The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-03-08
BUTLERSTAND
CRASH STARTS
SAFETY DRIVE
Authorities Take Steps to
Prevent Any Collapse at
School Tourney.
500 IN BLEACHER DROP
ThaWing of Ground Given
as Reason for MiShap
by Officials.

Steps to prevent collapse OF tenn
porary bleachers at the new But
Ter field house during the final State
high school basketball tournament,
March l6 and II, we're taken by
three sets Of authorities today, fol-
lowing the crash of one section of
seats at the opening Of the NAM
moth gym Wednesday night.
Five hundred persons we're
dropped into a struggling, scratched
and bruised crowd when supports of
Section of the temporary bleachers
sank into the soft, new clay Of the
indoor field.
The bleachers slid. rather than
crashed, to the ground, tnjuring
comparatively few persons.
Only two persons were severely
enough hurt to be taken to hos
pitfalls. Eleven others received bad
leg cuts and bruises.
Two Sent to Hospitals
Miss Beatrice Burgan, sos N.
Capitol Ave, was taken to city hos
pltal and then to her home, Suf-
fering from bruises and shock. Miss
Resale Schell, 20, OF 56 Downey
Ave, Is In Indiana Christian Hos
pital with bad bruises.
Indiana High School Athletic AS
ISOLATION officials, Butler College au-
thoritieS, and the city building de-
partmentS combined today to see
that the present bleacherS, which
are those formerly used at Irwin
held In 1rvington, either are so re-
inforced that they will endure any
strain the high school rooters will
give them, or are replaced with new
construction.
The board of safety, city building
department officials and Butler rep
resentatives were personally inves-
tigating at the fieldhouse this after
noon.
Responsibility for the crash has
not been placed, but City Building
Commissioner w. A. OSbon indi-
Gated that had orders to place extra
oracing, issued by his SubordinateS
Wednesday morning, been complied
with by those in charge of the
bleacher erection, the accident
might not have happened.
Orders Not Fully Met
OSbon said his inspectors were
told that the uprights upon which
the seats rested were sunk two feet
into the clay floor, but after the
accident he found some holes, indi-
eating they had been sunk only one
foot. Heating of the building
softened the earth and permitted
the uprights to sink, he said.
Inspector Mark Weaver, with Tel
lus D. Lee, assistant building COM
missioner, and Inspector Wesley
Christen gave the field house a final
inspection Wednesday morning.
Weaver said that Harry P. Bart
lett, engineer and architect in
charge Of the field house construc-
ton for Butler University, directed
Charles Renshaw, forman in charge,
to do whatever the building de-
partment ordered, and that the
order concerning braces was YER
bally Issued, but not fully complied
with.
Thawing Held Cause
Hilton u. Brown, chairman of
Butler trustees, blamed the thawing
OF the ground for the accident and
said that Butler authorities will do
whatever a conference OF engineers,
architects and city building inspec-
tors, called for today, directs, to
make certain that not the slightest
accident will mar the high school
tournament.
X. V. zimmerman, representative
here Of A. L. Trester, permanent
secretary of the high school ath-
lettc association, said that the con-
tract for use of the field house re-
quires Butler to put 1t in proper
shape for the tournament.
He declared that before a single
one of the 5000 seats in the tenn
porary bleacherS Is sold he will re-
quire written report from the CITY
building department that the seats
are safe.
Hegeman- Harris Company Off.
Gals, who are constructing the edu-
cational buildings on the new Butler
campus, pointed out they had Moth
ing to do with the field house con-
Struction. Their bid to construct a
field house with steel bleachers was
rejected. thew said