1933-07-12 — Page 7

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THE YUK SAU STREET VERANDAH COLLAPSE

ARCHITECT AND FOREMAN ON THE STEEL WORK

INTERFERED WITH BY “A CERTAIN.

AMOUNT OF RAMMING

The inquiry into the balcony collapse at 15, Yuk Say Street on the night of June 3, was continued before Mr. Schofield at Central Magistracy yesterday afternoon and it was adjourned until to-day after evidence had been given by Mr. Alfred J. Lane, the well-known local architect, who was subjected to very lengthy cross- examination by counsel engaged in the inquiry,

There was a little breeze" in Court when Mr. Lane' objected to one of Mr. Lo's questions regarding the ap portioning of architect's fees between Mr. Lane and an em- ployee, Mr. Tong, and the Coroner remarked that if the witness did not wish to answer the question, he did not think they could press him.

Mr. W. Schofield sat as Coroner assisted by a jury com- prising Messrs. R. A. Rodgers (foremen) Li Koon Chun and A. C. Little.

WORK IN OTHER VERANDAHS IN

QUESTION

HONG

KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1933

LAUNCH OF THE S.S. **FATSHAN"

At Taikoo Dockyard

DETAILS OF THE NEW SHIP

The launch of a vessel of more than ordinary loos! interest took place to-day when the Twin-Screw River Steamer "Fatahan" entered the water at Taikoo Dockyard. The launching ceremony was grace- fully performed by Mr. J. H Little. This vessel, which is being built to the order of the China Navigation Company, will soon he put in "service on the Hong Kong Canton run to replace the vessel of the same name which Has proved so popular among the river travel, ling passengers.

The new "Fatshan" is, a vessel of 250 ft. over-all length, 45'6" breadth, and a depth of 21'0" to upper deck and will have a speed of 16 knots on service.

up

The vessel has three holds and a smaller hold specially fitted for the carriage of silk. In the holds orlop decks are fitted and at each hatchway ramps are pro- vided for the easy and quick hand. ling of cargo. There rd three пачение decks, accommodation being provided at the fore and of the upper and saloon deck for saloon class passengers in 28 single. berth cabins, double-berth cabins and 2 family cabins of three berth each. The cabin class passengers are accommodated in 16 double. saloon and upper decks. The in- Referring to the steel work, wit-termediate passengers are herthed ness said that wherever this was in a large deckhouse on the upper rendy, the contractor would 'phone deck, while the third class passeng or call at the office and asked that are carried on the main deck. an inspection he made, Witness The dining room is situated on the anid that it was usual for him to waloon deck and is provided with carry out these inspections but raised roof to give a light and airy appearanes. The design of this room Fas been artistically conceived and is being skillfully executed. The floor is being laid with parquetry of pleasing design. The saloon will comfortably seat

Mr. FC. Jankin, K.C., instruct, gave this most of his own atten-berth rooms at the aft end of the ed by Mesars, Woo and Nash, aption. peared for the contractors who built the house, Mr. M. K. La re- presented the owner of the house and Mr. H. Armstrong appeared for Mr. A. J. Lane, the architect.

When the hearing was resumed, Mr. Lo began his cross-examina- tion of Li Cheak, the owner's fore- man, and in answer to Mr. Lo opening question, witness said he was also known by the name of Cheuk Hing.

Mr. Lo Dr you understand

plaas ?—I don't.

sometimes a trusted assistant was sent down to see if the work was all right, provided that he (wit ness) had seen this work himself a few days before.

Continuing. Mr. Lane said he never made any notes of his ins-

Were you given a plan of thesepections unless he found buildings -No,

Were Kwok Loy and Kwok Wai Kwai ench given one -No.

You know Nr. Ton", don't you -Yee.

Did you notive Mr. Tong examin- ing any steel bars before, the cement was put in Yes.

Which bars.did he examine t- Those on the ground floor."

You mean on top of the garage

-Yes.

Did you see him examining the steel bars before the cement con- erete was laid on the halconies I did not.

The last witness told the Court that you and your other foki used to interfere with the steel bars after they were laid-That is not

true.

گر

That you and your other foki used poles to ram down the steel hara after the cement concrete hal been put in 7-No,

some

find anything wrong with the steel error but on no occasion did he

as there was a balcony collapse in work. Witness went on to say that

asked the workmen to be particu- that vicinity about that time, he larly careful.

