Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1889-05-04
Il Worked too Well.

That was warranted to put out anything
that was ever put out. Its construction
was elaborate. The idea of 1t was not
1t was this; Place 1000 gallon tank o.
water upon your roof. Connect it by
pipes with the various floors. Have
several hundred such pipes, so there will
he enough to go around. Terminate the
pipes by stopcocks. Hold the stopcocks
in place by little clasp of soft metal,
say lead. When the fire comes roaring
up 1t melts the soft metal clasp. Then
the valve lets loose and the water pours
out. Sect BY kind Of ingenious twist
and turn the released water does not stay
in one place, but whirls and sprinkles
around like cloudbuyt, wetting q sur
face of fifty feet thereabouts. This is 80
as to be sure not to miss q spark of fire.
An electric alarm was attached. that the
fire would set going, and It would make
noise loud enough to waken the dead.
Now, If the reader understands this
patent revolving action automatic fire
extinguisher he can follow our story.
The firm of Koch Sons occupied a
handsome corner building on Broadway,
New York. They manufactured photo
graph albums. It was necessary that
they should be secure from fire. Fire
would have been very bad for their
stock. So they rented o building con-
tanning one Of the patent self working
revolving fire extiuguishers. Then, in
sense Of heavenly security, they locked
up their albums at night, sped away to
their luxurious homes on the margin of
the Jersey flats and slept the sleep of the
just. 1ati
About Q o'clock one breezy April morn.
ing, q policeman observed q small stream
of water issuing from the front door of
the palatial album factory. It was in
nocent looking enough, that stream of
water. But it was out of place.
The policeman looked at the door. A
bristling iron gate confronted him first,
then double locked storm doors, then the
patent combination safe, locked entrance
doors. The building was burglar proof
as well as fire defying. By applying to
the janitor of neighboring building,
the policeman and several of his COM
rades were able to reach the roof of the |
Koch establishment. Thence the de
scent was easy. Within was state Of !,
things too terrible to describe.
The patent fire extinguisher had gone !
off Of its own accord, without any fire.
Perhaps the spooks had set it off, melt.
ng the clasp with burning birthstone.
At any rate, the whole store was afloat.
The floor below thetop one was occupied
BY "album insides," tons and tons of
hem. They were melted into pulp.
Here were the delicate leaves that were
o hold the fair photos Of John and Su-
ian. Here pa and ma would have sat
tide by side, facing front, stark and
straight, with mas hand upon pas shout
Ter, saying to all the world, as It were:
Hes mine" Oh, the ruin was heart
'reaking.
On the floor below were the gorgeous
'lue and red and yellow and plush COW
rings of the albums-those beautiful al
'ums without which no home is COM
'lete. They were soaked through and
trough; ruined utterly. It was enough
bring tears to the eyes of a potato.
addest Of all, nobody could be found in
lew York who knew the combination
the demonish thing, to turn it off, and
went on and on till 1t had drained the
upply tank dry, every drop. The album
larket will be short next Christn,as.