Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-04
PROBE Under WAY
OF CAPITOL BLAZE
Mysterious Fire Does DAM
age Estimated by Architect
as Less Than $1,000.
CONTINUED Prom First Pace

scarcely believed their eyes, but bv the
time they had reached Second street
they saw the flames again. They said
they stopped at First street and Penn
savanna avenue, at the foot of the Cap
itol, and pulled" a fire alarm box
there
Boyd and Hickey said they reached
the Capitol Plaza before the first fire
engine arrived and later helped the
firemen lift the hose lines to the high
roof of the building.
=. The flremen had difficulty reaching
the fire. Ladders were erected against
the east front of the building, and sew
eral lines OF hose we're quickly carried
to the roof. Hurrying westward on the
roof, they located the fire coming
through the glass roof of the studio, Just
west of the dome
Mr.. Moberly was in the studio when
the first f1remen arrived He had sew
eral cuts on the face, supposed to have
resulted from fall when he was over
come by the smoke in his studio. Mr..
Lynn talked with Mr.. Moberly while
he was in Mr.. Gamers room and told
newspaper men that he was overcome
and not in any condition to discuss the
fire or its origin"
David Lynn, jr.. nephew of the archi-
tect, took Mr.. Moberly to his home soon
after O'Clock, when he was reported
to be "all right"
Meanwhile flremen, running I'D the
wide steps on the east front. broke
the glass of a revolving door and
carried other lines of hose into the
big rotunda. They entered the small
paSsageway running westward between
the rotunda and Statuary Hall ana
then climbed a narrow winding stair
way to the door of the smoke-filled
document storage room under the roof.
A door from this room led to the
artists studio, which was separated
from the rest of the room only by
thin wooden walls.
With water pumped through the
hose over the roof and up the winding
stairs, the flames were soon subdued
The artists studio was in ruins this
morning, the damage being due to
both fire and water. The damage 10
the documents in the adjoining room
was chiefly due to water and smoke.
Among the rooms on the floors below
which were more or less damaged by
water were the banking and currency
committee room, the Indian affairs
committee room, several offices connect
ed with the Supreme Court and the
room assigned to the Democratic whip
Of the House.
Damage Not Fixed.
. MT. Lynn Is not certain ABOUT the eX-
tent of the damage to a number of
portraits, which were being retouched
by Mr.. Moberly. He is checking up
on this, but he thinks that eight or
ten portraits of justices of the Court
of Claims were destroyed, and perhaps
two or three portraits from the State
Department. Most of the portraits
from the State Department on which
Mr.. Moberly was working had been
finished and returned.
A large plaster model Of the Capitol,
q duplicate of the model which is now
at the Seville Exposition in Spain, was
damaged by fire and water. The origi-
nal was made by E. Garet.
By the time the fire was out, nearly
feet of water covered the floors of
the studio and the document storage
room and was running down the stairs.
Much of the water was being absorbed
by the floors of these rooms, and was
seeping into the rooms below. The
stream of water running down the
stairs found its way into the rotunda.
No damage was done to the rotunda.
No water came into it except on the
floor. The great historic paintings on
its walls were never in danger after the
firemen got the flames under control.
Among the first to arrive on the scene
was Fire Chief George S. Watson, who
took personal charge of the battle
against the flames. Chief Watson pro-
nounced the fire out at 7:45 pm. All