The true northerner., 1893-01-04
CAUSED BY FIREBUGS.
MILWAUKEE THE VICTIM OF A
BIG BLAZE.
Loss Is Fully Half MiIlion-City Of
fcials Are Confident that the Many
Conhagrations Are the Work of Incen-
diaries.
started by a Bomb Throwcr.

Al CLOCK WeuneSuay morning
bomb was thrown into the main build
ing OF the South Side plant OF the Mil
waukee Street Railroad Company.
There was tremendous explosion and
in a moment the interior OF the building
was in blaze. In few minutes the
fire was beyond control and i'm less
than an hour the entire plant was con-
sumed, entailing loss OF $5l0, 900.
The street railway company's South
Side plant is located on Kinnikinnick
avenue. 1t includes the immense stor-
age stables for electric motors, the
machine shops, and the stables. In
the barn were. thirty new electric mo-
tors. The machine shops were built
the past season, and were fitted with
very fine machinery for the rebuilding
and repairing OF cars. In the stables
were sixty horses, but these were gotten
olt alive. The cars stored in the build
ing were valued at $500 900, while the
structure itself Is worth at least $6p,-
900. The machinery is valued at fully
$75 ,000 while the stores of the company
were kept in the building and were
worth $780, The only insurance car
ried was on the building and amounts to
100000. The barns which were de-
stroyed were the principal depot Of the
Milwaukee Street hallway Company,
and the fire greatly cripples the COM
pany.
Who the man is who threw the bomb
is not known. He is supposed to be
the firebug who has started fully a
dozen other disastrous blazes within a
month. Grand Jury will be summoned
to investigate. The only person who
saw the alleged bomb thrown was Night
tnht In hnt hn
was standing near the main doorway
cars were stored. There was a whizz
of something through the air, n flash,
and tremendous explosion. II there
was bomb thrown, which many
doubt, it came through the main
doorway aud struck in the car near
est this entrance. The proiectile
must have been filed with some highly
inliammable substance, as hardly ten
seconds elapsed, according to the night
watchman' S story, before nea~ly all the
cars in the building were in flames.
Manager Lynn, of the company, is
convince ed of the truthfulness of the
watchman's story. That there was an
explosion every one in the neighbor-
hood will testify. There was nothing
of an explosive nature about the plant,
and the electric current was not on, the
machinery at the power-house not be-
ing in operation.
small cottage next TO the plant of
the street railway company was also
destroyed A woman residing in the
house became paralyzed and had 10 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
Street Railway Company, was slightly
damaged.
Investigation shows beyond doubt
that the fire which Tuesday destroyed
two tanneries, causing a loss OF $780,
coo, and by which two lives We're lost,
was incendiary. This is also the case
with the two fires on Sunday, when
$125, COO worth OF property burned.
Property Owners Alarmed.
There is a genuine firebug scare in
the city, and what is more there seems
to be good grounds for alarm. Conser-
vative citizens are now thoroughly
alarmed and steps are being taken to
guard against further loss b.y fire as
much as possible. That incendaries
are at work is no longer doubted by any
one conversant with the circumstances
surrounding many of the recent fires.
The most glaring case was that
of the old keenan, mill. Here
was an unoccupied building close to the
business center. which was used for
storage purposes and in which there
had not been light or a fire for several
years, and yet it is suddenly discovered
to be ablaZe on the evening Of The cold
est day OF the year. There was not n
dollar worth OF insurance on the build
ing or its contents. Another tact that
is now attracting attention is that all
the fires OF mysterious origin have oc-
Cured when the weather was best
suited to their spr aiding. On rainy
days or when the weather was mild
and no wind bl wing there have been
no fires, excepting those where the
origin could be clearly traced. Another
curious feature is that 30 per cent OF
these big fires have occurred in the Sd
ward. SO large have been the losses
and so apparent has it became that in
cendiares are at work that insurance
men are becoming alarmed, and a nnm-
ber of outside companies have ordered
their l)ca agents to take no more in
surance here, and in several cases have
ordered them TO cancel many OF their
SKIS. PROPERTY owners and business
men are alarmed and massmeeting
will be called to consider the matter.