Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-01-02
HOME AND ABROAD.
A DISASTROUS C0NFLAGRA ALTON
In DETROIT.
Senator Siiiiers Heaith-New Year,
at the Capital-Bank Failure
in Massachusetts.
tsrHciAl DISPATCHES TO THE ErooaD-uslos.y
DOMESTIC NEWS.
Destructive fire in Detroit.

coming from ID. NJ. Ferry & Co mann
moth building on Brush street. between
Crcghan and Lafayette streets. An alarm
was quickly turned III, a second and third
alarms following in quick succession. there
| being promise OF a big e0niiagratiou.in the
heart of the business part Of the city. The
| fire department turned ont in force. and
| soon surrounded the burning building with
! hose. The flames had started In the mack
| ing department, corner of Lafiyette and
| Brush streets, and soon euveloped the
whole building, which was a mere she'll
having but one solid wall inside the outer
wall Bravely and intelligently the firemeu
| kept at work. but all efforts seemed futile.
| the flames spreading rapidly until at one
| time il seemed that the whole district in
which the bErning building is situated was
! doomed. Across the alley from ID. NJ.
| Ferry 4 Co.'S building in the same square
and facing on Randolph street, are Whites
| Grand Theater and Wesson Block. and a
| small building used as restaurant. The
| flames leaped across the alley and began to
eat into the theater. First the roof caught.
and soon fell in with q terrible crash, firing
the whole interior of the building.
| After driving away the men who
| had been working on the Ferry bloci,
! through the windows of the theater. the
crashing of window-giass was the signal for
increased fury OF the flames, which seemed
to laugh at the efforts of the firemen. An
| immense crowd blocked the streets in every
| direction, and at times were in the way OF
| the department. By 10 o'clock the Perry
| block was a mass of flames The walls
had commenced to fall, creating something
of panic among the throng of idle spec-
! tators, and numerous narrow escapes oc-
CURED among the firemen, who worked
close to the flames, wrapped in repeatedly
| Saa1-a -al ht,t Il \ Il ir
| past 10 Whites theater had been seized and
by IL the fremen were compelled. to turn
| their attention to saving the buildings on
the opposite side of Randolph street. al
though shll keeping numerous streams of
water playing on the burning building. At
| IL o'clock the men of No. fire company
raised ladder in front of the thcater. to
get q better chance at the flames, but
finding that the rapidiy-advancing fire
would prevent any effective work at that
point the men were descending the lad
der, and had about reached the ground.
when several feet of cornice fell
on the ladderwagon. Captain Richard
Filban was struck on the head bv bricks
and instantly killed, and fireman White
was badly, but not fatally, injured. Soon
after IL O'Clock the flames spread to the
Wesson block, on the corner of Randolph
and Croghan streets, and that building was
soon enyeloped in flames. Although the
buildings across Croghan street were threat
ened and caught once or twice, the depart
ment managed to keep the fire within the
square named, and by 12 o'clock it was
fully under control. Tonight the flames
are still raging fiercely, but have been con-
fined within the walls of the buildings al
ready mentioned.
During the worst of the fire the wind
had been from the SOUTH and the single
building on the corner of LAFAYETTE and
Randoiph streets was not seriously injured,
but all the rest on the square was total
loss. D. NJ. Ferry & Co.'S building occu-
pied nall the square being one of the larg-
est in the city. Their seed business was
probably the largest in the United States.
! Definite figures of losses cannot be given.
| but The total will reach no less than 81. 800. :
900. The stock alone in d. NJ. Ferry & Co. s
/ is estimated to have been worth from 81 d..
100000 to 81, 100000, and their building
was valued at S25e,000. AS to the origin of
the fire there are even no well devised
| theories. Some of the employees hint at
lncendiarlsm, claiming that there were no
| fires in the part of the building first al
| tackled by the flames, and that some out
side agency must have been responsible for
the fire. The officers of the companys are
completely at loss to account for the ori-
| gin of the fire.
Failure of a National Bank
| CLINTON Mass. }, January 1st-The Ian
| caster National Bank at this place closed
its doors last night, after an examination
OF its books by the Directors. President
| w. ii. Mcneil IS missing, and has not been
heard from since Tuesday, when he was in
Lowell, whence he started ostensibly for
Boston. lie is charged with having used
the bank 5 money for speculative euter-
iRh l,a
| which do not furnish sufficient security.
The Directors, MessrS. Batchelder, Hosmer.
Gardner, Russell and Page, together with
! Bank Examiner Mitchell, who came to
| Clinton to-day, have been hard at
work on the books all dav. The
Directors seem depressed, and are ex-
ceedingiy reucent. Cashier Forester ex-
presses himself very plainly, and his con-
demnation of President McNeirs finap
ciering is unmistakeable. lie says the lat
ter, since his elevation TO the Presidency of
the bank last January, has invested the
banks funds according to his own inclina-
tions, and that his operations have at times
been Tar from straight. At the present
Tune the bank has surplus of about So
5OO. The bank holds the paper of the Low
Cattle Company, of Wyoming to the
amount of $4,000. So far as can be learned.
the deposits amount to over 100000 and
aCOoIuiHB 10 statements from q quarter
which IS supposed to be authentic. Presi-
dent Mcneil has appropriated this amount.
The belief prevails that an examination of
the books of the bank will develop new
ana startling features. Mcneil has not
been heard from since Tuesday last but it
is said that resident of Clinton saw him
IN Nashua, n. H., last Wednesday. Moth
ing further regarding the real condition of
the banks finances will be known for a
day or two. and possibly not<Shen.
A Sensational Arrest.
BosToN, January 1st-The Lynn police
to-day made an arrest which is causing
great excitement. The persons arrested
are MI. and Mrs. DR.. Guildford They are
charged with performing an illegal opera
ton on Miss Sadie e. Taylor, 90 years old,
a factory girl, from the effects of which She
has since died. Charles L. Ames is arrested
as an alleged accessory. Ames is a married
man, and well-known citizen of West
Lynn. The search warrant served at the
home OF the Guildfords this morning re-
vealed to the police an extensive assort
ment OF instruments known to be used bv
abortlonists. The paraphernalia was most
complete. The most important evidence
against the accused comes from Young
woman whom the police found at the home
OF the Guildfords. She said she went to
the house q few days ago, and had been
operated upon several times She said She
knew OF the Taylor case The Guildfords
have been in Lynn for six or seven wears
past. few months ago the police had
Mrs. DR.. Guildford under arrest. charged
with malpractice and causing the death of
Mrs. Annie f. Dyer, but had not sufficient
evidence to sustain the charge.
The New York Sub-Treasuryship
WAsHINGToS, January 1st. Treasurer
Jordan will leave Washington for New
York to night, to take charge of the Sinh
Treasury there. Eighteen expert counters
will also 90 on this evening, with the pur-
pose of counting the Government funds in
the vaults. Treasurer Jordan may encoun-
ter some difficulty in obtaining possession
of the office, as it is understood that Mr.
Action, the present incumbent, asserts that
in justice to himself and his bondsmen he
cannot turn over the moneys in his charge
except to successor regularly appointed
by the President and confirmed bv the
Senate.
The Etna Life Insurance Companv.
HARTFORD Comm December 3lst-The
Htna Life Insurance Company, Morgan G.
Bulkley President, will publish tomorrow