The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-20
WESTERN UNIONS BLAZE.
The Work of Repair ns the Big Build
ing in Progress.

LOhht OAAy ~ SNO9AA AdnS WHO
passed the great structure at Broadway and
Dey street at an early hour to-day and
looked up where the fire ragged so fiercely
at the same time yesterday saw a gang Of
workmen at work on a scaffold above the
six-story. The first thing to be done was to
clear away the debris. The scaffolding
ran all around the top stories. Groups Of
men were at work all through the floors
visited by the flames. Sight seekers from
across both North and East rivers were
| plentiful They had come to see for them
selves the effect of the fire on the big struc-
! ture. They were disappointed as the
damage was up the stairway and mostly
inside the building.
| LOOKS NATURAL OUTSIDE.
On the outside the building looks as nat
ural as life until the eye reaches the sixth
story. Then it rests on windows without
glass and smoke begrimmed and scorched
| sashes.
The cupola, too, shows the effects of the
| fire, but from the street only very slightly
This morning the main entrance to the
| building was guarded by employees of the
! company, who refused admission to every
one not directly connected with the building.
Even representatives of the press could not
| enter.
ENERGY AND ENTERPRISE.
The telegraph company is to-day proving
| that the great corporation possesses great
energy and enterprise. The building at the
corner OF Broadway and Dey streets pre-
sents the appearance of a beehive. A small
| army of workmen were engaged in repair
| ing the damage done yesterday Never
before has the company been confronted by
such a condition, not one of the l 200
wires running into the building being in
| condition to be used. The experience with
the blizzard was bad enough. but nothing
with yesterdays. Then 1t was simply a
| question Of repairing outside lines and the
| NEST important points of the system; the
switch board instruments, and power we're
not affected. The fire simply wiped these
| out of existence.
| Before the fire was out the immense
| energy of the corporation began to assert
itself. Offices we're established all about the
city and the great system worked without
central point.
WORKING ALL NIGHT.
| What measures were taken yesterday to
relieve the situation at that time are
already known, but with the going down
| of the sun these efforts did not end Cease
less energy kept men making almost super
human efforts to restore affairs to their for
| mer shape.
| All through the night force of men
were busy clearing the water and debris
from the building. A force of fifty line
men went up and down poles and fitted
about the streets with lanterns
like 80 many steel-spurred fire
| flys. All through the night
miles of wire were stretched and instru-
ments were attached, which clicked on in a
merry way as if nothing had happened
When morning dawned fifty wires had been
run into No. Ais Broadway. AS many
operators had Their fingers on the KEYS. ano
messages were clicking off in the usual way
Up to noon to-day this work had been
going on increasingly, and the officer il
charge said there would be no let up unit
every thing was repaired and the company
was able to handle all the business that
came to it.
THE TALK OF THE DAY.
Throughout the metropolis the great fire
was the talk of the day. Thousands ol
people who cams up Broadway this morn
ing stopped on the pavement long enough
to survey the ruins on the upper floors of
the big building. The interior of the
structure took on the appearance of bee
hive. There were several hundred opera
tors in the office in the basement who had
come to be assigned to different temporary
stations throughout the city or at neigh
boring points, where a large amount of
telegraphic business is being handled.
the Associated Press is still located in Jer-
sey City, guests of the Pennsylvania Rail.
road Company ,sand will probably remain
there until some time next week. A gang
of workmen is busy at No. AIS Broadway
preparing temporary home for the asso-
citation, which it will occupy until the
burned building is repaired
SPLENDID SHOWING.
NEW York, July 20, A. M.-The Tribun.
says: "The Associated Press will have an
Office in the Western Union building again
Monday. 1t is expected that rooms on the
fourth floor will then be ready for its oc-
cupancy The Associated Press has man
aged to get on wonderfully in it's temporary
office in Jersey City. 1t had covered the
western and southern service to-day, and
on Friday night the amount OF
business transacted almost came up
to the average. The eastern service
was yesterday, as on Friday, taken by
telephones. Cables were received on time
but there was slight delay in sending
them on because they had TO be carried
from the cable offices TO the temporary
office of the Associated Press by messenger
boys and thence by messengers back tc
New York for distribution"