St. Paul daily globe., 1892-12-29
.GNITED BY A BONE.
Incendiaries Use Anarchists
Weapons to Start Fires
in Milwaukee.
The Street Car Plant Fire
Caused by an Explod-
ing Bomb.
Total Loss of the Blaze
Reaches $4,000, With
$4,000 Insurance.
Firebugs Destroy $5,000,0OO
Worth Of Property in
Two Months.

the building was in blaze. In few
minutes the fire was beyond control
and in less than an hour the entire
plant was consumed, entailing a loss of
$4,000. The street railways South
side plant is located on Kinnikinnick
avenue. 1t includes the immense
storage stables for electric motors. the
machine shops and the stable. In the
barn were fifty new electric motors and
nearly all the summer cars
owned by the company. The ma
chine shops were built the past
season and were fitted with very fine
machinery for the rebuilding and re-
pairing of cars. In the stables were
sixty horses, but these were gotten out
alive The cars stored III the building
were valuel at $350,000, while the
structure itself is worth at least S60.0
The machinery is valued at fully
sS75,000, while the stores of the company
were
Kept In the Building
and were worth 250o0. The only in
surance carried was on the building.
and amounts to about $4,000. The
barns which were destroyed were
the principal depot OF the Mil
waukee street railway, and the fire
greatly crippes the company. Who
The man is who thrt w the bomb is not
known. He is supposed to be the fire
bug who has started fully a dozen other
disastrous blaZeS within month.
The only person who saw the alleged
bomb thrown was Night Waterman
Worden. He says that he was standing
near the main doorway or the barn IN
which the motors and cars were stored.
There was whiZ of something through
the air, flash and tremendous cXDlo-
sion. If there was bomb thrown,
which many doubt. it came through the
main door and struck i'll the car nearest
this entrance. The proiectlle must have
been filled with some highly intlam-
mabe substance. as hardly ten seconds
elapsed. according to the night watch
mans story. before nearly all the cars
in the building were in flames. MAN.
ager Lynn. of the company, is convinced
OF the truthtuness OF the watchInan'S
story. That there was an explosion
every one in The neighborhood will
testify. There was nothing OF an ex-
plosive nature about the plant, and the
electric current was not on, the ma
chinery at the power house not being III
operation.
A Narrow Escape.
A small cottage next to the plant OF
tie street railway company was also
DESTROYED. A woman residing in the
heuse became paralyzed and had to be
carried out of the house after it was i'll
flames. The rear end of tile plant OF
the Dutcher S;ose company. which has
been leased by the Wilmaukee Street
railway, was slightly damaged. AT
3:3o O'Clock this morning the fire was
under control. having been confined by
hard work upon TN e part OF the flremen
10 the building of the street railway
company.
Investigation today shows beyond
doubt that the fire Wnieh yesterday de-
Stroyed two tannerieS. causing loss or
$3.50, 600. and by WHICH two lives were
lost, was incendiary. This is also the
case with the TWO fires Sunday, when
$685. worth of property burned. ms
afternoon Mayor Somers issued proc
lanation Offering reward of $500 Tor
the arrest of the persons who started
anv of tn. fires beginning with the great
| confederation OF Oct. 20, or who shall
start any fire III the city within the next
| thirty days. 1t has also been decided
| to at once add 100 special policemen to
! the REGULAR force, for night service. LII
| the incendiaries are arrested 1t Will re-
| uuire militia protection to prevent
lynching, with excitement running as
| high as it does tonight.
Two wore Bodies
| were found in the ruins of the tannery
| fire of Yesterday, increasing the number
| OF lives lost to four. one BODY Is that
| of Stephen Treader. tanner; the other
| has not been identified. Today num-
| Der of insurance agents. representing
| leading companies, received orders from
| their several companies to cease writing
insurance on manufacturing plants In
| Milwaukee. 49,,
| The trebug who is operating III Mil
Waukee has cost the city over S3,OJO0OO
| in two months. He began his work of
| destruction OH the night of Oct. 29, when
| 300 buildings were consumed ana a,
! 00O.0O0 worth of property destroyed.
| While the conflagration was raging on
/ the East side, an attempt was mace 10
! burn the West side. Here the loss was
| $1,000. The week following Koch q
| LOeber's woodenware and notion store
| was fired. the loss there being $4,000.
| A week later II. l.. Kelly's dry goods
| store burned with Il loss of S186,O00. The
I Milwaukee Mattress company was
| burned out few days later, With 2O.0JO
| loss. The Hennecke company, art store,
| came next. with S50,000 loss. The origin
| of this fire is uncertain. An attempt
| was then made to burn the Great AlllS
works, and later the Pabst theater. On
| Christmas the fly net works we're hred,
with a loss of 100000. The Keenan,
mill was burned at the same time, where
the loss was $4,000. Then came
The Tannery Fire
Yesterday, whereby s250,0e0 worth OF
nronerty was consumed, and today the
/ car barn fire. A meeting was held by
/ the chamber of commerce today. when
| committee of six was appointed to ar
| range for mass meeting Of citizens to
/ he held tomorrow to take action Oh the
1 incendiariSm.
chief Jansen, of the police depart
1 ment, believes the only nreotigS at WORK
/ here are dishonest owners OF property.
who have taken advantage of excessive
/ insurance to burn their buildings Tor
| the insurance. Chief Janssen's investi-
/ cation will be mainly along this line.
| President James, OF the Northwestern
i National Insurance company, DeileveS
! with Chief Jansen that about half the
/ fires have been purely accidental, per-
haps one or two setby thieves or tramps
looking for plunder, and all the rest
started by the owners OF tine buildings
burned. Il is notable that Ill these
months the insurance has been much
| heavier than usual.
1t is said that Chief Foley. of the fire
i department, has received an anony-
nous letter declaring that the big fires
| of the last few weeks are part OF CON
certed plan to destroy the city. and that
the tirebugs intend to lay the town in
ashes before July 1. The letter IS be-
IIeved to be the work OF crank, but
every effort is being made to discover
his identity.
The police department. has thoroughly
| examined the employees of the -MilWau-
kee Street railway car barns. ami Chief
| Jansen says he is satisfied that the fire
| this morning was caused by car stove
which was overheated. Vice President
! Payne, who also made an investigation,