The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-03-08
HOLOCAUST.
THE FIRE EIEND IN A NEWS
PAPER OFFICE.
Editors, Reporters and Compost
tors, the Unhappy Victims,
Six Of Whom are Burned to Death
and Six Others
Are Terribly Injured While Try
ing to Escape.
The Fate that Befsl the Spring
field Union Force.

1 A@S'
Office Of the Evening Union" at the cor
nsr OF Main and Worthlngton streets wa
burned ont about o'clock this afternoon
and the blazs was attended with the mos
sickening horror ever witnessed in thil
city, six OF the employees meeting q terri
BILE death, most Of them by jumping from
the fifth story and being crushed into Q
shapeless mass below. Six others were
badly injured. The fire was drst discov
! cred in the mailing room and clouds o.
smoke were pouring out Of the lower
story windows before the fifty souls on
the upper floor were aware Of their danger.
The aaues shot up an old elevator In
the room, cutting of escape by the stair
way, and most Of the employees who es.
capped found their way TO the ground by
way Of the roof in the rear. The unfortu-
nate men and women who crowded into
the editorial rooms met Q horrible fate.
Some were cut OF in the composing room,
and there Ia still a terrible suspense %
several fell back into the flames. The en-
ployes who rushed into the editorial room
were cut OF from the escape in the rear,
and bad TO face the horrible alternative OF
burning to death or q jumplto the side.
walk below and frightful mutilation.
A ladder was put up to the fourth story
and the sight Of rescue was so near that It
seemed to madden the suffering group ct
the windows who dropped in succession
to the sidewalk below. Six fell in this
way, some Of them forced of and some
mRdiy ieaping, and the crowd groaned
and turned their heads away IS they
whirlsd through the air. The dead are as
follows: Henry J. Goulding, foreman OF
the "Union" composing room, burned to
death, Miss g. Thompson, proof reader I;
Mrs. Hattie F. Farley, editorial depart
ment, fel. from the window and was
killed; Mr. Lamson, Of Quebec, jumped
and was killed; w. +. HoYey, OF Boston,
fell to the sidewalk Mr.. Brown, COM
positCr. .a
The injured are: Thomas Donohue,
compositor, bad cut on the head and left
leg broken at the knee; Timothy Dunn,
cpmpositor, arm and leg broken; Joseph
W. Witty, compoaito7, lano, neck and
ears burned; g. +. Ellsworth, compositor,
compound fracture OF the leg; Thomas
Donohue, compositor, broken thigh,
fatally injured.
1t Is thought the hre started among the
lumber in tho closet on the ground door.
A large canvass Hheet was stretched over
the sidewalk. Three men Jumped on
this but broke through and fell on the
pavement. A woman also fell through
the cRnYsas aud landed on the sidewalk
insensible. George g. Ware, the Asuo.
ciated Press operator, had o narrow es-
cape. He was sitting in q room on the
Worthington street side Of the block
when the alarm was sounded. The rooms
in front and the passage ways were thick
with smoke as he jumped up to ran. In
the same rpom were Mrs. Farley, Mrs.
Howard, the New England editor, Mr..
Warren, the news editor, and Mr.. Hill,
the managing editor.
No one had suspected the presence Of
the fire until all way Of escape by the ele.
vator appeared to he cut of. Mrs. Far.
ley started torthe elevator. "Ishouted to
her," said Mr.. Ware, "to 90 the other
way, and took hold Of her. The smoke
was 80 dense in the passage way that one
could have lived there hardly minute.
Mrs. Farley struggled to free herself and
succeeded. she rushed out to the front Of
the building. ] followed Mr.. Hill, Mr..
Warren and Mrs. Howard through win.
dow on the east side."