled solid with concrete.
We didn't do that anywhere else"
witness volunteered.
Time of Filling Optional.
Were you supposed to put the
cement in before the beam was put
in place."
mo. sir: that. is optional"
How did you get 1t In afterward? ?"
a q
put in
Did you put the concrete in with
each layer as it went up
II can't recoliect. AS the wall went
Up Mr.. Wallace came 10 the conclusion
had better be filled. 1t vibrated more
than any building have ever worked
on. 1t was then that we decided that
we had better put the concrete band
on the top of the wall to strengthen
"was that in the specifications"
asked Mai. Gordon.
II don't think So"
DO you know anything about the
concrete in the roof
laid on: the building department was
notified and they came up and in
spected that: and then the concrete
was poured"
"Who Inspected the reinforcement"
Inspected By DownMan.
'.Mr Downman. remember it WE'LL"
Witness was excused and r. v:
Frankhauser. 632 11th street. prac-
tical bridge and structural iron work.
er. now in the insurance business,
next was called He made an inspec-
tion of the ruins with Inspector of
Detectives Grant.
One of the most essential things in
such job is to see that columns and
trusses are plumb. with steel cables
and turnbuckles. he said. p
This is absolutely necessary,
couldn't say whether this was done
there" the witness said.
II found some of the connections
very poorly fitted up. That may be
due to the men. You send a man up
to do a certain thing. He says 1t IL
done. but he may not have done it
right" i.
Nothing to Keep Bolts Tight.
There was nothing on the bolts
to keep them from coming loose"
the witness continued.
I'VE always take equal strain on
the bolts with the wrench"
He said the beams were ,bolted. q.
He was excused. and Ernest C.
Ruebsam. 10 T street northwest, grad
uate civil engineer with thirty years
practice and formerly in charge Of
all structural work under the TreaR.