The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-29
Milwaukee Has an Industrious and
Successful Firebug.
FIVE MILLION DOLLARS AND FOUR
LIVES LOST.

Reward and Special Police Are On
Duty in Large Numbers-Insurance
Mon Take a Vacation.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, December 2S.-At
2 o'clock this morning a bomb was
thrown into the main building of the
South Side plant of the Milwaukee Street
Railroad Company. There was tre-
mendous explosion, and in a moment the
interior of the building was in blaze.
In a few moments the fire was beyond
control, and in less than an hour the en-
tire plant was consumed, entailing loss
of $4,000
The Street Railway Company's South
Side plant is located on Kinnickinnic
avenue. 1t includes the immense stor-
age stables for electric motors, the ma
chine shops and the stables. In the barn
were so new electric motors and nearly
all the summer cars owned by the COM
pany. The machine 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 20
H.,
The cars stored in the building were
valued at S350,O0O, while the structure
itself is worth at least 100000. The ma
chinery is valued at fully $4,000, while
the stores of the company were kept in
the building and were worth S25, 600.
The insurance carried was on the build
ing, and amounts to $40, 700. The barns
which were destroyed were the principal
depot of the Milwaukee Street Railway
Company, and the fire greatly cripples
he company. Who is
The Man Who Threw the Bomb
is not known. He is supposed to be the
firebug who has started fully dozen
other disastrous fires within month. A
grand jury will be summoned to investi-
gate.
The only person who saw the alleged
bomb thrown was Night Watchman
Worden. He says that he was standing
near the main doorway Of the barn in
which the motors and cars were stored.
There was a whiz of something through
the air, flash and tremendous explo-
sion. If there was bomb thrown,
which many doubt. it came through the
main doorway and struck in the car near
est this entrance. The projectile must
have been filled with some highly inflam
mable substance, as hardly 10 seconds
elepsed, according to the night watch
mans story, before nearly all the cars in
the building were in flames. Manager
Lynn of the company is convinced of the
trnthfulness of the watchman's story.
That there was an explosion every one
in the peighborhood will testify. There
was nothing of an explosive nature
about the plant. A small cottage next
to the plant of the street railway coms
pany was also destroyed. A woman re-
siding in the house became paralyzed
and had to be carried out of the house
after it was in flames. The rear end of
the plant of the butcher Stove Company,
which has been leased by the Milwaukee
damaged.
This fire is the
Latest of a Series of Outrages
perpetrated in this city by an incendiary
or incendiaries. 1t was only yesterday
that fire was set to one of the wooden
additions of the tannery of the Becker
Leather Company in Commerce street at
| 6 o'clock this morning. The flames
spread to the tannery of Conrad Bros,
adjoining, and that establishment was
entirely destroyed. The main building
of the Becker plant was saved.
| A pipeman named Thomas Sullivan was
| killed by falling wall, and Geo. Rick
mann of the fire patrol service, was suffo-
Gated in the Conrad tannery. Today the
finding of two more bodies increased the
death list to four.
A meeting was held by the Chamber of
Commerce at noon today, and commit
tee of six appointed to arrange for a
mass meeting of citizens tomorrow to
take action on the inc ndiarism. The
mayor this afternoon issued proclama-
ton uffering $25O0 reward for evidence
that will lead to the detection of the in
cendiaries. A hundred special police
were placed on duty, and will remain
two weeks Today number of insur-
ance agents, representing leading COM
panies, received orders from the compa-
nies to cease writing insurance on manu-
| featuring plants in Milwaukee. The fire
bug has cost the city over $5, 600, 600 in
| two months.