New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-07-15
THE FLAMES CHECKED.

THE FLAMES CHECKED.
TIE PIRE BELIEVED TO DE UNDER CoNTRoL-ALL
THE MAILS REMOVED FROM TIE PosT-oFFICE
BEFORE IT'S Observation-Disclosures OF FAM
IIIEs HoUsELEss AND HoMELEss-rHE Sums
OF THE CITY PURIFIED
CHICAGO, July 14-10 p. MAS expected, the FIRE
swept into and through the elegant First Baptist
church on Wabash-ave., and what was this evening"
before shutdown, of the most elegant and costly
church edifces of our city is smouldering
heap Of ruins.
As it was very evident from the course of the fire
and strength of the wind about $50 p. IN that our
Post Office building was in all probability doomed
Gen Macarthur our Postmaster made arrangements
AT once 10 remove the mails to place of safety ana
all the needed teams were at pressed into the
service bv him. and by o'clock the last loaded
wagon left the building, and the place that had
been the depot of the United States mails centerng
here was destroyed forever, for at 10 minutes past
o'clock the building caught fire, and by 5! 1t was
a mass of flames.
The wind by s o'clock had almost died away,
which assisted our Fire Department greatly IN be-
coming masters of the situation. Al the corner
where the Post-Offce was situated at Wabash-ave
and Harrison-st the very point where the previous
great fire stopped, the iremen seemed TO be IN
spreading into the rebuilt district and here il was
that all their energies concentrated 70 bar ITS
further progress The building on the south
east corner was a large brick dwelling-house. ana
by making bulwark of this against the ever on
coming sheets of flames, the prospects of holding
this building and saving it, thereby preventing the
progress of the fire through TO Mchigan-ave. was
quite promising at $50 o'clock; whereas the north
east corner of these streets occupied by the Post
Office, was then mass Of flames. As a very
heavy and high brick building adjoined
the POst-Ofiice on the north, there IS no
doubt that the spread of the fire norm
of Wabash-ave. from this point has been checked
Among the buildings destroyed on the east side OF
Wabash-ave. the church building formerly
occupied by the congregation of Robert Lard
COllyer 1t seems somewhat singular that the con-
hagrati0n should be checked and the very building
spared by the previous fire should now be one of the
last to succumb. The mails all removed 10 the
sub-statiUn on the corner of West Washington and
Hastead-sts,
Between Eldridge-cOurt and Harrison-st on the
east side of Wabash-ave., some dozen handsome
buildings were destroyed. The whole Of the west
side of the avenue between these llmits-every
buIlding-was levelled with the ground, aud looking
west the same dead level OF runs is presented as
our inhabitants in 1871 The losses entailed
bythis fire in the destruction and removal of goods
and furniture is in all probability great as the
actual loss on buildings destroyed up 10 $50 p. NJ
for il takes but a moderate sized fire To induce Chi
cage people 10 clear ont their goods and chattels
About every store along Wabash-ave. and
State-st. as far north as Monroe-st
removing IFS goods. or the most valuable
part thereof 30 places of safety and dwellnghouses
III this apparent line Of the tire not slow in fol-
lowing the instinct OF selfpreseryaton, by tile
removal of everything portable from cellar 10 garrett
The destruction entailed by this speedy and hurried
exodus Will never figure among the losses sustained
by the insurance companies
Ii is very probable, should the fire he stayed where
il now is considering the area burned over that the
losses 10 insurance companies Will be very lght, al
though hundreds and hundreds Of families lost their
all and have been rendered housele>s and homeless
A. the good suffers with the bad on many occa-
sious So in this instance the bad have suffered with
the good. and probably that section OF the city
would not have been purified of its sums as eiiectu
ally and thoroughly III the next fifty years 70 come
az il has this evening III the space Of three hours
Chicago has not only had another conllgrltion but
a great publication as well. and VIII m the end he
the better for II.
1920 ~ m-The fight with the fire is on State
a. ana Wabash-ave., between Van Buren, and tar-
risod-sts The flames seem TO be slowly giving way
10 the persistent efforts of the tremen, and It Is
hoped will be STAYED before long. The It. James
Hotel is the last building that has begun 10 burn
but as the Fire Department can concentrate their
efforts in that particular locality, indicated above,
the spread OF the lire viii be more readily checked.