Evening Star Newspaper, February 12, 1922, Page 3

CONCRETE SHIP BUILDER €S1. P. M. Anderson ~ “'BLAMES THEATER ROOF Believes Construction Of Slab Was Faulty—Says Some of Reinforcement Out of Place. . BY COL. P. M. ANDERSON, | Engineer Charge of Concrete Ve -' i wel Comstruction, War Department. (Written for The Sunday Star.) The writer has read with intense interest and enlightenment the de- tailed and masterly report by Theo- dore Condron covering the probable causes of the Knickerbocker disaster, as well as the thorough analysis re- vorted by the Army and Navy en- gifieers. The defects reported cannot be disputed after careful analysis of the various details of the structure.) ¥rom personal examination, however, the writer is firmly of the opinion that the initial cause of the disaster | has not yet been reported. Reports so far published have em- phasized the weakness of the Various structural steel members, as well as the arrangement of their assembly and the weakness of the supporting walls and fastenings. No serious crit- icisms have been made of the con- crete roof slab except brief reference to the method of placing reinforcing steel on supporting beams. My only purpose, therefore, in making furthe report as to the probable cause of this disaster is to bring to the attention of the profession, and the public gen- erally, what appears to have been the weakest point of the structure. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with the technical details of rein- forced concrete slab construction, the writer will endeavor to describe in non-technical terms and by simple drawings how the original roof was constructed and the probable succes- sion of failures which caused this terrible disaster. Differ Over Cause. Figue 1 is an outline plan of the theater building, showing the steel roof structure which supported the concrete roof slab, with notations, | whowing sizes of individual steel| jnembers. Mr. Condron gave as an gpinion that B-1, connecting columins 2 and C-3, together with its support over the main part of column C-2, was the weakest part of the steel tructure and probably caused the initial failure. The Army and Navy engineers report that in all probabil- ity the tile wall supporting 1 beam B-21 in the Columbia road or west| wall at the left of the stage was crushed under its load, thus allowing this beam to fall, leaving the concrete roof slab between beams B-20 and B-22 unsupported, which caused its fallure and consequent toppling of the entire roof structure. After careful examination of such records as are available in the office of the inspector of buildings. and ex amination of such materials as are available at the structure, as well as examination of the remaining part of the structure, it has been determined that the entire roof was composed of one continuous reinforced concrete slab resting directly upon the beams and trusses, shown in figure 1. At the surrounding walls, which project from one to two feet above the roof, and between beams and trusses, this slab rested on a ledge of holiow tile from one to three inches wide. In order to pour this roof slab in place the spaces between the top flanges of beams and trusses were floored over with boards to receive the soft con- crete and later removed when the con- crete had set sufficiently to carry its own weight. Relnforced With Mesh. This slab varled in thickness from two and one-half to three and one- half inches, and was réinforced by three-sixteenth-inch wires, spaced three inches apart, running in an easterly and westerly direction across ?f cinders spread over the hot tar coat- ng. ‘Weakened by Celling. The ceiling of the theater was suspended on steel straps from the roof beams and trusses and from various points along the center of the concrete roof slabs. which added very materially to the load to be sup- ported by these thin concrete slabs. The slabs were further weakened by chiseling into same after they had been completed so as to reach the rein- forcing steel wires upon which to hang the straps supporting the ceiling, as shown in figure 3. Having in mind the details of design of these roof slabs, which are ten feet wide between centers. of supports, the reader's attention is again directed to Figure 1, and particularly that part which shows the angle at which the supporting beams entered the supporting walls, especially on the north and west sides, and how the main wire mesh reinforcing rods had to be cut diagonally adjacent to these walls. It may be added, for'the benefit of hat this