The Kirk Inquets.

The Jury Puts the Blame of the Falling Shed on the Electric Line.

The coroner's jury in the Bernard Kirk inquest at Ypsilanti Wednesday afternoon returned the following verdict:
"That Bernard Kirk came to his death while standing on a sidewalk in the city of Ypsilanti Saturday, Jan. 21, between the hours of 2 and 3 p. m. his death being caused by the falling on him of a temporary shed built by he Detroit, Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor railroad on E. Congress st. , in said City.
From the evidence adduced we find said shed to have been very weakly and improperly constructed."

Four witnesses were examined by Coroner B. F. Watts Wednesday. Isaac Davis was about 100 feet away when the accident occurred.
He heard the crash but before he got there so many people were there that he did not assist in raising the debris.
The wind was blowing a little, but not very strong.
John Perry, colored, stopped at the shed on Friday, the day before it fell.
While he was there some bricks fell and the shed weaved. He remarked at the rime that people had better keep away from the shed or somebody would get hurt.
Fred Basum passed the shed several times a day. After the bricks were taken out, it didn't look safe to him.

Fred J. Griffin the contractor, testified that he ordered the shed built. He didn' have supervision of the building and supposed it had been done according to his orders but he didn't know.
He was doing the job of building for the railroad company and was working on a percentage.

The jury took a recess of half an hour to examine the scene of the accident.
They looked for evidence of the posts of the shed having been toenailed to the walk, but found only two or three nail holes.
The jury was one of the best coroner's juries which ever sat in this county.
It was composed of ex-Mayor Harlow D. Wells, ex-Ald. George M. Gaudy, City Clerk James E. McGregor, Geo. W. Alban, a leading clothier, ex-Coroner Harrison Ball and Franklin J. Fletcher.