Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-12-05
LOSS OF LIFE IN AFIRE TRAP
The Minneapolis Tribune Building
Destroyed by Fire.
Employees on the Upper Floor Cut OF
From Escape.
The Loss is Estimated at Nearly One
Million Dollars.

covered on the third floor of the Tribune
building about 1915 o'clock tonight
and soon the entire building was wrapped
in flames. On the seventh floor were
situated many of the offices Of the Tribune
staff, including editors, reporters and COM
positors. A number Of employees in at
tempting to escape, jumped from the win
dOWs The number of lives lost is over
half a dozen, and possibly ten or more.
The building is an eight story one ut the
corner Of First avenue and Fourth street
1t is occupied by the Tribune, Tribune
Star evening edition of the TrIbune), Min
neapolis office of the Pioneer Press and the
Evening journal. besides large number
of Offices The Tribune editorial force Is
on the seventh floor, and their COM
posing rooms above it. On these two
floors there were nearly one hundred per-
sons employed when the fire broke out.
Access TO the building is by way OF the
elevator around which a narrow and dark
stairway wound. At night this stairway
was the only means Of ingress or egrcss.
The building might be called yerltable
iire-trap, and the danger to those located
there had been often commented upon.
The fire broke out in the third
floor and soon the upper stories were
cut off from the street. The building was
on the corner and the only adjoining build
ings were only one story in height, so that
no means of escape were afforded in that
Erection. The flames cut off the escape
of the Pioneer Press force on the sixth
floor, as well as the Tribune force on the
seventh and eighth Reporter Barnes, of
the Pioneer Press, had IA narrow escape
from the building and left behind him
Milton Pickett, assistant city editor, and
one of the oldest men in the service Of the
paper Pickett was lost in the burning
building. The Tribune force suffered the
most, they being located higher up and
had less warning Of their danger. John
Olsen, president Of the Vermillion Dakota
college was IN the composing room when
the flames broke out. He Jumped from
one Of the windows to escape the flames
and met with even more horrible death
from shattered limbs and body. James +
lgOe night operator Of the associated press
met a sad death He was at work on the
seventh floor when report Of the fire was
received, and Immediately opened the key
stating the fact to the head office at Chi
cago, and asking for a minutes time to
investigate Soon he returned to the in
strument apparently thinking it safe and
told the sending opedptor TO continue. In
a moment he said he would have to skip,
and found too late that escape was cut OF
He jumped from the seventh story window
and was SO badly injured that he died be-
fore reaching the hospital odd Man
Pierce, printer, was also killed
A general alarm was turned in and all
engines In the city responded to the call.
The imprisoned printers gathered at the
windows in the south end and shrieked
wildly and despairingiy for aid. Hurry
up the ladders, for God sake," they
shrieked with all the yehemence and
power that anguished souls of dozens in
peril of their lives could utter The vast
crowd from theopposite side viewed the fire
wreak its work and shouted words of en-
enlargement and good spirits to them
in their strenuous efsrts to buoy them up.
The long laduer seemed to move up at II
suail's pace but was finally rested in posi-
ton and the crowd began to descend, the
flames making steady encroachments on
the corner where the frightened men had
huddled Life nets were brought out and
some were saved by this means. The en-
tire building is a mass ofruins.
The Tribune building was FIVE years old
a brick structure, and valued at $500.
The loss will probably reach one million
dollars. Insurance not ascertalned
At the morgue lay five bodies that Of
Professor Oleson eucased in plain pine
coffin. On the floor are the bodies of
Jerry Jenkinson, composltor on the
Tribune. a Young man who was shortly TO
bemarTied Beside him are two bodies so
bloated and burned with blood still oozng
from the terrible wounds, that thus far
they have not been recognized. On two
tables are the corpses of Robert McCutch-
con. a compositor. and Milton Pickett
Reporter Jenkinson, OF the Pioneer Press,
endeayored to make his escape on heavy
telegraph wire. He clamored down a
short way but was unable to retain his
hold and dropped 10 the ground
When picked up ne was dead. McCutch-
con. big heavy man, jumped and was IN
stantly killed. James f. lgoe Associate
press teegrapher. make vain effort to
escape bv coming down the wires. lie
descended until within about fifty feet of
the ground when he was compelled TO
loosen his hold, and died while beng
conveyed to the hospital. He leaves a
wife and family. Another whose name
could not be learned, appeared at the win
dow. and not seeing the ladder the tremen
were raising. apparently lost his senses.
and drawing a revolver he placed il
TO his head and fred, falling
backward into the flames. W H. Hoover
and W. II Williams che latter foreman
Of the composing ROOM were taken otf
Just in time to escape the cloud OF flames
that swept the window in which they
we're standing. Williams was badey burn
ed Jimmy Koehl messenger boy On
the Tribune. is said to be missing The
building burned with such rapldity that
The occupants were enveloped IN flames and
smoke almost before they were aware of
IT, The sixty-dye men working ON the
seventh floor made 4 dash in a body for the
stairway Forty made the run safely and
lot ont The rest made frantic efforts p
Get through the binding smoke Five Of
these we're cut ofT nj the fourth floor and
Jumped "a the pavement Three OF them
we're badly hurt. and the other two wore
killed A. j. B'eJhen proprietor Il
rft IS E. ID