reinforcement ge whatsoever in the side walls. Figure 2 is an enlargement of that part of the roof slab bounded by truss T-12 and beams B-19 to B-23 and the adjacent outside walls. This drawing is intended to show the location of the reinforcing steel in the concrete roof slabs, and attention also directed to the condition of support and reinforcement of this roof slab between beams B-21 and B-22, near and at the junction with the west and north walls. The engineer will readily appreciate the weakness at this point, and it is the writer’s firm belief that cracks in the roof slab started at point marked “W.” which extended rapidly in three directions indicated by line: tend- ing to points “Y” and “Z. The slab then partel along the line “W"-“Z"” the eastern half swinging about beam B-22 as a hinge, some- what as indicated in Figure 3, and then parting somewhere over the center or eastern top edge of this beam, thence falling through the ceiling below, which had probably already sagged and cracked, due to the failure of the supporting strap connected to the center of this hroken slab, much the same as indi- cated by this latter figure. The western half of this roof slab would move in a similar manner, and the two halves would have the tendency to pull beams B-21 and B-22 toward each other and out of their seats in the diagonal supporting hollow tile walls. Marks Give Evidence. Evidence of the failure of this con- crete slab as herein outlined is borne out by marks on the western and northern tile walls, which are cir- cular in curvature, with beams B-21 and B-22 as their approximate centers respectively. Failure of this slab would weaken slabs between beams B-22 and B-23 and slabs between beams B-20 and B-21 to the point of failure, and they, in turn, would also tend to push beams B-21 and B-22 out of their seats and toward each other. The tile walls bear evidence of the movement of these beams in this di- . rection from their point of support, and it is also evident that this move- ‘ment took place after the greater por- tion of their load was removed, since the supporting plate under beam B-21, which is still in place, shows no signs of scoring under the sliding move- ment. As soon as beams B-21 and B-22 [ several contributing reasons. It is a comparatively simple problem to de- termine the strength of a reinforced | concrete slab when all important factors governing its construction are known, such as the actual com- | pressive strength of the concrete, the thickness of the concrete and the, size and actual location of the steel | reinforcement. Assuming that the reinforcing steel in the concrete slab, which is herein described as having caused the intial failure, was placed at its most effective position, namely | 3-8 inch from the bottom of the! "CTION OF ROOF SL+8 BETWEEN BEAMS B8-20 ¥ 8-23 SHOWING PRROBABLE METHOD orfAMURE CEUING SUSPENDED Br STEEL STRAP: LGS | Col. . ' THE SUNDAY STAR,. WASHINGTON, DRAWINGS BY COL. P. M. ANDERSON WITH REFERENCE TO KNICK -/ D. C, FEBRUARY 12, 1922_PART 1 ER DISASTER 25 REINFORCING ROD . B- 2:— SPUCED 3“APART, REINFORCING STEEL NOT BONDED 70 WALL - t N 4&%‘» Q & A\ S 1025 LEDGE ON TILE . WALL FOR SUPPORT OF ROOF SLAB . TWO THRY BOLTS ON. EACH SIDE OF BEAMS | TRUSS T-/2 SECTION THY TRUSS T12 AT INTERSECTION OF BEAMS B-224B19¢ THEATER LOBBY ano DRUG 18+ SREFT WALL \AUTHORITY ON CONCRETE.| FAULTY ERECTION OF MAIN COLUMN Anderson in Charge of Con- struction in Waterways Service. were unseated their free ends would fall with a_buckling strain on truss T-12, as evidenced by the method of fastening shown in figure 4. It will also be noted that beams 'B-21 and slab, and assuming that the slab had | an average thickness of three inches and that the compressive strength nti the concrete was approximately 1,800 pounds per square inch, it is de-) termined that the steel at the point| the shortest spans of the roof. In a northerly and southerly .: direction these slabs were reinforced by wires B-19-¢c were fastened to truss T-}2 by the same bolts, hence when these marked “W” in figure 2 was stressed to its elastic limit by loads which it was required to carry. the normal |, one-eighth of an inch in diameter spaced twelve inches apart. This steel reinforcement is a commercial prod- uct known as Clinton wire mesh and is manufactured in various weights and widths for such purposes. The small cross wires are welded to the heavier longitudinal wires at all in bolts failed, due to the action of beam B-21, the north end of B-19-c would also be allowed to fall. Similar