The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-04-19
Southern Hotel Investigation.

SohthtEh IHotSE hhsVNtib"sAo"'
ST. LOUIS, April lS.-The Coroner's
inquest proceeded with the investigation
of the Southern Hotel fire this morn
ing, but no evidence having any bearing
on the origin of the fire or its manage
ment was brought out.
John K. Reese, Professor Of Mathe-
mstics OF the Washington University,
gave a very graphic description of the
escape of himself aud wife and two
chsmbermaids, who were rescued from
tho window OF his room on the sixth
floor, Fourth street front, by 2. TOole,
the brave and daring tremsn, but he did
not know anything about the origin OF
tho fire. He knew of no alarm being
given in the upper story, and only learn
ed of the fire by the noise IN the hall
When he opened the door OF his room the
smoke was so dense that he was forced
to go back into the room, where he re-
mained until taken down the Skinner
escape by Toole.
James Mckee, ysrdmsn, whose duty
it WAS to put the supplies IN the store
room, testified that on going into the
store room on the day OF the fire he found
lot of dose matches scattered over the
floor. He picked them up and put them
into a bucket of water, and then placed
the box which contained the stock OF
matches upon high shelf.
George 5. Darling, day clerk, and son
of one of the proprietors, testified: Do
not know that any particular orders
were ever given to the employees OF the
house regarding what they should do IN
case Of fire; the fire alarm or annuncia-
tor, never worked well; could not be re-
lied upon; never heard that the EN-.
ploves had ever been directed not to give
an alarm IN case of fire until instructed
to do so; always understood that they
we've TO sound an alarm at once; the pot
was her, or scullion, who was seen ium-
bling around the store room doors with
burning paper in his hand few hours
before the fire broke, went TO New YORK
with the cook tew days ago.
Captain Charles =. Warner, one of the
proprletOrs, said tHere was water stand
pipe running from the basement up
through the root of the house, with hose
attachments on every hoOr, six hundred
feet OF hose, thirteen Bsbcock eItip-
guishers. buckets a. every stairway, and
seven nozzles. The nose were in good
order, to the best Of his know!-
edge. There had been fire
brigade in the house under the former
proprietors, of whom he was one, and
most OF the men belonging TO 1t were IN
the house al the time OF the fire. They
had been we'll drilled, but did little or no
service thst night The fire was so sud-
den and spread 50 rapidly that there was
no opportunity to do anything. The fire
snnuncistor in the house WAS unfinished,
and was not considered OF much practical
value. Witness gave lengthy discrip-
tion of the store room, its location
and relative position to other parts
| of the basement. He said the walls
were stone except one corner nearest 70
the baggage elevator, which was OF plank.
1t could be easily seen by the man who
attended the elevator engine and the
fireman in the engine room. His theory
WAS that the fire was caused By super
heated steam pipes, but at what point
the fire caught he could not
say. These pipes were numerou:
and ran overhead in the basement snd
through the store room. Could not sag
whether the matches standing on the
nigh shelf IN the store room would
ignite from the heat Of the stesm pipes,
He based his theory somewhat upon the
fact that the fire was seen spresdin
along the top OF the wooden part OF sht
store room wall There was no specia
wstchmen in the basement, bat always
one or more men st or about the engines
and boilers. There were four large cls.
terms and tanks holding some so,oV
gallons of water and two wells in th'
house.
No bodies were found in the ruins TO
dav. Both the Office safes were taker
out. and their contents found 10 be unln
iured. In the largest safe was lsrg'
amount of property belonging to guest
and boarders, among it $1,000 wortl
of diamonds, which were delivered to to
owner, Frank E. Karlesen, of New YORK
Some of the interior walls Of the hos