Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-09

building and goods with water. For the time
the general good service of the department is
| forgotten and men say that the lower floors OF
the main part and all but the roof beyond the
| fire wall should have been saved. or course
there are few who consider the advantages the
| fire had in the fight. One of the most direct
and practical criticisms heard by the writer
yesterday was from an old fireman, who insists
that very soon after the engines began work
| it WAS apparent the roof must
burn, and it was useless to try to fight the fre
there. Then, he says, with ladders and from
the vantage of two story buildings close by,
the fire should have been fought, at close range,
in the upper stories. But the reporter, Tor his
part, is inclined to the opinion that there
wasn't water enough and, under the clroum-
stances, couldn't have been enough ut the
right place and time.
THE DANGEROUS WALLS.
During the progress of the fire, when it was
seen that the oak Orders were burning through,
it was generally feared that the high walls
might faH an ID hurl mass of burning timber
and hurting goods against the opposite build
ings But the walls all stood till yesterday
morning, at about $50, when the Fourth street
wall, from above the first story, fell outward
fortunately doing no harm. A few bricks fell
near the opposite sidewalk, but only few fell
more than forty feet away from the base of the
wall. During the day it was advocated by in
surance men that all the upper outer walls of
the main part of the building should be taken
down so that men could safely go inside to
move the debris and work at recovering the
goods in the basement Capt. Rhodes, as agent
for Commodore Davidson, owner of the build
ing. gave his consent to having the upper walls
pulled down, rs did the agents of insurance
companies. Then Mayor Dawson was visited
and he also, after consulting City Attorney
Murray, Lave the city's consent to the neces-
sary use of the streets, but declining to assume
any responsibility for tho city as to the dis
position of the property in the walls. But
after consultation with Mr.. Craig, of Taylor
surance companies finally concluded not to at
tempt to pull down the upper walls and, in
stead, contracted with Taylor & Craig to stay
the wallis from top to bottom. They will begin
the work this morning early, with sufficient
force of men to SO far complete the work as to
make it cafe to begin work inside during to-
:iay. Nearly all the large quantity OF goods
in the basement remains there aud will prob
ably be removed, much damaged by fire and
dirty water, but worth perhaps fifty thousand
dollars more than ashes.
INTERVIEW WITH GEORGE X. FINCH
In order to learn enough to satisfy the inter-
ested public as TO the effect of the fire upon
the firm of Auerbach, Finch, Culbertson & Co.,
the reporter improved few moments
to talk with MIR. Finch, who, though
hard pressed by the business OF the day, appre-
ciated the interest of the public as represented
by the GLOBE and courteously gave all the
information requested. Mr.. Finch
stated that their first work was to
collect and sort their gocds 30
that the condition of the saved goods and the
damage to them could be ascertained. The
firms plans had been somewhat changed since
the early hour yesterday morning when it was
understood they would occupy Wabashaw
street store with their carpet department and
collect their general stock in the Wharton d
Horton building on West Third street, between
Wabashaw and 81. Peter. They have now de-
cided to place their carpet department IN the
Wharton & Morton building aud had also OBJ
tanned the Schultz building, opposite the st.
Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba cOmpany's now
headquarters building on Fourth street near
Wacouta. This is a three story building, about
fifty by one hundred feet, and is being used
for the collection and sorting of the
goods saved from the general stock. The goods
saved Sunday night were widely scattered
each of the many groups of men who
worked at taking away tho goods as they
were brought or pitched out from the burning
building having some different store or ware
house opened to them. 1t would be more than
hard days work, for all who could be en-
plOyed at it, to bring these goods together and
it would take time to 30 arrange them that
their quantity and value could be ascertained.
But this would be done with all possible ex-
petition, for it was desirable to make the IL
corruption of the firms business as short as
possible. The firm was now looking for land
which they could lease on which to erect tenn
porary building in which to resume business.
The carpet store would be ready to open prob
ably in two or three days, and it wouldn't take
long to put up the temporary building. for
pINobl x find IN hafN
night. You may say said Mr.. Finch, in con-
clusion, THAT we shall go right on with our
business, with as little delay as possible"
WITH MAURICE AUERBACn.
Later in the day the writer called on Mr..
Auerbach, the senior member of the firm,
whom he found in occupancy of the office of
MIR. d. R. Noyes, in Noyes Bros. & Cutters
wholesale drug house, which Office will for the
time be the office of Auerbach, Finch, Gull
bertsou & Co., having been kindly surrendered
to them by Noyes Bros. & Cutler. Mr.. Aue1-
bach was at Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sunday, and
there learned of the fire, by o telegram sent
Kim, in time to take train that night by
which he reached homo a: rs P. N. yesterday.
MIR. Auerbach was at the moment engaged with
the days correspondence of the firm and men
toned that it included about twenty dispatches
from their principal correspondents. Will not
this fire have the effect to stiffen prices of dry
goods? was asked, and would not a
considerable part of the firms loss be in
the high prices it would be compelled
to pay in ut once renewing almost its whole
stock. Oh, no, answered MIR. Auerbach; here
are offers by telegraph from the best houses in
the country to duplicate our goods at the old
figures. Tomorrow, he continued, we shall
send n man East to select and buy new stock.
The firm will Immediately build q one-story
warehouse, three hundred feet by
four hundred and fifty feet, on
the vacant block next below Beau
pre- Allen 4 Keogh's-that is on the block
bounded by Wacouta Fourth, Rosabel and
Fifth streets-and has planned to have the
building ready and to resume business in it by
Monday next The carpet store, he added,
will be opened just as soon as the Morton j.
Wharton building can be made ready and the
goods moved there-within few days.
THE LOSS AND THE SALVAGE.
Nothing can yet be ascertained as to the
amount of loss more definite than was stated
in the GLOBE yesterday morning.
The closest estimate of the total value of the
stock on hand which can now be made remains,
as stated yesterday, at $500, 900. No estimate
hardly a reasonable guess-can be made as to
the value of the goods saved. They are not all
gathered in, though the work of collecting
them was carried on vigorously from an early
to a late hour yesterday, and lack a good deal
of being in place or condition to allow of
an estim ate of their value. A visit to the
Oh I'LL o.