Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-07-24
HOLOCAUST IN new YORK
~,. western Union Telegraph Build
inc Destroyed by Fire.
-, onarators Behaved NObly, But
Their Efforts We're Useless.
,rrr ines of Business We're Tempo
9rily suspended by she Fire.

>-,., Yogk. July IS. The Western
az. TELEGRAPH building caught TIRE at
-.'5-.. fnis morning Thrdlstributiug
IN the fifth door, the operating room
.+s door above, the Associated Press
md the restaurant on the seventh
we're completely destroyed. The
L loss will reach 100000
va. .. PERSONS tremendously escaped death.
81. miuutes before Z o clock the opera
H.,.n Is arrive to 90 to work About
.a r.u. men and women reached the
5r, room. A messenger boy saw a
II .n1ke under table in the dis
|...r, room ON the floor below the
.r4r.tuz room.
...1. as the smoke was discovered
v..- Manager lobm cried IRE, and in a
'-.sr. a.I themen in the room Jumped
.--.s hand greuades which hung about
a.ua. These they began to throw down
,s H0.- where the flames were. The con
..,,. ..a.aal out when the glass broke
.,ftaa H4uid sputtered a little as 1t met
X. fire. That was all the
taa.faet Hand greuades could not
s#,.ar. ike this. Tobin called a mes
r-s- bow to go down and send in am
..rm As soon as the boy started down
.rs-, the operators unroled the big hose
rs.a which is kept ready for
emergency of this kind
Trar anr8.Ied the hose and Iobin turned
m water In. ii was pretty good stream.
mi II looked at first as if it would beat
m. wave, If flame out of existence But
!. ma uot-uot a bit. The only effect it
.ssn.l 70 have was to make the fire shoot
+. higher. and twas noticed the smoke
rolling ont of the big bole in greater
ramss than before The operators
vrs.I the hose until the smoke becam
..tl.gs that they could not see where the
--svas Three ladies of the day force.
war had arrived. kept cool, and the OPP
orator. worked like beavers. They soon
arHa out. however. that their efforts were
g,4.a,, The elevator man had brought
t.a elevator up to the fifth floor. and the
women went i'm the cars with some of the
men, They began 10 realize by this time
a., the fire was going to be a more serl-
ID, affair than at first thought. When
,ae Hast fewme crowded into the last car
tey we're a little bit frightened As they
m,.el the floor below a hot wave rolled
over LUGlH, WHICH lQduG lutlI
throat, dry and parched and as the
ar proceeded down, fire brands
pluo5u them and burned their clothing
When the ear reached the bottom they
were al. glad enough to get out. Not un-
a then did the men realize that escape
wa.am1,t cut off, and it is not on record
where men worked so hard under such fear
FL. circumstances and against such odds
ej.d these thirtymen.
Br The tire the commercial exchanges
varumpetely cut off from all Geographic
connections TIE cotton, coffee aud pro-
iu.e exchanges depend on the Western
Union to distribute their quotations over
Die ugker, This caused a complete
suspension of the ticker service
anal brought the business almost
20 ,tand-still in exchanges. In adj
ttaa all outside cities were cut off and
public grain and cotton cables were also
o,t through the cutting off of wires The
suspension Of telegraph facilities had
worse effect than the blizzard of 1888,