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Show blew it conn' room 1 LEAKING CAS CAUSES EXPLOSION' EXPLO-SION' IN CAPITOL BUILDING. VLtiui- 'ii)tsMiiie 1 'i-ri-Ie-s Doicim-nts o Which 11,1 l.'upL.Mlls i:Kl-Sll-1 prime cni't K.iolu a (.iitu- I ,,l.t... Wr.ik. : Wn .hiii ton. Nov. T. An explosion Mid ::ie re. kid t!:e supreme court room ami the rooms i it l 1 uci iat e :y a.l-j a.l-j joining- it on the in: in Moor of the M-apitoi. The ikima.c is enormous, i The eotire ccn t I -eastern part of the I great imn-iiic pile, from the main floor j to the sub; erraiiean ba .client, practically practic-ally is a iiis --, oi' ruins. The force of j the explosion was so heavy that, the j coping st lines on t lie ou tcr '.'.alls, just east, of the point, where the e:;plosion ''eeUlTed. Were bulged olit Dearly tVO : inches; v. indov. s in a 1 that i :i rt of the i ' I bu ihl i ng were blown out. and locked doors Here fore-, I from their hinges qui!..: I ."ill feet from tile s, cue of il. I fire followed th e explosion so uick-' uick-' ly as to seem practically simultaneous j with if. The explosion shook the im- nieiisc st rueturc to its foundat ions, and j was heard siveral squares from the rapitol. It occurred in a small room, j tightly inclosed by heavy stone walls. iu the subterranean basement iuiinedi-j iuiinedi-j ufely below the main entrance to the j old capitol building'. In this room was a r,OU-light gas meter, which was fed by a four-inch main. Very little gas is used in that part of the building", but at the time of the explosion the gas had not been turned oft' at the meter. me-ter. The meter itself was wrecked and, the gas pouring from the main, caught lire. The flumes originating j from the explosion darted up the shaft ! of the elevator, which had been com j plctcly desl roy ed by the force of the j explosion, and communicated with the record room of the supreme court, the olliee of the marshal of the court and the supreme court library, Before the i flames could be subdued the priceless j documents in the record room had been I almost totally destroyed and serious j damage bad been done in the marshal's j oflice and some minor rooms iu the immediate vicinity. No intelligent estimate of the money loss by the explosion and fire can yet be made. In the opinion of capitol oilieials and mechanics who examined I the structure the loss will reach probably prob-ably SSuo.OOO to the building. Tlie loss j on the library and records can scarcely j be estimated iu dollars and cents. A million dollars could not replace them, because of many of them no duplicates are in existence. Among the losses which will be most sincerely regret Led are those of busts of Chief Justice .Marshall and other disting uished members of the supreme court, which were arranged on small pedestals about the supreme court chamber. In the smoke and ruin which followed the explosion these valuable works of art were either badly damaged or wholly destroyed, and with their destruction the country lias .suffered an irreparable loss. Many of them have been treasured as exhibits ex-hibits in the supreme court chamber for half a century. |