The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1892-12-10
MIR. CHILDS BURNED OUT,
The Philadelphia Ledger Build
ing in Ashes.

The Public Ledger Building, at the south
west corner of Sixth and Chestnut streets,
Philadelphia vas badly Quilted on Tuesday
evening by fire and water. The damage by
| fire was confined almost entirely to the
| composing room, situated on the top floor,
but torrents of water poured down through
the building, flooding every floor in the
structure. The loss can only be approx.
mated but it will probably be mewhere
between $3.50, 900 and $500, OOO
About 5.45 on that evening Mr. Wise,
one of the clerks in the office, detected the
odor of smoke in the room. A slight fire
had just been extinguished in the Pre-
thonotary office on the opposite corner by
the fireman, and clerk stepped outside and
told them he thought the Ledger Building
was on fire. The fireman started an investi
CATION and found the cellar beneath the
business office to be a mass of flames
That part of the cellar IN which the fire
was burning had been used by some work
men engaged in repairs on the building to
store Gher tools in and was filed with
rubbish of all sorts. The tiremen speedily
saw that disastrous configr ,tion was
threatened, and they turned in another
alarm and went to work to put out the
flames.
The rubbish in the cellar fed the fl imes,
and the fire swept through to the back and
burst out into light well in the centre OF
the building. With Il leap the flames
sprang up this natural chimney and burst |
into the composing room on the fifth floor |
through the windows. The few compost |
tors at work had already been warned, and |
they made their esca pc to the street without |
difficulty. In the meanwhile two alarms
had been turned in and dozen steamers
and hose carts and trucks were arriving at
the scene. Ga the floor beneath the com
posing room the rooms of the city depart
ment were situated
AS the fire gained Roadway and promised
to destroy the building everyone aronuA
The establishment. volunteers frars-->-.
newspapers and tine polio. ~ So,
--r-6ther
cS--Irnad in an"
- -. pei Is,fiU = ~ rles out OF
s'--------er.ning structure. The files OF she
paper were all saved, and the many rare
end costly articles in Mr.. Childs' private
office were all carried out. In the mean
time dozen streams of water had been
turned on the fire in the cellar, and tie
flames there were soon extinsuiShed. The
flames in the composing room, however,
had been creating great havoc, and at
o'clock the fire burst through the mansard
roof and shot up in IA great column toward
the sky.
MIR CuILDS PRESENT.
1t was just about this time that Mr..
Childs and his iGseperable companion and
friend, Anthony j. Drexel, the banker,
arrived at the scene. Mr. Childs posted
himself in the doorway of tue court house
across the street from the burning building
and calmly resigned himself to watch his
building 90 up in flames. When invited
to enter neighboring office he declined
and said that he liked TO watch the fire.
| He assumed charge of his employees and
directed them what to DO in the way of
providing for the issuing of paper.
BY 7.3O the fireman had gotten the flames
under control, and all danger of the total
destruction of the building had Passed.
| Torrents Of water, however, had poured
| through the building and the interior was
| flooded.
Tue water ran down through every floor
| into the press room, and 10 inches Of water
| rose about the presses, which had been thor
| Ii, fro, oh
| While the fire was still burning and the
water pouring through the building Mr..
| Drexel entered it and made his way to the
rear of the fifth floor. When he came out
| he announced in cheerful tones 20 Mr..
| Childs that but little damage had been
done in the rear of the building. and that
the annex on SAMSON street had escaped
entirely While the firemen were at work
the were stirred to greater efforts still by
| the announcement that Mr.. Childs intended
to distribute $4,000 among them for their
prevention of the total destruction of his
building.
Neither was Mr. Childs unmiadful of
the firemen's bodily com fort, for he provi
| ded them all with a bountiful supper at a
neighboring restaurant.
while the fire was still burning tiercely
the work of getting out the morning paper
was going on. The city department was
\ removed to the Board OF Trade room in the
Drexel Building, and the reporters turned
in their copy of the days doIngs of a graa
| city as usual.
The mechanical department of the papeI
q | was provided fer again st just such cal
! amity as occurred that night. with tint
exception of presses, the Ledger has com
"a piete newspaper plant at 4l5 Locust street
'e and there the compositors were setting typ
N for the daily paper. As the presses wers
NJ rendered unit for use that night by water
Mr.. Childs accepted the offer of William
NJ. Singerly to print his paper from thu
Records presses. During the fire MIR
nd Chiids was rendered the use If nrss.as h,
!, every daily and weekly newsnaner puh
lished in the city.
liz The Ledger job Printing Office ooo,,o,
as ing a separate building or annex on s,naa.
IN. street, is unirjured.
Mr.. A. j. Drexel and Mr.. Georps VI
Childs, who were witnesses of the prs
IRE FIRE in the Public Ledger Building. A.
'all who personally noted the efficiency of
fire department and the brave and int
oantlv directed efforts of the fremel
cave the property, gave expression of t
,nrly W al