ac- tion occurred at beam B-22 and B-19-b and at other beam intersec- tions at their truss supports in rapid succession. ‘The unusual strain set Jup on truss T-12 by the falling of The exact weight of the ceiling and slag roofing supported by the slab at this point is, unfortunately, inde- terminate at this time. Sees Chance for Drift. Referring again to figure 1, the at- tention of the reader is called to the tersections in order to keep the spac. ing of the steel uniform while plac- ing the concrete. The wire mesh reinforcement used in this roof structure is said to have been four feet in width, and is ship- ped in large rolls. This wire mesh is unrolled and laid upon the roof forms before the concrete is poured, and an effort is made to have this beams B-21 and B-22 would be suffi- cient to disturb its equilibrium, and the wreckage bears evidence of this! truss having been tipped toward the stage, or in a northerly direction, be- fore it ultimately failed. Buckling of the center portion of this truss caused a turning moment on truss T-11 about its I beam support in the west wall, causing the top of this fact that a ventilator, approximately 8 feet in diameterand 7 foet hgh. 1s o | cated directly over the center of the! stage roof, and to the north of this ventilator ‘there is a_galvanized iron house, approximately 7 feet high, with proportions approximately as indicat- ed. ' The roof slab, which is believed to have failed, is approximately gne foot below the adjacent roof slab cov- steel embedded in_the finished con- urete slab about three-eighths of an inch from its lower surface. It has been found, however, that some of this steel was as much as one and three-eighths inches from the lower surface. and an engineer will readily appreciate that such increase in the ht of steel tremendously decreases ts effectiveness and ultimate strength of the slab. This concrete roof slab was somewhat higher directly over the center of the roof, 80 as to shed water to the east and west walls. The slope of this roof ap- pears to have been approximately four inches in ten feet. The entire slab was covered with tar paper, lapped at joints and tarred so as o be rainproof, and then covered with about one-half inch SPECIAL NOTICES. truss to move in an easterly direction until it was rolled or slipped from its support, thus causing the collapse of the entire roof structure. * More Rapid Than Eye. It will be appreciated that each of the successive steps in this taflure| would be more rapid than the human eye could follow, but there would be a sufficient time interval between the appearance of a crack in the ceiling beléw letter- “W" in figure 3 for the human eye to conceive of a failure at this point before the final collapse occurred. The actual strength of the con- crete roof slab, which the writer has described as causing the initial failure, is most problematical for SPECTAL NOTICES. SUNDAY DINNER, 1:30 to 3 P.M. “in the Quaker mode. 20th and P _sts., Toronto apt. OFFICE PEOPLE DESIROUS OF RIDING TO OFs from thelr work in & closed car, driven by n, moderate price, should Phene Lincotn GATW. 13° AM VERY ANXIOUS TO SECURB A POSL tion of any kind; am a stenographer and bookkeeper, but have no city references; will consider any position, for I must have ‘work. Address Box 149-D. Star office. NOTICE TO THE CREDITORS, IF ANY, OF the Arlington Fire Insurance Company for the District of Columbla—The sald company, hav- ing been dissolved and the undersigned ‘having been appointed receiver of its assetn by a de- cree of the Supreme Court of the District of Golumbia, passed in Equity Cause No. 39526, ‘motice is hereby given to the creditors of sald Sompany, if any, and to persons having claims Bgatnst it, to exhibit their claims with the Qouchers thereof legally anthenticated to the becriber at his office. 500 5th st. n.w.. Wash mgton, D. C.. on or before Friday, the 3rd day of March, 1822, otherwise the assets of said company ‘will be divided among its stockhold- ets s provided by said decree and said cred- {fors may be excluded from all benefit of maid assets. WILLIAM E. EDMONSTON, Recetver, 300 5th_st. n.w. Ladies Instructed Free. . You can make your bat in the latest style for the bare cost of materials. ‘We guarantee ihe result. Free millinery classes daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. latest style hat frame: 5c. Braids, flowers, l.ow::i ml':ixl;t‘;n'fl;:g: and & ona 4 5 nwl‘!