Mr. Schofield: Can you accourt for the steel work being out of trosition-There must have been

some alterations,

Can you give any instance of a balcony of this type, constructed

you, collapsing I have never had any collapse though I have met displacement of steel here and there.

the cement -Oh, frequently. Wit Do you watch the pouring in of

ness added that they always tried to complete one flour in a day and that the pouring in of the cement may be started at any point.

the saloon class passengers at

une time. Immediately forward

The Rooring here is of rubber til- of the comfortable lounge and writing room has been

arranged.

ing.

at the fore end of the saloon deck The officers' accommodation is and will be grilled off to form citadel.

a

Engines and Equipment. Lifeboat equipment and life plied to comply with the latest re saving appliances are being sup gulations as laid down by the Hong Kong. Government.

THE WONDERS OF

WIRELESS

MR. N. STOCKTON'S -INTERESTING PAPER AT ROTARY CLUB

RADIO FANS" ADVISED TO

STUDY MORSE

At yesterday's meeting of the Rotary Club, an interest, ing address on wireless and radio, was given by Mr. N. Stockton, who in the course of his speech dilated on the many interesting things, that radio "fans"

can enjoy by taking an intelligent interest in their hobby.

Mr. T. B. Wilson presided over the meeting.

HOW AN S.O.S. MESSAGE GOES OUT.

Dearest

course

transmitting. Distress Instructions flash back- and forward between distressed ship

and the coast station, and the of rescuing ships is al tered. The whole drama is free to the listener on 800 metres-right from beginning to end. Sometimes the ending is a happy one, and sometimes it is tragic.

Mr. Stockton said in part:- "Stop To try and explain to you in signal." detail by what method the voice wards of Shanghai, or London, or Paris, the is brought into your drawing room would take up far more time than am allowed to-day. To explain in language that layman can at onee understand is practically im possible. Hundreds have tried The book-sellers' windows are full of volumes entitled "Wireless Most of us remember the sinking Simply Explained." There's and of the Titanic in 1912 such thing as a simple explanation. thousand lives

Over 3 One of the greatest bugbears to another thousand were saved by the lost, but serpsful short wave reception is Carpathia, which picked up the morse interference. The air is full Titanic's distress call. Had radio of morse. Thousands of ship and communication been as universal i shore stations are minute of the night and day.

netive every 1912 as it is to-day, it is quite probable that not one life would The only way to deal with morse have been lost in the Titanic. The is to tolerate it. you ran.

Tune it out if American steamer California was If not, learn the code and in sight of the Titanic when she listen to the stations, for they can struck the iceberg, but there was be very interesting,

only one wireless operator aboard and he was in his bunk, asleep.

Take the four letters. E, I, S, and Morse is not so difficult to learn. H. They are one, two, three, and four dots. Peimanise them by re membering the initial letters of England, Ireland, Scotland and

Home.

were

only one wireless operator, who is Even to-day many ships carry on watch eight hours a day. But

science has now come to the aid of the mariner with a delicate instru Iment called the auto alarm. When the operator goes off watch he switches on his auto alarm.

listening, The listener with a know- It is essential to train by ear, and you can only learn effectively by

The sensitive instrument disdains :dge of morse has a far more ordinary morse and the crackle of listener who is tied down to teleby a equence of twelve dashes. As fascinating field to explore than the static, and can be operated only phony. The marine field, the world soon as the twelve dashes are re- Lof amateur, police radio, the ceived the auto alarm automatic- newspapers, and aviation comes ally rings bells in the operator's to his receiver The first news of cabin and on the bridge of the ship. nearly all major disasters is con veyed over the air by morse. when an American amateur picked was so in the Japanese earthquake, It

a message from ↑ Japanese amateur. It was so in the New Zealand earthquake and in the wreck of the Akron.

Smith's wonderful

For this purpose the 808 signal

mitted. whenever a distress signal is trans- is now preceded by twelve dashes.

