The Washington times., 1931-05-02
SMALL BOLTS
USED OVER
PROTEST
Heron Todd, Sub Contractor,
Replies to Charges That
Steel Was Not Guyed Right

Continued From Page -
with Mr.. Todd, and at that time
the builder told him he had no
criticism to make Of the archi-
tect's office.
Inspector Is Found
Lewis P. Newman, the munich
pal architect office inspector, who
disappeared from the new Roose-
Velt High School construction
Job, has been found.
Inspector Newman failed to re-
ceive his pay yesterday and visited
the disbursing office at the Dis
trict Building before going out to
the high school today.
Mr.. Newman was scheduled to
report at the school first. Dur
ing his absence, officials Of the
municipal architects office at
tempted to locate him, and upon
being unsuccessful, sent another
inspector, Lester H. Brown, to the
hg0 SCHOOL 111SpSCILOA'
The first Inspector Newman
knew Of the efforts to locate him
was when he reported on the
Job after receiving his pay. He
was allowed to remain on the
job, relieving Inspector Brown.
$780, Complained of Guys
When the steel structure
crashed into the basement q short
time ago during a heavy wind
storm, building inspectors for the
District asserted that the steel
had not been properly guyed.
This charge, according to
Heron Todd, president OF the con-
struction company, is deliberate
perversion of facts and is merely
q subterfuge on the part OF the
Municipal Architect to cover up
alleged violations of the building
regulations.
In a letter to the commits
sioners, the National Construction
Company and the press, Mr..
Todd declares that the speciflca-
tions called for smaller bolts in
the footings than were safe and
that over his protests he was
forced to use what material the
specifications called for.
Columns Out Of Plumb
An investigation Of the acci-
dent by several prominent en-
gineerS revealed he said that the
fOOtings on which the main bear
ing columns rested were out Of
plumb, but had been passed by
the building inspectors office.
This he said caused the steel
work to lean toward the east,
the direction in which the g1rders
fell and was one Of the principal
factors responsible for the crash.
Coupled with the small bolts in
the footingS, lack of wind bracing
and struts in the truSSeS were
directly responsible for the acci-
dent, he said.
While the work was in prog.
ress, Todd declared than on sew
eral occasions he insisted that
the concrete and brick work be
carried on simultaneously with
the steel erection in order to
avoid a possible accident.
Told Not to Criticize
In response he was informed
that the plans had been approved
by the municipal architect and
that the building inspector had
pronounced the work IN accord
with the regulations.
When attention was called to
the fact that A-inch bolts were
used in the footings instead Of
7s-inch bolts required by law.
Todd said that he was told not
to criticize the National Construc-
tion Company and the office OF
the municipal architect but to
go on with the work.
In his letter, which cited nu-
merous alleged violations OF the
building regulations in the erec-
tion of the school. Todd stated:
Column footing No. l Is five
eights inch lower than column
footing No. 6. Column footing
Nos. 2 and 4 and 5 are one
quarter inch lower than column
footings Nos. Z and 8. This
caused the steel work to be
thrown out of plumb and was
one Of the main factors In the
fan Of the Steel"
Properly Guyed, He Says
Commenting upon the charge
that the steel work was not prop
erly guyed, Todd added:
"The steel was guyed In &C
cordance with the usual Gus
tom of the steel trade by ex'
perienced men. Not only this,
but the steel which the Heron
Todd Company had erected was
guyed up with far more guying
than is customary to put on,
as they were taking every pre-
caution to avoid an accident.
The statement concludes with
the assertion that both the gen.
eral contractors and municipal
architect are trying to pass the
buck" and Todd demands that an
impartial investigation be made
Of the situation at the Roosevelt
High School.
CITIZENS TO HEAR CROSBY