‘?n;usmmr FRAME SHOP, 1010 ¥ ST. N.W. » 13 live in the south. If so, make :l':'l::fl:!’a‘:l this fine home in Florida. All furnished. Address W. FRANK CLARK, 813 33th st., Crane Printing Co., city. . CONSOLIDATED CAR FOR_HOUSEHOLD luol)(llm’h')r California about February 25th. ‘(leleed rates and &nl(’l service. Becurity Storage Com) 1140 15th st. T.ate 1918 Detroit Electric Coupe New batteries: in perfect condition: upholstery *nd peint In excellent condition; bumpers front nnd rear; cord tires all around. For quick sale, #¥ROBEL MOTOR CO,, INC,, Authorized Ford Dealers. 1425 Irving st. n.w. 0ol 4206, " ” Open Sundays. “Asbestos Roofing Cement Cements leaks, preserves and Kkeeps any kind '® Y'wili apply same and 4 o %% § yoars sad will ropair ail leaks a: from natural causes free ol . 5-gal. buckets, $1 .. . Mm’%mcm.x 4 Pa. ave. 8.0, “THB OBIGINAL BIGGS. Are You Burning —without results? Time to @ careful young OLDSTEAM & | L., " obout mod HOT WATER your old heating equipment, PLANTS MADR | if such is the case. reanonabie on XFFICIENT. L e onsenl heating and plumbing work. Tel. Frank. 817 YOU REMEMBER ME! John Hodges, the Bookbinder * 1011 E Street N.W. Bookblnding bes not. advass n s not advanced now1a the time. to have It dene 'f'ri':g"l: your old books and have them bound. —ROOF TROUBLE? — Stove trouble — Fui -_— “Heating and Roofing Brparters @ — Ll the Grafton & Son, Vi g & 2 “Heating and Roofing Experts 35 Years.' " Roof Troubles; D st Sty cuihein.. et R. K. FERGUSON, Inc. m4e Oth 8t Phone North 2331-383. DINNER EVERY EVENING, $1. u Maid” dining room, Toronto_, house, 20th and P_sts. n.w. 15° ALL CLAIMS AGAINST V. T. GRIMALL of 3419 M st. n.w. should be presented to P. } Carley, 617 B within 5 days. ROOF LEAKING? QUICK SERVICE—CALL Residence._Lincoln 2908. Col. 7543, YOUR ROOF- | —Let us put it in shape. 1t 0 et it rea Don't wait—chil us vy, or "PrIaE Fains. IRONCLAD Efiss 1418 ¥ st. n.w. OFE MINUTE? THODORE v e N *S THOUGHT WIi Jou that you should. be. skving. seimacaine o will find 50 better place fo save than the ome Bullding Association, 2008 Penna,: ave. nw. It pays 5%. Wm. T. Galliher, Pres.: Geo. W. Lin V. Pres.; James Morri Woodward, Sec.; R. B. Claughton, Treas. Plhzon faken 15 s bert pesment o Yicirotn: n as payment on Victrolas, GO WORCH, 1110 G n.w. b W._ Kranich & Bach Ww. pianos. . TURBERVILLE Supplies, 1719 Comn. Ave. ¥.W. Phone North 9407, Iy aiture from Now York SMITH'S TRANSFER AND S e Shade W. STOKES SAMMONS. 830 13th St. =, .Get our estimate on factory- uAST!lady- ering the stage. It will be recalled that the 8light wind which brought the unprecedented snowstorm of Jan- uary 28 was from a northeasterly di- rection during practically the entire afternoon and evening. It will be readily seen that a calm area would prevail in the vicinity of the point marked “W,” both due to the fact that this roof was one foot lower than the adjoining roof, and also due to the structures upon the roof. This, to- gether with the raised wall and cor- nice on the west side, would, in all probability, cause a drift to form at the point marked “W,” the depth of which is also problematical. . Concrete is a most valuable substi- tute for steel and wood in construc- tion work. However, greater factors of safety must be allowed in concrete than in other types of construction material, for the reason that its ulti- mate strength depends upon many im- portant factors, such as the condition and quality of cement used; the ac- tual quantity of cement in proportion to sand and.gravel; the relative por- tions of cement, sand and gravel, de- pending upon their respective sizes; the cleanliness of the sand and gravel, and the consequent adhesive and bond- ing strength of the cement in the con- crete; the completeness of the mixing of the concrete; the consistency of the concrete as regards its moisture con- tent and its freshness at the time of pouring; the amount of puddling or tamping done to secure compactness of the concrete; the exact location of the steel in the finished concrete slab, and also the degree of disturbance, ‘if any, of such concrete during its period of initial set. Cannot Blame Wall. Since so many contributing factors affect the ultimate strength of a fin- ished plece of concrete, it is common practice to allow from two to three times greater factor of safety in this material than is customary in steel structures. This point is emphasized for the reason that apparently the same factors of safety have been ob- served in the design of this concrete roof slab as were used in other forms ?