St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-27
OVER A MILLION.
An Immense Tea and Coffee Ware
house in Chicago Burned.

All l1ElI1lcIlSc anu SOHct are
house in Chicago Burned.
CHICAGO, March 26.-The Central
warehouse, at the corner of Rush and
North Water streets. took fire at about
4 o'clock this morning and, with its
valuable store Of teas and cOffees, was
burned TO the ground, entailing an esti-
mated loss of between 81, 900 and
k1,50O,0OO. The fire department had
very hard task of it, but succeeded in
preventing the flames from destroying
the great Galena grain elevator of Mum
ger, Wheeler IL Co. and other buildings
in the neighborhood. The walls
of the warehouse fell upon
the engine rooom of the elevator,
crushing it like an eggshell. Aid. w.
r. Manniere grimly remarked, as he
looked at the ruins of the warehouse,
of which he is manager, that it was
his tea party and that everybody was
invited. In point of fact, as the water
from dozens of engine noZZleS soaked
down the contents of the building the
basement was soon filled with water,
and when the 400 cases of tea began
to brew, streams of tea gushed from
the windows and doors. The dock for
distance of 100 feet was flooded with
the amber-colored liquid, that poured
like small cataract into the river.
The steam arising from this perfumed
the air blocks away.
THE BUILDING
was a siX-stOry brick structure, which
cost when built. in 1872, $4,000. Atl.
Manniere is satisfied that the fire was
of inceDdiary origin. because there Was
nothing in the portion of the building
in which it originated to cause il, and
lo1C ic 10 hi md in ho
structure within year, which can be
accounted for on no other hypothesis.
About 80 per cent in value OF the con-
tents was tea i'll bond, as it was a
government warehouse. Besides this
there were few thousand packages of
coffee and other miscellaneous articles.
The tea was owned by firms in various
large cities in all parts of the country,
which makes it extremely difficult to ac-
curately estimate individual losses,
as insurance was, doubtless placed
elsewhere, in some cases. An effort
was made to ascertain at the custom
house the exact value of the tea bonded
in the warehouse by outside firms.
Deputy Collector Jewell was seen
about the matter, and said that the Gus
tom house books showed that there was
not pound Of tea in the building, as a
permit for the removal of the last of it
had been issued. 1t was very evident
that this statement was incorrect, as
the olfactorieS of all who were in the
neighborhood would testify. At the
store of Messrs. Fitch & Rowland, who
are among the heaviest losers, it was
stated that there was in the warehouse
between $4,000 and 10000 cases of tea.
The wide discrepancy between the
statement of the deputy collector and
that of the merchants has not been rec
Onciled.
LOSSES AND INSURANCE.
The following losses are known:
Katherine de Kay Bronson, on building,
$4,000; insurance, $4,000; w. X. Man
niers, Chicago, loss $4,000: insurance,
$4,000; Fitch q Rowland, Chicago, loss
S160,0G0; insurance. S142, 500: G. D.
Lathrop, loss S130,000: insurance. S60.-
900; Hillyer & Co., Chicago, loss $40, 900; /;
insurance, $50, GOO; Robert Jeffery d Co.,
Chicago, loss $50, 200; insurance. S173,-
600. The following are estimated losses:
Falker & Stern, Chicago, $1,000; Wine
man, Conant & Co., Boston, $4,000; W.
+. Peel & Co.. indianapolis, $1,000;
Onion National bank, Chicago, $4,000;
Hyde d Southworth, Boston, $1,000;
E. S. COnant d Co., Boston, $4,000;
Slegfried IL Brondenstein. San Fran
cisco, $4,000; Epper, Smith, Wineman
81 Co., New York, $1,000: Carter, Raw-
ley & Co., New York, $4,000; Albasdine
& Co, New York, $1,000; George w.
Lane d Co., New York, $1,000; W. P.
Roeme & Co.. New York, $1,000. These
are all probably we'll insured