Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1893-01-05
CAUSED BY FIREBUCS
i MILWAUKEE THE VICTIM OF .
BIG BLAZE.
Loss Is Fully Half Miilion-Cty Or
ficIals Are Confident that the Many
ConfiagratIons Are the work of JnCen-
diaries.
started by a Bomb Thrower.

At Q O'Clock Wednesday morning
bomb was thrown into the main build
ing OF the South Side plant of the Mill
waukee Street Railroad Company.
There was a tremendous explosion, and
in a moment the interior of the building
was in a blaze. In a few minutes the
fire was beyond control and In less
than an hour the entire plant was con-
sumed, entailing a loss OF SOLO, ,OOO.
The street railway company's South
Side plant Is located on Kinnihinnick
avenue. 1t includes the immense stor-
age stables for electric motors, the
machine chops, and the stables. In
the barn were thirty new electric mo-
tors. The machine shops were built
the past season, and were lifted with
very fine machinery for the rebuilding
and repairing OF cars. in the stables
were sixty horses, but these were gotten
out alive. The cars stored in the build
ing we're valued at $350,0OO, while the
structure itself is worth at least S0u,
600. The machinery is valued at fully
$4,000, while the stores OF the company
were kept in the building and were
worth SO, ,000. The only insurance car
ried was ON the building and amounts TO
$40. 600. The barns which were de-
stroyed were the principal depot OF the
Milwaukee Street Railway Company,
and the fire greatly cripples the COM
pany.
Who the man is who threw the bomb
is not known. He is supposed 10 be
the firebHg who has started fully
dozen other disastrous blazes within q
month. A Grand Jurywill be summoned
to investigate. 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 whlzz
OF something through the air, flash,
and q tremendous explosion. IL there
was a 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
inhammabe substance, as hardly ten
seconds elapsed, according to the night
watchman's story, before nearly all the
cars ia the building were in hames
Manager Lynn, of the company, Ii
convinced of the truthfulness OF the
watchman story. That there was al
explosion every one in the neighoor
hood wild testify. There was nothin!
OF an explosive nature about the plant
and the electric current was not on, TN
machinery at the power-house not be
ing In operation.
A small cottage next'to the plant o
the street railway company was als'
destroyed. woman residing in tn
house became paralyzed and had to b'
carried out of Dhe house after IL was II
flames. The rear end OF the plant o
the butcher Stove Company, whicl
has been leased by the Milwaukee
Street Railway Company, was slightly
damaged
Investigation shows beyond doub
that the fire which Tuesday destroye
two tanneries, causing a loss OF S2oO,
600, and by which two lives were ios'
was incendiary. This is also the cas-
with the two fires on Sunday, whe
$I25, ZOO worth of property burned.
Property Owners Alarmed.
There Is a genuine frebug scare i
the city, and what is more there seem
to be good grounds for alarm. Conser
vative citizens are now thorough
alarmed and steps are being taken t
guard against further loss bJ fire q
much as possible. That incendiarie
are at work is no longer doubted by an
one conversant with the circumstance
surrounding many OF the recent fires
The most glaring case was tina
of the old Keenan, mill. Her
was an unoccupied building close to tn
business center. which wae used fC
storage purposes and in which ther
had not been g light or a fire for sewers
years, and yet 1t is suddenly discovere
to be ablaze on the evening Of the colo
est day OF the year. There was not
dollars worth OF insurance ON the buile
ing or its contents. Another fact tht
is now attracting attention is chat
the fires of mysterious origin have OF
Cured when the weather was be'
suited to their spreading. On rain
days or when the weather was mil
and no wind blowing there have bee
no fires, excepting those where tf
origin could be clearly traced. Anoth'
curious feature is that 80 per cent I
these big fires have occurred in the
ward SO large have been the loss'
and so apparent has it became that Ia
cendiaries are at work that insuranC
men are becoming alarmed, and nun
ber of outside companies have ordert
their local agents to take no more II
surance here, and in several cases ha'
ordered them to cancel many OF the
risks. Property owners and bushes
men are alarmed and mass-meetir
will be called TO consider the matter.