‘f material employed in this construc- on. . The writer cannot agree with re- ports to the effect that the Columbia road, or west wall, was the direct cause of this failure, due to its move- ment in an outward direction, caused by temperature changes of the roof slab or by weakness of the wall itself, for several very conclusive reasons: First. Truss T-11 rested in this wall on a twenty-inch I-beam, set in the hollow tile and secured only by mor- tar. Had this wall moved outward appreciably before the failure this I-beam would have been disturbed in its seating, or there would have been evidence of scoring on its top surface. Second. Had this wall moved out- ward appreciably before the failure a decided leak would have been caused in the roof adjacent to the inner side of the wall, since the concrete roof slab rested on a ledge of hollow tile only from one to three inches wide, nd the slope of the roof carried all the run-off water west of truss T-11 to the point of intersection of the roof with the western wall. Believes Orack Was New. Third. The two-inch crack which appears at the top of the proscenium wall and the west or Columbia road ‘wall extends downward to the floor, showing very plainly on the finished wall of the theater below the ceiling. Had this crack existed prior to the failure it is almost certain that its evidence would have been reported. Fourth. A Crack-_App COL. P. M. ANDERSON. Col. Anderson is chief of the con- struction divisjon of inland and coast- wise waterways service and engineer in charge of concrete vessel construc- tion in the War Department. He is a member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers, member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine En- gineers and member of the Society of American Military Engineers. During the war he was chief of the construction. maintenance and repair division of the transportation service. Col. Anderson received his technical education at the University of W consin, and for the past fourteen years he has been engaged on im- portant engineering work with three departments of the government in Washington. He is recognized as an authority on concrete construction. —_— the south wall of the structure near its intersection with the Columbia road wall where the curvature of the latter wall would have no tendency to cause the same to fail under its normal load. e It is the writer's firm belief that the Columbia road or west wall of this theater was pushed outward by the force of the roof as it collapsed; the roof being higher in the center than at the outside, the roof slab would be appreciably wider in a horizontal po- sition than in its original position, and since the eastern wall is more rigid, the movement would be entire- ly in a westerly direction, thereby causing the cracks in the adjoining walls heretofore referred to. The movement of this wall was undoubt- edly simultaneous .with the collapse of the structure, as a result of other preceding failures. - The testimony of the architect for this theater, Mr. Geare, before the coroner’s jury can only be character- ized as of par excellence with his original design. The steel chord in the top of truss T-12 is, under normal loading in its place in the structure, a compression member, whereas exam- ination of the ruptured piece of steel said to have been inferior shows that it failed under tension. The stresses that came upon this member which caused its rupture must therefore have come upon it after it had be- come dislodged from its normal posi- tion. B This report is submitted in a spirit of friendly and constructive develop- ‘ment of other reports previously pub- AMUSEMENTS. Midwinter Carnival AND Dance 4 e GIVEN BY % Scorpion Oriental Court, No.. 1 TWO WEEKS, Feb. 13 to 25, 1022, WASHINGTON HALL, 431 11th St. N.W. Admission _Free. Evenings of Oriental Art Central High School, Feb. 14th, 8:30 - East Indian Night . Piays Hindu Chants, ¥olk Dances. Tickets at Peter Panl Inn, Art- Centre Buiding, 1108 Gonn. A, " Foone Fraaiiia STORE | BLAMED FOR KNICKERBOCKER CRASH ing on the east wall. There were i three secondary trusses of 4pproxi- ately ‘e fee length. ex- |is blamea for the collapse of the | foai, TiLy-five fect in lenetl the | roof of that structure by Leo Sanders, | main truss and =supported by it | Faulty eredtion of the main col- umn in the Knickerbocker Theater | consulting engineer, of Oklahoma | There was one other secondary truss Cite, Okle. mow in Washington. Mr. | about forty feetlong extending from the main truss and re ng on the | Sanders made un examination of the | \est wall. ruins with Nenator Calder of New | “The rest