The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-01-24
George Scheller Charged With Applying
The Torch that Resulted in the
Terrible Calamity.
The Victims Of the Circus Fire
Now Placed at Two Hun
bred and Sixty-Eight.
Five Persons Burned to Death IN Lon
don-Reports of Other Con-
fagrations.
THE NEwHALL HOLOCAUST.

The Accused's Statement.
MILWAUKEE Wis, Jan. 16-George Schei-
Ter, proprietor of the Newhall House bar
was arrested at o'clock this afternoon on a
warrant sworn out by Officer Hannitfin,
charging him with setting the fire which
DESTROYED the Newhall House on Wednes-
day morning. The arrest was made by
Lieutenant Jansen and Officer Hanniffin IN
Roth's ''quiet house." corner OF Mason
.stres It and Broadway. Scheller did not seem
very much surprised and made no state
ment. He looked pretty badly broken up.
He has been drinking heavily since the nre
and his face shows the effects of spree.
The prisoner was locked up on the charge of
arson and was Immediately transferred to
the County Jail, where he was locked up in
an upper cell. He did not speak to the
-Jailer. The officers are very reticent about
the details OF the arrest. 1t is reported that
Scheller was arrested principally on the
statement of Llnehan and another employee
who claim they saw Scheller in the wood
room, where Linehan says the fire origin
ated and that he was there after o clock a.
m. Application was made at the Sheriffss
Office for an opportunity to talk with the
prisoner, which was refused.
District Attorney Clark also refused to let
any one see Scheller, his excuse being that
an attempt will be made to lynch him.
Scheller was spoken TO shortly before his ar
rest He was told that there was some talk of
q warrant being out for his arrest. The news
startled him, and he said that such surely
could not be the case. IL would
rather drop dead than to be so
accused, he said, and if his appearance
had anything to do with the matter he was
telIing the truth. There was talk that
Scheller had set his house on fire at North
point, which burned two years ago. II was
afterward clearly proven that he was not at
home at the time of the fire. Scheller has
always borne good reputation, but his un-
fortunate connection with the disreputable
Mascotte saloon, on Market street, caused
many people to lose respect for him. He
ran the saloon, a place of low repute, con-
trary to the wishes of his friends as we'll as
everybody in the vicinity of where it was
located. Scheiler is about thirty-two years
old, married, and has a small family.
Tonight messengers reported at the
Sherffs Office excited knots on the streets
with talk of lynching. 1t is feared there
will be trouble when it becomes generally
known that ScheIler is in custody on the
awful charge, and the police and Sheriff are
prepared to defend him TO the last. An
extra guard will be kept at the Jail all
night Scheller has been in financial straits
of late. An attempt was made last Friday
10 raised S, 900 on chattel mortgage from
Charles Scholes, a gambler, but failed. The
liquor dealer furnishing the baT-room holds
note for $500 against Scheller, which he
offered for ten cents.
On the afternoon before the fire, when
Scheller was intoxicated, Landlord AntisdeI
gave him talking to, warning him to mend
his ways. Scheller was after wards talked to
By Tice, chief clerk of the hotel and left in
high dUdgeon, proceeding on regular ca
rousal. He claims having left the bar room
in the hotel as 1:30 o'clock on the morning
of the fire, but conclusive evidence has
been secured to show that he was out until
$3.50 o'clock in the morning, half an hour
before the fire, with Will Sanderson. of Ed
ward SanderSon Il Co.; Tom Dunbar, of the
Milwaukee Driving Park, and Joe Hen
derer, saloonist, under the gambling den of
Sholes & Newbauer. The feeling is intense,
but great many people who know Scheller
well, declare he is not capable of the deed.
Linehan, engineer of the Newhall House,
is out of his room to-day, and states that the
various tales about the fire originating in
the second or third stories is all bosh, let
the people say what they will. Lenehan,
when the announcement of fire was made
went into the wood room in the basement
and there found pile of wood burning in
the corner. The brick walls were blackened
which was caused by the fire burning against
the sa..e, as may be seen at present, aud that
there was no other fire above or below nor
in any other part of the room. Linehan
accuses no one of lighting the torch no mat
ter what he may think concerning it, but he
does not hesitate to say that 'thst fire neve
came there by accident"
Among the Ruins.
EoarIv uyaak haa oIo poad s;noa ba Nan
hall House went down in ruins The full
extent of the disaster remains unknown.
The widest reports that spread over the city
and thence to the utmost limits of the civil
lied world on the day of the disaster, are
full : realized, and still thu pick and shovel
OF the laborer continue to add to the hor-
TOR. Yesterday closed with twenty eight
bodies recovered, and at noon to-day the
number increased to thirty-one. The black
ened and unrecOgnizables form of three girls
side BY side, in the laundry room, were
taken out Just as night enshrouded the
ruins with its shadows like pail
Of gloom. Eight bodies in all
have been recovered along the west founda-
ton wall of the house the-remains of the
servant girls, who were undoubtedly strug-
Cling to reach the passageway into the bank
building when they were cut off by smoke
and flames. The north wall having been
torn down, the workmen began excayating
the two sections that were left untouched
on account OF the danger that menaced from
the tattering pile of brick and mortar, and
were rewarded in the work with the discov-
cry of body of a large man on the foot of
the old entrance for ladies, which was closed
when the elevator was placed in the house.
The body was doubled over the founda-
ton wall, greater portion of it
dying out upon the sidewalk face down. The
unfortunate victim had without doubt made
his way to the head of the stairway found
1t TO be on fire and all retreat being cut off
made a tremendous leap through the sea of
flame for the pavement Qnite distance
has been made into the court, where il was
expected large number OF bodies would be
fou-d, without revealing any new victims
and the opinion now prevails that the in
mates OF the house, who were awakened by
the roar of the flames, made their way to
the Michigan and Broadway fronts, and that
the worst features of the terrible disaster
are now known. and that very few bodies
remain in the ruins.
The principal interest of the afternoon
among most of the Spectators and officials
present was the uncovering and opening of
the safe of the house. Not the least trace of
any book or paper of the slightest import
ance in showing who was in the hotel, vne
week last night. was there. There were nu