Actually the three letters SOS have no such meaning as "Save. The vessel is being built under

Our Souls" and "Sink or Swim," the survey of Mr. T. H. G. Brayfield, Sur- of the Hong Kong

as is sometimes imagined. They Government Marine Surveyors and

Kingsford Smith's 'Flight.

were chosen simply because they are the easiest combination of let- Kingsford yor to The British Corporation. Hight across the Pacific from Cali-ters to understand in the morse The propelling machinery con. fornia to Queensland was reported. In the days of the Titanic disus-

code. sists of two sets of inverted, direct by radio from the 'plane itself; Atter the distress call was composed acting, four-cylinder,

balanced, the time of the flight. I was in the of the three letters CQD. triplexpansion brides wireless service in Queensland, and people thought they D. A lot of lubricated was placed on special duty picking Quickly, Danger," but, actually, throughout. The diameters of the up the transmissions From Kings they were derived from CQ, which cylinders are 18" 25" 29" ford Smith's 'plane. We picked up is the call to all stations, and the with a stroke of 18" designed to the aviator's first message just be letter "D." was used in this develop 2000, IH.P. at 255 R.P.M. fore he arrived in Honolulu, and signal. COD was too apt to be mix-1 which is the urgent All pumps are independent of the from there until his arrival in ed up with CQ, so it was abandon. main engines

Brisbane received complete details ed in favour of 80S.

Whilst the cement concrete was

Starting his cross-examination, laid on the bakony, where would Mr. Armstrong asked witness what you and your loki stand to look the chocks, used in the balconies, on-At the back of the room.

were made of. Witness said they were sometimes made of cement

The Owner's Visits.

and sometimes wood,"

What kind This concluded Mr. Lo's cross. building 3-I cannot remember, examination and in answer to Mr. But the steel were supported at "Armstrong witness said he did not the right height above the chocks?

see Mr. Kwok, the owner, on the Oh, yes, premises often. Mr. Kwok visited the place once in two or three days and sometimes. once in five or six days. Witness, in answer to a further question, said that he re. parted to the owner once about the cement conerete but he made several reports regarding the in- terior decoration work,

In reply to a further question, witness said that when the cement was being poured in, the cement thocks were always left in; only the wooden ones were removed. Witness denied that the steel bars were tied to the shuttering.

is the concrete, of which the collapsed balcony was composed, in Mr. Armstrong: Did Mr. Kwok your view good concrete 1-Yes, take any interest in the building 1 considerably better than the aver

--No.

What did he do when he came to

age.

forced

the flight. Thousands of amateurs with a knowledge of the morse code listened in to that aight.

Steam is provided by three of cylindrical multitubular bailers,

Wireless as a Career, each 13'8" diameter by 10'0" long, fitted with corrugated furnances

So far, we have considered wire- and constructed in accordance Ten years ago, of course, such tertainment, or an added interest less as a pastime, a hobby, an en- with Board of Trade rulas and transmissions would have been im in life, but it calls for rather more under Hong Kong Government possible, for the short wave field serious supervision, for a working pres was practically unexplored. In the

consideration. Nowadays mure of 200 lbs. per square inch.lden days there

an increasing number of parents were no such They are arranged to burn coal things ne valve transmitters, and for their sOTELS

azo estimating its value as a career. under forced draught.

atmospherics were much more of with a local resident and he said: I discussed this a bugbear to the commercial opera-Nothing to it. To-day wirelesa tor than they are to-day. With is the forth R"-Reading, writ the primitive sets in use, one of ling, rithmetic and radio. People the drawbacks of morse work in the leare it as a sideline." ror. If an atmospheric blots out even one dot or a dash it sometimes alters the whole meaning of a tele

in Court when asked how he shar

olden days was the liability to er- Witness went on to say "thated the fees with Mr. Tong. The

ing how the cement was being work being interfered with

news did not wish to answer the question he did not think they could press him.

the building 1-He came to see how when he examined the collapsed Coroner remarked that if the wit- the work was going on.

Did he take any interest in see-steel poured in He list walked round the building and then he would Jeave,

You saw the steel bars on haleony before the concrete poured in Yes,

the

wak

How far above the floors were they -They were level with the Boor.

Witheis

At what height above the floor! -About half an inch. added that they were supported on small cement blocks and these blocks were left in the same posi tion when the cement was being poured in.

They are still there then, accord. ing to you Probably they might have been mixed up with the con

<rele.

You are certain they were still there when the concrete was being poured in 7-Yes,

Mr. Lane in the Box,

Mr. Alfred James Lane, the well-

known local architect, was the next winess called. He said the plans

balcony, he found traces of the

here were signs that a certain amount of ramming bad been done. Mr. Do put several questions togram.