of the steel consisted of | York, himself a builder and former | Eirders. I-beams or purlines, extend- building commissioner of Brooklyn.'ing *'connected with the and Senator Capper of Kansas, author | trusses. It.ts important to state that of the resolution pending in the Sen- | the ate District committee to investigate the disaster. Mr. Sanders is a grad- uate of the University of Oklahoma. Mr. Sanders scouts the suggestion that the main truss broke and caused the collapse, or that it bent Lo the ex- tent of causing it to slip from its wall on the stage wall had bearing of about three: inches on that wall, whereas all the trusses and girders which rested on the outside wall had bearing of some seven and a half inches. This explains why when the collapse began e e vidence at the ruins, helon the stage wall were pulled off contends, was that the tr as | their bearings before the trusses and Jerked from its seat by sudden, tre-| girders resting on the outside wall cleared their bearings. why the roof chestra and in front of the stage first. This does not, however, explain where and why the break began. If one of the girders or I-beams had broken, or had bent so much or so far as fo slip from its seat, the probabilities are that it would have discharged its burden without mendous force / i He places the blame directly on the | large column, which evidence shows, he “contends. was not plumb at the] time of erection. The evidence he cites is that the plasterer .tried to make it appear plumb by having a coating about two inches thick on one side thinning out to about a half an inch at the top. & He also found fauli with the joii‘t in this column, the upper and lower parts of which were not in contact. This caused, he asserts, a weak»n(m;’ of the column at the joint. All the; facts and circumstances, he says further, tend to prove that the large column yielded at this point. How Main Truss Rested. “The main truss rested at a point in the western wall about fifty feet from the point of the V. he says. “It extended in a southern direction parallel to the east wall. 1t was ap- | proximately fifty-seven feet in length. The southern end rested on the large column, which stood on the floor and extended twenty-one feet above the balcony. A girder or I beam some twenty feet in length also rested on the large column and extended east- ward and rested on the small column. ture. If the main truss had broken or had bent so far as to slip from its seat, it would have bent the flange of the I-beam upon which it rested on the wall and its heel would have made a path down the wall. The fact the plastering on the wall was not Read All the ILATEST FICTION For. 25¢ Per Book PEARLMAN’S BOOK SHOP G. D. PEARLMAN, Proprietor 933 G Street Only THE BOOK | ing from various points on the wall | several | girders which extended north | from the secondary trusses and rested | the girders resting | collapsed over the or- | 1 in- volving the rest of the steel struc- | even scratched. The flange of the I-beam which supported the big truss was not bent. The corner of the truss itself, which last left the bearing, was not bent. Neither was the I-beam loosened in the wall. Truss Jerked Off Bearings. “These circumstances prove that the main truss did not break and that it did 1ot bend 80 as to slip from its seat. They prove further that the main truss responded to some tre- | mendous force which suddenly jerked it Off its bearings. This force mus have been exerted at the end of the main truss resting on the large column. It must be mentioned here that the subsidiary truss connecting the small column with the cast wall cleared its bearing without bending the flanges of the I beam on which it rested, but the secondary trusses which extended from the main truss to the east wall bent the flanges on their I beams as they slipped from their bearings. This shows these trusses did not leave their bearings until the main truss, to which they were attached, had fallen some dis- tance. 