The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-02-20
A MAD-HoUsE HORROR.

A MAD-HOUSE HORROR.
Tne Insane Wing of the Philadelphia
Alms-House Destroyed by FIRE. Eighteen
Maniacs Known TO Have Lost Their Lives
-Seventy-FiYe Inmates Missing.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Feb. 13.-Eighteen
Taying maniacs were burned to death in the
insane department of the Blockley aims
house last night in a confagration, which
needed nothing 10 make it the most horri-
bic disaster of the kind in the history of the
city. The fire originated in wing of
the old building, which fronts to-
ward the Sehuylkfll River, and di-
rectly east of the main building.
There We're sixty separate cells for violent
patients, twenty on each floor In addition
to this there was a large room on each floor
IN which cells for one hundred and twenty
five men were placed. All of these were
occupied when the fire broke out. On
the second floor was the dry-room, heated
by steam, and here the flames originated,
but from what cause is now not
known. 1t appears pretty certain that the
first alarm was given by an insane patient
on the first floor of the main building. This
man, Joseph Nadine, saw smoke issuing
from above door which opened into the
wing in which the cells were situated. He
ran to big iron-grated door fronting on
the main corridor and cried out 'fre!"
Attendant Shredder thus relates some of
the horrors Of the dreadful night: 'As
soon as ] heard Nadine cry rushed to the
stairway, and after short attempt to check
the fire at once set to work to get out the
patients. First unlocked the door of the
in xTti ol1
were. They ran out at once. By this time
the flames were gathering in fury, and adj
verse volumes of smoke were ascending
into the upper stories. / succeeded in UNI
locking the doors of all the cells on the first
floor and got the inmates out. | had no
time to look after them, for the flames
were getting so fierce that it was almostim-
possible to breathe in the ferceIy burning
building The smoke in the UPPER stolies
was so thick that breathing was
impossible. While was getting the men
out below Attendant WilIiamsstrain was
doing the same for those on the second
floor. / met Hanna, the night Waterman,
and we went up to the third story, but
were driven back by the flames which
forced their way through the stairway and
were creeping along to the cells of the
inmates. We ran around to the
other stairway, and by that time some
of the firemen had arrived. All the in
mates had been gotten out of the second
story, so that there remained about twenty
eight on the third floor. twenty in the cells
and eight in the large common room at the
west end.
The following are the names and ages of
those who are supposed to have been suffo-
Gated or burned to death:
Frank d. Dehacon, James Mccoy, John Ly-
den, Isaac O'NeIl Charles Scott, Jo;ln Dwyer,
Thomas Rusk, Michael Wroth, Robert Cum
bingham, Charles N olenberger, Thomas Jones,
John Koehler, Thomas Smith, Edward MUIR
ply, Charles OBrien, Philip Newberger, John
Herriges the man who was discovered in 1870
in a shanty at Fourth and Lombard streets,
where he had been confined In chains by his
man killed three of the inmates of the insti-
tuition during the twenty-five years he was
confined there. For twenty years his hands
were chained to his body9
Attendant Schroeder further said: "The
unfortunate occupants of the cells were be-
ing Smothered to death by smoke, and per-
haps blistered and burned by flames. Their
cries were heartrending. Some of them
cursed and swore, others laughed hidec usly,
and others gave utterance to such awful
cries. as would aava appalled, the hard
est heart The firemen, myself and d
patient named Rafferty, crawled on our
hands and knees to such of the men as we
could reach, and dragged out fourteen.
Eight of them were alive four were suf-
located to death, and two were so horribly
burned that they died before we could get
them out of the building We could not
see any of the men in the cells, but could
hear their horrible cries above the roaring
nf hn IN hn
horrible fate in store for them.
All the inmates in the insane department
were secured safely except those in the
third story of the wing in which the fire
originated.
The total number of inmates in the
institution is placed at GIG. Of these
eighteen are known to have persisted. 1t is
said there are seventy-ive missing, but of
these probably all have been picked up in
different parts of the city by policemen.
REFORM IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.
Annual Report of the Commission show
ing How the Law Operates.
4 WASHINGTON, Feb. Ia In the Senate
yesterday communication was received
from the President, submitting the
second annual report of the Civil
Service Commission. In his letter Of
transmittal yesterday the President con-
graduates the country upon the success of
the committees labors, commends the sub
ject to the favorable consideration Of Con-
gress, and asks for an appropriation to con-,
tinue the work of the commission. The re-
port says the Ciyil-seryice law has been
found practicable and effective During the
year persons from every State and Territory
except Idaho were examined One hundred
and sixty examinations. were held and
6,347 persons examined, Of whom $685.
were males and $50 females. OF the total
number 4, al passed, with an average above
IS out of a possible 100, and 2,206 failed to
do SO and were rejected. The average ageof
those examined was thirty years OF those
examined more than 10 per cent had re-.
ceived only public school education and
only 449 had attended college. Since July
16, 1888, 9,989 persons have been examined.
There have been 1892 appointments made
from those examined, 1906 of which were
made during the first year. No discrimina-
ton on political grounds has ever
been made and no complaint has
ever been received of person APP
pointed on recommendation of the
commission, and 100 of those appointed
in the departments at Wash
ington have been reappointed after
serving the probationary six months. The
classified service originally subject to Civil
service rules embraced $4,000 places,
but has been extended by the Presi-
dent to include nearly 5000 clerical
employees of post-offices and more than five
seventies of the customs officials
The New Orleans Exposition.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13.-The President
has transmitted to Congress the report of