Telegram-herald., 1891-08-04
SWEPT BY THI FLAMES
Cosily Bisss among Dry Goods
IN ths Worlds Fair City.
4 FIERY TEMPEST WORKS RUN
sssz~s. cooper = a. pasy ssssssn i-sssss
Ameantisg - hsss Than Hair .
Ntllsos-os hss aeAsy Los.ss
eE the street

Cnfcs co. Aug. 5. 3.-~Slegel. Cooper q
Cas- IMMENSE dry goods and notions
establishment At State and Adams
street was totally destroyed by tire
this morning Half a million dollars
worth of assorted stock was entirely
consumed and nothing bat bare walls
are left where magnificent trade
palace stood Unfortunately the
hre could not be prevented from
spreading, an az $50 o'clock a mum
Der of other firms had suffered much
damage The Leader" dry goods
store ON the opposite corner caught
nre several times. and Mr.. Pineus. the
maneger. thought that the damage by
IRE, smoke and water would reach
from 500. 900 TO $3.50. 900. Next door
south Of Siegel. Cooper & Co.'S is j. w.
Berry's large confectionery house, and
his loss was 81, ,0oo ty water.
The flames communicated TO the rea
of J. II. Walker & Co S dry goods store
at the corner of Wabash avenue and
Adams street Here fire, smoke and
water caused loss of Gas. 900. Then
the occupants of +. X. Hilgers build
fered as follows: c. Hennecke, pottery,
$40. 600; j. A. Bryant, pianos, $1,000;
women's exchange. $500; I. w. Baird.
pictures. $4,000. Charles Brown, who
has a European hotel at 81 and SO
Adams street, lost about $1,000 from
water and smoke.
Siegel, Cooper & Co. occupied six
stores on State street extending south
frora the corner. The building valued
at 500. 900, was four stories high and
was half u block deep on Adams street,
extending TO the alley which separates
il from J. II. Walker 4 Co
The fire was first discovered by Or
Ger NJ. Srllivan. who turned in the first
alarm When Officer Sullivan first saw
the blaze 1t shot out into State street
from the first floor and seemed TO ema-
nate from what is known as the ex-
change room. No one seemed TO be
able TO tell what caused the blaze.
Once started the flames hal full
sweep. Inside were great light shafts
and number of elevators through
which the blaze swept with the force
of a small cyclone. There was any
amount of material for 1t to feed on.
From small wooden toys to costly Per-
sian rugs the stock offered splendid op-
portunities for the tongue OF fame. Up
the elevator shafs went the blazes.
and out through the roof and into
the murley atmosphere they shot. A
heavy pail Of smoke hung in the rain
charged air, and this cloud was seen
for miles by the thousands of people
hurrying down town to their work.
Eight hundred employees, from mes
senger boys and cash girls to managers
of departments. soon stood around the
corners and mixed with the hundreds
attracted to the scene by the fire.
In the building at the time the fire
broke out were some twenty-five en-
ployes All escaped without injury ex-
cept Manager Wixon. who dropped
from the fourth story to balcony on
the third story and was bruised and
shaken.
One of the bookkeepers who was sort
ing over some of the record books said
that from SIS. 900 to $40. 900 was burned
up in the flames, or at least the money
was in the store safe and had probably
been burned inside the safe. This large
sum was the receipts of the store Sat
urday. which was received after bank
ing hours