'he fact that the main truss was falling before the secondary trusses left their bearings on the east and west walls explains the V-shape as- sumed by the roof as it came down, which $0 many eyewitnesses have described. I omitted to say that when the secondary trusses bent the flange of their bearings and left the east wall they marked the wall as they went down, describing an angle of thirty degrees from the vertical as they pitched southward and toward the floor. Incidentally, these mark- ings on the wall are an evidence of the apparent spinning or rotating movement of the roof, which has been 50 often mentioned by those who witnessed the collapse. The facts apd circumstances which I have stated lead me to the conclusion that the primary fault is not to be found in the trusses and girders. Whatever fault was in the overhead steel was more In its size than its quality. ‘What Columns Show. “This brings us to the consideration of the two columns. These two col- umns had to bear approximately two- thirds of the entire burden of the roof. This burden would perhaps amount to seventy-five tons of dead load. This does no, of course, include the snow. An examination of the col- umns has forced upon me the convic- tion that they are the members that failed. This theory explains all the facts revealed by the wreck. These columns both had joints at the bal- cony; they came up through the bal- cony, which was attached to them and which they in part supported. A care- ful scrutiny of the large column which supported the main truss shows two defects. “First, it was not plumb, but was leaning toward the south. This fact was known to the plasterer at the time it was constructed and he plastered the column so as to give it the appearance of being plumb. The plaster on the column on the north- west side was two inches thick and was hardly a half inch thick at the base; whereas, on the southeast face of the column the plaster was more than two inches thick at the base and not more than one inch thick at the top. The second defect was in the joint ‘itself. The fitting of the joint on the southwest side of the column was all right. The holes in the col- umn and in the splice plate corre- sponded, but on the northeast side there was an evident gap between the upper and lower part of the column, as shown by the holes in the column and in the splice plate. It is clear from examination of the surface of the upper and lower parts of the column that they were not in con- tact at this edge. This, of course, weakened the column at the joint and caused its deflection toward the south. All the facts and circumstances tend to prove that the large column yielded at thi point. As already said, it was lean- ing toward the south. As a matter of fact, when it yielded it fell toward the south, shearing the bolts and the splice plate on the northeast side. This column had no lateral support from the south wall. When the big1 column yielded, it fell toward the south. This jerked the main truss, which it supported, from its bearings on the western wall. Result of Fall. “As the large columns fell it drew after it the smaler column, which was attached to it by a beam; the smaller | { truss which connected it with the east wall from its bearings. As this| large column fell toward the south it | forced the roof toward the south and | the south wall above the roof fell on the outside of the building, but as the column descended, it then pulled the beams or purlines which rested on the south wall down on the inside. BUSINESS APPROVED BUS! POSITIONS FOR <column in turn as it fell jerked thel|| STRAYER’S NEW AND ENLARGED SCHOOL BUILDING . 721 Thirteenth St. N.W. (BETWEEN G AND H STS.) SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT MAGNIFICENT CLASSROOMS Court Audidnce Hangs | | On Attorney’s Words, | * Thief on His Watch Special Dispatch to The Star. CHICAGO, February 1l— | You’re mot iafe anywhere in | thix town. Here’s n lawyer— a lawyer, mind you—who ha i | hin pocket picked. What’ { more, it was picked in the | | police court, whi e lawyer was arguing a e ‘he at- .| torney wax defeading Oscar Matthew (Battiing) Nelson, the pugilist, and he grew %o ex- cited telling how Nelson went | into a house in response to cries conduct when he | wtarted m fight, that every ome in court execept one industrious | plckpocket simply hung on the attorney’s words. The pickpocket, bung on the attorney’ nd afforded anothe tra. tion of how time cai away | when your mind is on other things, - however, watch, as the column fell backward the main truss freed itseif from the con- nection at the top of the column. This connection consisted of six bolts. The greater weight of the secondary trusses was connected to the east side of the main truss, which caused a swinging action toward the east wall. The falling roof striking the east part of the balcony at an angle, crushed the balcony at the point of impact and drove the remaining part of the bal- cony against the west wall. The west wall, being a circular wall and receiv- ing the force from the inside, would be driven outward along its total length. i “This wall shows a crack of about two inches at the top of the stage partition wall and two other con- spicuous cracks. The wall is out of plum about five inches at the top at a point over the front connection of the balcony. 