It has been suggested that a man

the witness regarding the col in your office named Chan had lapsed and asked if he (witness) been sent down to supervise the bad inspected the balconies in the work-He was an office voolie and other five buildings since the col might have been sent down with a lapse. Witness answered in the message to the contractor.

affirmative and he also told the Court that he was not sure, but he thought he did warn the contractor about the balconies.

No Pay.

Mr. Armstrong having completed his cross-examination, Mr. Lo be gan his questions.

AR

know from you the relations be

Mr. Lo: Mr. Lane, I like to tween you and Tong is employed by me.

Mr. Tong-Mr.

other employees-He is on a coma-

You faean in the same way mission basis, but be gets a Commission...

He gets no pay from you 1-No,

Would it be equally correct to Any that he pays you Bion 1-No.

a

of Nos. 13 and 15 Yuk Sau Street Can you recognize Mr. Tong's

8.0.6.

The greatest thrill in: morse re ception doem't lie in point to point eircuits, however. It lies in marine circles where, sooner or la ter, every ship or shore operator ex- periences the thrill of hearing an S.O.S.

No, one can ever forget the excite

To some extent this is true. Wireless, however, is a profound science, and threatens to become imbre profound. Although boys build wireless sets, faw people un- derstand radio. Capable techni numerous, and in some parts of the cians and operators аге not world there is actually a serious shortage. Wireless principles are used in the talkie field in both pro [jection and production, and ever the police of the larger cities in the world now utilise radio equip

Mr. Lo: Would it be correct toment of a distress dessage. Im-ped cars. Nearly every large city say that the steel in the 22 veran agiule it. The air is full of morse in America had its wireless police, dahs in the other houses are in

same thing has been done here.

the rattle of powerful shore, sta- patrol. the collapsed balcony -I think the transmitters, the whine of Telepolice launches are equipped with about the same position as that in tions, the splutter of ships spark In Hong Kong many of the water

Mr. Jenkins was very brief in his

funken and valve sets, and the deep radio, enabling them to keep in cross-examination. He asked wit the chatter of a hundred and one The Chinese Maritime

roar of a naval vessel. Thero is touch with the central station. ness if it were not true that unless vessels, each contending for a cir-launches also utilise it for the Customs extraordinary care was taken, the chocks could easily be displaced. Witness agreed with counsel.

Mr. Jenkins; Do you say that you actually warned the contractor or his representatives as to the im commis portance of special care with the canti-lever balconice-It's rather, to have hills of this kind holding was a collapse just about the time, Is it usual for employees of yours hard to swear to it but as there up two exhibits)-Ne.

I warned, all the workmen, vou told anybody to be careful

Are you prepared to wear that Yce.

And you do swaar 1-Yen. hard to name any particular per

Who did you warn It would be son.

Mr. Jenkin

Thank you. Hearing was adjourned till afternoon.

writing -Well, I wouldn't like to swear to it.

were prepared by Mr. Tong in his office and after they had been sub- mitted to and finally passed by the Have you got the counterfoils of Building Authority, a contract was the receipts for your fees?-Well. signed on February 8, 1931. I've got duplicates and the bills

The supervision of the building Then followed a rather heated was carried out by Mr. Tong and discussion for witness said he did himself, and the foundation work not wish to discuss his office affairs being the most important, witness Continued on next Column)

cuit.

Mirs Bay and West River patrols. But we have no police equipped cars here yet.

Then, suddenly, often faintly, you hear the fateful three dots, three dashes and three dots of the Fortunes have been made out of international distress call Chat radio, inventions, and larger for tering stations stop "transmitting, tunes can still be made. An Eng- gradually at first, and then sudden lishman invented the valve, and y quiet and as you strain at the valve and made a greater fortune. ly, as they sense that something is made a fortune. An American in- amias. Everything becomes death-fvented the little grid inside the

call again. Short stations im- eliminator, you could afford to dive earphones and listen you hear the Jf you could invent a statio mediately take charge. Perhape a in Hong Kong for the rest of your far distant ship which has not yet life. tress breaks in with QRA-the heard the name of the ship in dis morse abbreviation for Who are you ?"

this Immediately a hundred keys fall upon him "QRT! QRT SOS."

Propaganda,

Only within the list three or four years have the nations of the world To-day very few major nations do realised the possibilities of radio.

Continued on Page 11)

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