The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-05-06
MEMORIAL HALL BURNED.
Correspondence of the Democrat.
NATIONAL HOME, Mont. Co. o.
Nav 3. 1880. (

Correspondence OF the democrat.
NATIONAL HOME, Mont. Co. o.
May 8, 1880.
A long time has gone with its years
since l have penned a line for your
excellent and interesting paper, but
in order to give your intelligent read
ers the facts of the burning OF Memoir
ial Hall, on Sunday morning, between
IL and l o'clock, I lay the facts before
them as it actually took place.
About - o'clock at night the bells
commenced ringing, and the steam
whistle of the boiler house began
blowing. The entire camp was asleep,
but soon aroused by the cry of fire,
when it was discovered that the tick
ct office of Memorial Hall was light
ed up by what appeared a small flame,
and could have been easily and quick
ly extinguished, had there been a
remedy early on hand. For fully half
an hour the engine could not be got
ready to play on the devastating ele-
ment, and even then, it was incapable
of throwing a stream of water to the
top of the second story window. The
engine is q second-handed old blum
derbuss, that takes so long a time to
get up steam that any ordinary build
ing would be consumed, and taking
this into consideration, and that the
Firemen here are one armed men and
nearly every one of them MANNED and
crippled, il is not much wonder that
an immense building like this was de-
voured by fire, and that this temple
of beauty and elegance of finish and
architecture, lies on Sunday morning
q mass of smoldering ruins and worth
less heap of ashes. There was not
anything got out of the building, ex-
cept a piano, a few chairs and a lot of
side wings Of the scenery, that are
worthless, while the fine scenery.
magnificent drop curtain, and all the
wardrobe, furniture, and every single
thing, building aud all were swallow
ed up in a burning stream of fire
whose flames fairly Tapped the clouds.
The frmen here are a paid depart
ment, and should be composed of the
most rugged and ablebodied men in
this Home, and why this is not so, is
a mystery no N can solve, unless
favoriteism is shown without consid-
Grafton.
What is moro mysterious about the
matter is that no fire is ever used in
the building, as it is heated by steam
from the boiler house-neither had
there been any performance in the
Hall for over a week-the doors we've
all locked, and the men, a dozen of
them, who are paid and employed to
take charge of the building, not one
| of them were there. Mr.. Henderson,
who is head and front of the force
was in town. The Waterman who had
been on duty every night there, was
removed to the Cemetery to watch
the Monument, L suppose, for fear
somebody would steal that marble
structure, that has cost enough to
build a silver one, the paid police
force here failed to discover fire in
the building until it was too late to
save it, even had there been o compe-
tent Fire Department., and now, thai
cannot nor never will be answered.
how did the fire originate? One thing
we do know, and that is, that the
most elegant structure in the State
with all its costly scenery, wardrobe,
Telegraph Office, books and furniture
are a pile of ashes, and Memorial
Hall, in the Soldiers Home is no more.
The Church was ON fire twice but ex-
tinguished, and had it not been thai
the wind was favorable from the
west, this morning the entire build
ings ofthis Home would be in ruins.
An engine arrived from Dayton af-
ter the Hall was burned down.
This Memorial Hall was dedicated
one year ago last September and re-
ceived no appropriation from the
Government, only $4,000, while the
building as it stood cost $4,000, the
balance coming from the Home Store
Fund, which came from the pockets
of the Soldiers here, together with
fines assessed against them in the
Home, and so, also was the Monument
built here by the boys, except some
two thousand dollars, that a liberal, in
telligent noble, Democratic Congress
man, of this District, "a the means
of obtaining for US, 1 NEAR the Hon.
JOHN A. MCMAHON. There will prob
ably never again be another such a
Hall built here, and it is a pity and a
shame this magnificent structure OF
grandeur, and edifice of beauty, to-
gether with the delightful and plea
SAINT hours that the war worm vete-
rams have passed within its walls, has
to look in sorrow upon its crumbling
ruins. Your Friend,
VIM. THos. MCDOWELL