1 think the masonry shows up remarably well to have stood such a blow and collapse of tons of steel, and I am greatly sur- prised that the wall was not knocked down. Several of the purlines or small beams practically set on top of the edge of the tile, which were not even filled with mortar. These edges did_not break down. “In the light of all the mute and tragic testimony of the wreck itself, T am bound to conclude that collapse was primarily due to the weakness of the columns and to the fact that the main column was out of align- ment. When the weight of the roof was increased by the weight of the snow the deflection of the column caused it to give way, yielding at the defective joint. Hence the dis- aster. FOUR TO BE RETIRED. Col. George W. Moses, cavalry; Col. Hanson B. Black, Signal Corps, and Maj. James O'Brien, infantry. under treatment at Walter Reed General Hospital and Col. George P. Howell, Corps of Engineers, at Fort McPher- son, . have been ordered bLefore Army retiring boards for examination for retirement ADVERTISEMENT. MAKES A GAS RANGE | I OF ANY COOK STOVE | New Burner Works in Any Stove. | Makes Gas From Kerosene. | A new coal-oil burner. that works| | in any coal or wood stove, is an- | nounced by the International Heat- | ing Company, Dept. 526, 4552 North Broadway. St. Louis, Mo. This | remarkably simple and inexpensive |'burner heats stove and oven in half the time and does away with all the drudgery, dirt and smoke | of cooking with coal or wood. It can be put in any stove in a few | minutes and is so simple a child can operate it—is absolutely safe and gives universal satisfaction. | | 1t is ideal for summer cooking, as | well as for winter. The manu-| racturers are anxious to have every | housewife enjoy the increased com- || | forts of cooking with this amasing | | new burner and are offering to | | send one on Trial to any reader | | of this paper. They want one user | in_every locality, to whom they | | can refer customers. They also | want agents. Write them today. i COLLEGE INESS COURSES GRADUATES A subsidiary truss some forty feet in length also rested on the small column and extended eastward, rest- YOU WANT —can be supplied by : PEARLMAN’S BOOK SHOP | lished. The writer is in entire agree- shed. T G. D. PEARLMAN, Proprietor ment with reports on construction s 4y 933 G Street Only and design throughout, and the only point of difference is the final analysis of where and how the collapse origi- nated. This point, however, is funda-} mentally important of determination, since it has a vital bearing on the safety bf other structures. —The reader will readily appreciate that if previous reports as to the cause of| the collapse are accépted as conclu- sive, then the strengthening of other | weak parts of the structure as re- ported would still leave the ‘weakest point unprotected. It is, therefore, the duty of every engineer who has a better solution of this problem to make same known to the profession for careful consideration. Construc- tive criticism of this report is most earnestly solicited. 1t is the duty of the profession and the public to insist tipon the employ- ment of competent technical service in the design and construction of ally its engineering problems, and to lnA| sist upon the reliable supervision by adequate assistants, properly compen- sated, which will guard the public against the unscruplous who place the value of the dollar above that of humanity. Have You a Room for Rent? . Original - Whether it is a single room, an apartment or a house, everybody who wants to move looks in the “For Rent” columns of The Star. For quick results use Star Classified Ads. _“Aron' nd the corner” is a Star Branch Office For a complete list of the I 57 Branches and Classified " Rates, see page 12, Part 2, of today’s Star. Phone Main 3430 . Health Candies Red Paper Hearts V5-1b. size ...... 55¢ 1-Ib. size ....... 90c 2-1b. size .......$1.65 3-Ib. size ....J..$2.45 5-b. size .......$4.25 Filled With Our 60c Candies FOR YOUR 12039 G St. New Classes Now Forming In Stenography, Typewriting, Bookkeeping, Secretarial Training Day and Evening Sessions 100% Pure Announces a Sale of " Valentine Sweels AT SPECIAL REDUCED PRICES “A SWEET REMEMBRANCE Parcel Post - 13th & F Sts. P. J. 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