Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-18
TWO MILLIONS LOST.
New Orleans Visited BY an Unusually
Disastrous Fire.
new YORK and TIE READING DEAL
Chicago Anxious to Have a New
Post Office.
OTHER TELEGRAPHIC Me- VS..
OTHER TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.
A BIG NEW ORLEANS FIRE.


Two Million Dollars worth Of Propsry
Destroyed.
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. ls-Two millions Of
money went up in smoke last night by the de-
struction of the largest retail dry goods sstAb-
lishments in the city.
This morning the palatiai stores Of A.
Schwartz A Sons. Amos Runkel. g. O.
Kreeger, gloves. millinery and fancy goods,
Philip Werin, pianos aud musical instruments;
kraus Bros.. fancy goods and notions; p. W.
Clavoying, retail drugs: John McCloskey, con-
fectioner; James NJ. Hoffman, worsseds and
fsncy goods; L. viple. gloves and perfumery,
and wengers Concert Hall are in ruins. In
fact the walls OF all these buildings have fallen
The scene Of the fire was ON Canal street. the
principal thoroughfare OF the city, st the point
where il is intersected by Bourbon. Schwsrtss
establishment. q commanding structure and
but recently completed, occupied the corner q
Canal and Bourbon. IL was fourstory
structure and mansard roof, brick, stone and
iron building surmounted by Q high oloch
tower.
THE FIRE pTscovERFD.
At 1910 O'Clock a waiter in Moreau's restau-
rant. on the opposite side OF Canal street, per
eeived a small tongue Of fame hcking iss Wy
along the cornice Of the roof Of the schvarta
building and fastened TO give the alarm The
department responded promptly, but experi-
enced great difficulty in getting 70 work, and
the whole edifice was ablaze before o stream
could be brought to bear upon t. The flames
spread backward to Kraus Bros.' establishmsus
| and across Bourbon street 70 Cleuveriue drug
store simultaneously and the department found
itself in moment powerless 10 cope with the
destroyer.
A general alarm and then 9 repeated general
alarm was sent in, and the suburban engines
were pressed into service. backward the hre
spread to Hoffmans; TO the left 1t attacked
Merleln's and crash followed upon crash %
the falling roofs overburdened the foors be-
meath, already heavily laden with stocks Of
merchandise, and each gave way in turn until
the interior fixtures of the stores and their
contents were piled in blazing heap on the
ground floor and stripped Of all support the
walls of the Schwartz building toppled and fell,
and the Werlsin building quickly followed
| suit.
street crashed in soon after and . full half
square OF most valuable property in the city
was q smoking mass Of ruins. A breeze aross
| TO fan the flames. and they attacked their prey
with renewed vigor. On the opposite side Of
Bourbon street Cleuverius' building was hrse
to collapse, and carried with il the walls Of
Runkers establishment McCloskey's confso-
tionery was a mass Of seething flame and
hreeger's building was also burning hercely.
The Nickel Plate shoe store intervened 70 savo
the main entrance to ID. II. Holmes Immense
| establishment on Canal street and that portion
| of the store was but little damaged The Bour-
| bon street entrance to Holmes, however, Jared
| worse. The massive plate glass windows and
weather doors we're shattered 10 atoms, and the
| more infiammable portions Of the stock thus
| exposed caught fire in . moment Long ere
this the department was fairly At work and
tons OF water we're being poured upon -
burning material and the flames showed ne
first symptoms Of yielding.
BARRIER
| On Canal street, east Of Bourbon they met aa
impassable barrier in the massive Touri build
ings, which adjoin werleins, and though TIE
roof Of all Of the stores comprising the row
| were more than once on fire the flames could
| make no progress against the sturdy masonry.
The new Cosmopolitan Hotel aud the adjoin-
tpK structures, which front - Rn1aA
i dg Canal and run back into the center of 70o
block, caught ere in the rear and s required
| the utmost effort on the part Of the 6remsn -
| save them
LOSSES AND INSURANCE.
Schwartz's block valued ct over e5oo, 900, vas
insured for esd, 900, and the building for sss,-
900. considerably below its value. Holmes
stock was insured for s5Oo, 900 and was worth
| nearly twice as much, but the damage 70 it y
not thought to be very great Cleuverius car
! ried 5000 on stock, and the Others were in
sured In proportion. Every insurance com
pany in the city has shout an equal share Of
loss. The risks have been divided. Most of
the buildings were newly erected and con-
| sidered separate and excellent risks.
The individual losses SO far ss they can b
ascertained are as follows;
A. Schwartz a Sons, loss s500, 600, insurance
S965, 600; Benevolent and Protective Order Of
Elks, els, 200, uninsured; W. 7. Cleuverius,
5000. covered by insurance; Wenger's Gar
dens, S5O, 900, insured; ID. II. Holmes, loss S25,-
900. insurance ed, 900; Madam Goddard, loss
slight, insurance $4,000; Mime. Godin, loss
$1,000, insured; J. NJ. Hoffman; loss eli, 600,
insured; John Curry, loss : $50. uninsured; s.
@. kreeger, loss go, 900. insured; John McCios-
key, loss $4,000, insured krauz Bros, loss
$4,000. partly insured; Philip Werlein, los
| els, 900, insured.
The buildings destroyed collectively are e.
| timated to be worth fully quarter of million,
while many other buildings were badly dam
| aged, as well as their contents, and not in
| cluded in the above estimated loss