Morning journal and courier., 1882-02-01
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. NEWSPAPER ROW ABLAZE. A Destructive Fire in New
 York. OLD WORLD BUILDING DESTROYED. A Probable Loss Of
 Many Lives. THRILLING SCENES AT THE FIRE, Hairbreadth Escapes From the
 Burning Building.
THRILLING SCENES AT THE FIRE,
A SWEEPING FIRE.

Business Concerns Driven From Their
 Quarters--A Number of Lives Lost
 Thrilling Scenes-Inmates of the Build
 ing Hemmed In By the F1ames-Leap-
 ing From the WindOyys-Some Heroic
 Rescues By the Firemen--Some of the
 Losses and Insurances.
 NEW YORK, Jan. 31.--A confagration which for the suddenness and rapidity with which it spread has scarcely had parallel in this city broke out this morning in the building formerly occupied by the World and other printing offices, entailing great loss Of prop erty and some loss of life. The fire started in the lower floor of the block, which is an irregular shaped gore, with the building for merly occupied by tho World on its southeast corner, and the Times building occupying the entire northern angle of the gore. The Fri bune office is diagonally across Nassau street from the Times building and the Sun office is on the corner of the same block with the Fri bune. At 1O:1O o'clock flames and smoke were seen issuing from the roof and out of the upper windows at the same moment. Men and women were seen crawling out of the windows on to the lodges of the windows, ,and for while it looked as if they must jump and run the risk of losing their lives. Meanwhile the roaring flames kept approaching and the position of the poor creatures became addi- tionally perilous. The intense heat was near ly driving them frantic. One woman well dressed, apparently young, who was standing on the ledge of 8 window in Beekman street, near William, stretched forth her hands inn ploringly. A heroic fireman tried to get a ladder to her, but before he could the flames took hold of her clothing and completely en- veloped her. She plunged back into the burning building. Ellen Bull, a colored jan itress, who had charge of six rooms on an up- per floor, was engaged with her husband in cleaning them when she heard the alarm. She started to run, but was cut off in every direc- ticn. She climbed out on ledge of the fifth story window. She maintained her position for only few minutes when the blast of fire and smoke from the window struck her and whirling over several times in her descent struck the pavement with dull thud. She was borne into the Times office and an ambu- lance was summoned, but she was past all human aid and was dying when it arrived. Two men crawled out of the fifth story and by dropping and clinging to copings and kicking in windows as they let themselves down succeeded in making their escape. An old gentleman who occupied the room on the top floor, who made his escape down stairs through the blinding smoke, said that the building was filled with men and women and many must have been smothered and burned. A young girl wear ing blue dress, who was cut off from the stairs, went to 8 fourth story window on the Park Row side and stood hesitatingly while the flames and smoke encircled her. " Jump, jump" shouted the spectators. Casting a frightened look below she threw herself out and fell with thud on the stone pavement. When picked up life was extinct, her head being crushed almost beyond recognition
 The fire burned so rapidly that before any serious attempts to check it 'had been; made the whole Beekman street face was involved. Three alarms were sounded and four general calls sent out but the engines and ladders were slow in reaching the scene, because the light snow and frozen ground rendered the going exceedingly difficult. At II o'clock, after burning an hour, the southern walls felt with loud crash, filling the whole lower par of the city with black smoke and cindersl The roof of the Times building was on fire several times, but by strenuous exertions the building was saved from destruction. At 11:30 the fire was got under control and was confined mostly to the World building An old gray haired woman was seen in the fourth story of the World building, appealing for help. Her lips were seen to move, but her voice could not be heard. All who saw her were horror stricken. The flames ragged about her person, igniting her hair and clothing. She fell back into the flames and was no doubt burned to death. No one could give her name. Three men were seen at the windows of the fourth floor on the Beekman street side, near the corner of Park Row. Charles Wright, g bootblack, who has stand on the opposite corner, saw them. He climbed up tele graph pole and cut the wire that during the last presidential campaign held the Hancock banner which swung between that pole and the window where the men were, and cried to them to slide down, which all three safely did, one burning the flesh off both hands S. Tracy, aged forty, printer on the Scot tish American Journal, jumped from the third floor and broke his hip bone. He re- ceived dangerous internal injuries, and is ir the hospital and will probably die. Richard Bowie, aged thirty-eight: printer on the same paper, jumped out of the third story window and suffered compound fracture ot both legs, with internal injuries and head anC face badly cut. He has been unconscious ever since and will probably die. Everyone o1 the above had attempted to get down stairs but were driven back by the flames anC smoke. It is known that five compositors were working in the Scottish American rooms which were isolated when the fire broke out Bowie and Tracy are the only ones known tc have escaped. The rooms on the upper floors were undergoing repairs, but none of the carpenters known to have been at work therein when the fire oc cured have as yet been accounted for. 4 woman, name unknown, appeared next or the fourth story. The spectators tolt her to wait moment. Twenty men tore down an awning from the front of neigh boring store and holding it high up unde | the window told the woman to jump. Sh did; her weight broke through the awning bu ] the fall itself had been broken and she fell tC the tagging but slightly hurt and walked away ali right letter carrier who had jus completed his delivery in the building and al occupant who escaped agree in saying tha they saw at least forty panic-strieken womel and girls running about on the upper floor dazed with the smoke. Two colored waiter
 in Nash $ Cooks say that they saw two whit
 women and one negress perish together il | the fire.
 A dozen or mere fire engines are thi
 evening still playing on the flames of tn
 burned World building. The four streets
 which bound the scene of the disaster ar
 still blockaded to the public and will continu
 to be for two or more days. The Times vii
 be published as usual from it's building il
 the upper section of the block The Time building was saved from destruction and in
 deed from serious permanent injury by tn
 extraordinary party wall which separate
 the premises from the burned building.
 is understood that this wall, twenty-tw
 inches thick, was put up at tn
 special request of the late MT. Ray mond, the original editor of the Times
 The estimated damage to the Times buildin
 will not exceed $2,000. This is the estimat
 of Mr. Jones' the publisher and princips
 owner. The World building is complet
 wreck and except tottering fragments 0
 walls is a heap of blazing ruins. The iron
 of the Morse building standing at the req
 and on the opposite side of Nassau street wa
 badly injured, the windows being burne
 away, and the occupants of the front section
 lost considerable in furniture, books, etc
 The editorial and publication rooms c Truth situated ill one of the front basemen
 rooms, have been removed to another part c
 the block in Spruce street. The Mors
 building was owned by Morse $ Tate, wa
 nine stories high and of the most approve
 modern structure, erected about five year