The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-06
WIRING illegal
in FIRETPAP IN
1894, CITY Says
Tenants Say Condition
of House Was Rotten

Fduiry eleCtFioaI WtFin9g OF Wnicn
the owners must have been aware,
was the most probable cause OF the
fire at 1882 Blackstone Ave-, which
killed elk people last week, In the OPP
InIon Of chief city electrical Inspec-
tor, Tousley.
Tousley's testimony brot out that
the wiring had been inspected in 1894,
and condemned as dangerous, the city
refusing to allow the current to be
turned on at that time. He said that
the wiring in use previous to the fire
was worse than the 1894 wiring.
Tousley told how after the supreme
Dourt had declared illegal the city ord
nance allowing the city to regulate
wiring the use of electricity had in
creased. He produced bills Of the
Commonwealth Edison company to
show that electricity is now being
used in greater quantities than when
the ordinance was enforced.
Tell Of Rotten Conditions.
Testimony Of C. D. Bryson, plumber
who worked at the building the day
before the fire, brought out that the
toilets and bathrooms were in
wretched state. Bryson said he was
a boss" plumber, and came to the
Blackstone Ave. apartment house Fri
day, after Mrs. Fritz, the owner, tele-
phoned him that some Of the toilets
were not working.
He told of one toilet on the second
floor which he tried to repair, which
he said, Must have leaked many
times" 1.-TWO loose boards on the
floor Of the bathroom were rotten and
water soaked Bryson said. 81 pried
these up and fixed the toilet so that
it would flush. However Mrs. Fritz
called me at nine o'clock the same
night and told me the toilet was run
ming over again."
H. R. Ditzel, civil engineer, told how
he was trapped in his fourth floor
apartment, from which he finally es-
capped with his 17-year-old paralytic
son, Hugo Ditzel, by crawling across
on the side of an old bed into a room
on the fourth floor of the hotel next
door. 81 tried to get out by way
of the hail." said Ditzel, 'but the
smoke and flames barred my way.
went to the window and called for
help, but it was Is minutes before
the telephone girls in the hotel put a
board across from their hotel room.
There was no fire escape to which
had access. l was In a trap, cut off
and had no chance"
Tenants Have Many Complaints.
That the tenants were extremely
dissatisfied with the way the landlord
kept the house in repair was shown
from the testimony of Ida Belle Cum
mings, who occupied two rooms in
the rear Of the first floor with her
mother and baby. Mrs Cummings said
she had frequently quarrelled with J.
d. Frazier, agent and part owner Of
the building, about the condition OF
the bathroom, about the lack Of heat,
the poor lights, and the general re-
pair and sanitation of the building.
Il complained to Mr.. Frazier on the
day Of the fire about the papers he
allowed to accumulate under the
stairs leading from the basement"
said Mrs. Cummings, adding that the
building was "full of rats"
Pays High Rent.
Mrs. Cummings said she pays $1,000
per week rent for her two rear rooms.
She supports her mother, who is con-
fined to wheel chair, and her baby
by working as an adjustor, she said.
No Protective Laws.
The supreme court Of Illinois on
d. Oct. %, declared unconstitutional the
city ordinance regulating the wiring
of electrical current in dwellings, and
now any wiring, no matter how un-
safe, is lawful in Chicago.
Chief City Electrical Inspector Vic
tor Tousley pointed out that since this
action of the court, the electric light
bills have sharply increased, on &C
count Of the added unsafe and former
ly illegal wiring now being used.
Landlord Knew of Wiring.
I'VE found violations of the rules,
in the burned buildings" Tousley said.
producing wiring that was installed
by the tenants, made from old tele-
phone wires and other unsafe ma
terial. He showed that Frazier must
have known Of this wiring, in spite
of his testimony to the contrary. Tous-
ley produced bills sent Mrs. Fritz by
the Commonwealth Edison company.
showing that in the past few months
the electric light bills for the build
ing have increased from an average
of $3.50 per month to s1457 per month
for Dec, 1924, and Jan, 1925.
Wired In 1894.
"The building was originally wired
in 1894" said Tousley, and we were
requested to permit the use of the
wiring for electric lights. but we re-
fused the request because we consi-
dered II dangerous. The home made
wiring In use In the building up 10