St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-01
FOR THEIR BROTHERS.
Memorial Services Held by
the Typographical Union
Yesterday.
Awful Scenes Attendant Upon
the Tribune Fire Re-
called.
Mrs. Tuffnell Attempted Sui
eide as a Result Of Nor
phine Using.
Miss Abbie JudSon Appears
as a Lecturer On Splr-
itualiSm.

One year ago to-day all Minneapolis
was in mourning. The pail of death,
death in lis most hideous form, had been
cast over the city as it had never been
before save once. The great mill eXplO-
sion had been again almost paralleled.
Fire had started in the Tribune build
ing the night before, and seven victims
had gone to satisfy its Unsuitable crav-
ingS. The ruined structure in which
seven human beings persisted still
stands at the corner of First avenue
south and Fourth street, melancholy
monument to the men who died. Yes
terday was the first anniversary Of that
awful catastrophe. Three members of
the typographical union persisted on
that terrible night and yesterday, under
the auspices of the union, services in
memory of them were held at Labor
Temple. The death roll was: Milton
Pickett. assistant city editor OF the Pho
neer Press; William MillInan, market
editor of the Tribune; Prof. Edward
Olson, of North Dakota university;
Robert McCutcheon, Elmer J. JeDkin-
son. Tribune cUmpositors, and Walter
+. Miles and James +. lgOe, telegraph
operators.
The building was occupied by the
Tribune, the journal and the Minneap-
oils staff of the Pioneer Press. The
alarm of fire, when the cry rang through
the building, failed to excite much fear
Only few rushed to a place of secur-
ity. although upwards of hundred
souls were in imminent peril. The dam
ger was not appreciated. despite the
knowledge that the cOmbuStible stair
case. the elevator and one fire escape
no la Of
egreSS in case of serious fire.
The elevator made three or four trips,
with full speed, conveying as many as
possible, ana then it had to be aban-
doned, for it was totally envelOped in a
mass of fame. The fire escape alone
remained, and to reach this it was
necessary 10 pass through an editorial
room. Some fourteen, including Milton
Pickett, Prof. Olson and William Mill
man. sought this. The flames were in
hot pursuit and b0thPickett andMilIman
were badly burned before they reached
the iron ladder, now heated by the fire,
which was bursting out from the win
doWS below. All had mounted the lad
der and begun the descent. save Man
aging Editor Williams, when Millman
fell prOstrate and fainting in the iatter's
room. Mr.. Williams assisted the fallen
man TO his feet and aided him to the
escape, but Mr. Millman, weakened by
his terrible battle against the deadly
element in other portions of the build
ing. had not strength left 10 climb down
the ladder. He fell and carried with
him Pickett and Olson. All were killed.
Meanwhile the printers had gathered
along the window hedges at the other
end of the burning building. driven
from the composing room by the intense
department run up a LADDER. but alas it
was too short by one story. Many, in
sheer desperation, swung themselves
down from the window ledge to
the story below and descended
bv the Ladder. but McCutcheon
and Jenkinson lost their balance
and fell TO the stone sidewalk. The
former was caught by the life-saving
net of the department, but the terrible
fall was too great for those who held
the apparatus, and he, like his comrade,
was killed. During these horrible
scenes lgoe remained heroically at his
instrument. receiving Associated Press
reports. The last 100 words cost him
his life. He licked to Chicago:
The building is on fire and am left
alone. Goodbye"
He then attempted to go hand over
hand on his wires to the roof of an adj
joining building, but his hands became
lacerated. and he dropped. Miles fell
in a like way. Then, the escape of
others, the thrilling experiences, made
a chapter of hardships and desperate
daring almost incredible to those who
did not witness the featS. Such is the
story briefly narrated.
Yesterdays memorial services were
under the auspices of the typographical
iafr fa1o i
newspaper men of the city. George
Ledgerwood, president Of the typo
graphical union, was chairman, and the
services included musical numbers by
Mr.. and Mrs. E. Houser. cornetiSts; the
Arban brass quartette and the Lyndale
male vocal quartette. Rev. NJ. d. Shut
ter and A. j. Blethen made addresses.
Mr.. Shutters remarks were eloquent
and touching. He pictured the start
ling effect Of the cry of 'Fire." as it
went echoing through the building, the
heroic struggle for life, the magnanim-
ity of all the participants in their efforts
to save comrades and friends. Had the
loss that night been confined to property
alone, it would have mattered COMPARE
lively little. Mr.. Shutter drew a moral
and spiritual lesson from the awful ex-
perienceS of the fatal hour. A retec-
ton can but raise the estimate of HUI
mainly. The heroiSm with which those
in peril did their duty as man to man,
and brother to brother, was compared
with that of biblical martyrs ana histor-
zeal heroes of ancient times The speak
er spoke with feeling Of the last 100
words lgoe received, and the efforts of
c. Il. Williams were compared with
the heroic Roman sentinel at the de-
struct ion of Pompeii. But the life of
the victims of the terrible catas-
trOphe did not end there. The col
umn that is broken in life is completed
again somewhere In looking to the
young lives stricken down that night.
the thought is developed that the build
ing not then completed is finished. A
picture OF black and torbidding clouds
IN the distance resolves into angels
faces as one draws near to them. The
clouds of suffering at q distance appear
black clouds of smoke, but closer thew
are angels faceS-WiSdom, virtue, man
hood.
Honor is lavishly melted out to those
who persisted. The grandeur and no.
bility of their lives is more apparent.
and angels of hope stand sentinel over
the graves where they lie to-day. and
all look forward with hope to greeting
them again IN that land where there is
no midnight horror, where the body is
purified. and where all are set aside
from the trammels of the flesh-there
| to live together, to live forever and for
| each other.
In his Introductory remarks Mr..
Biethen said that the event of just year
ago was the saddest thing that he could
be called upon to remember. Not far
from that very hour one year ago, he
said, the employees of the Tribune had
gathered in the reception room of the
West hotel and the roll was called. 1t
| was known that seven men had persisted,
| but 1t was not known whether any more
were buried i'll the ruins. He described
the special duties of the victims.
and spoke particularly of the death of
Prof: Olson and the heroism of G. A.
| Williams. He said the synpathizers of
| the families of tho m n rt,rrc M. ,.n;-..I =