Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-11-13
YESTERDAYS big FIRE
TEE LOSS ON THE MILL PROPERTY BURNED
ABOUT $4,000.
Fully Covered BY Insurance in Foreign Companies
The Plant will Likely DO Rsbuilt-A Meet
ing Of Crescent Lodge Cahsd-GoOd
Work by the Firemen.

The intelligence spread by the morn
ing papers Yesterday of the destruction
of a large portion Of the Whitaker mill
property by fire, caused the greatest
surprise in all quarters of the city, for
outside Of the immediate vicinity Of the
mill few people knew that there was a
fire of any magnitude, or, indeed, any
FIRE at all.
Many Of those who were routed out OF
bed by the alarm and who chased around
the city looking for the blaze, failed to
locate it, and went back home firmly
convinced it had been a false alarm or a
FIRE Of unusually small size, and when
they read of the burning Of the mill
they could scarcely believe the story.
There probably never was fire Of
such large size in this city which was
attended or witnessed by so few people,
and there have been few alarms OF
whatever size which the fremen had so
much difficulty in locating. This was
due to two causes. One was the fear
fully dense fog, and the other was the
faulty transmission Of the alarm, and on
TOD Of this last came what sounded like
an "out tap" caused by electric wires
swinging against the fire wires and
causing the big City Hall bell to strike
several times.
The alarm was sent In from box No.
46, at the mill, by Waterman Kenney,
who had his hands and arms badly
burned in pulling the box. The big bell
struck the alarm all right, but the
gongs in some Of the houses sounded
$50" which is the LaBele mill, while
the indicators showed still different fig
ures, that in the Chemical, for instance,
showing 49," when there is no such
box in the city. 1t being impossible to
see any light through the fog,
the firemen had to resort to the
telephone, with the result that some
time was lost by some Of the COM
panies. All this was no fault of the
fremen, however, and they did splen-
did work at the blaze after their arri-
val. The mill is located in particu-
iarly mean place for effective work, the
creek cutting 1t off from the main por-
tion of East Wheeling, and necessita-
ting the carrying of lines of hose by
hand over the railroad and wooden foot
bridge before the mill could be reached,
while from the west side long lines OF
hose had to be laid on Twentieth street,
there being but one or two plugs about
the mill proper. With all this to con-
tend against, however, the firemen had
nine or ten streams Of water on the fire
within a very short time, and so well
did they work that all the buildings
surrounding the main structure were
saved without even scorching. The
buildings thus saved included the
warehouse, the boiler house, the Office,
the galvsnizing department, a building
containing the machine shop, roll lathes
and several heating furnaces, next the
creek, and some minor buildings, the
whole making in bulk nearly or quite
as big o showing as the main portion
OF the mill. Numbers Of these build
inRs stood very close to the main mill
structure-almostto touching it In places
and it seemed, in looking at the ruins
Yesterday, that nothing but the very
best management on the part OF the
fremen could have saved any one Of
them, except, possibly, the Office,
which stands little detached to the
west. Chief Healy was on Market
street, In front of the REGISTER, when
the alarm came in, and jumping into
cab, he was driven to the La Belle mill,
where he, in common with many others,
IL n, IL,
soon discovered the mistake, and was
one OF the first men at the scene Of the
FIRE, and managed his force with great
skill.
The burning Of the mill, just at this
time, Is q greater misfortune than it
would have been under ordinary cir
cumstances. After a long stoppage,
the men had just gotten cleverly TO
work, and to be again thrown out at the
very outset of winter is a matter great
ly to be deplored. Six of the eight
sheet mills were working triple turn,
with the usual complement OF heating
furnaces and the three pudding fur
naces, only two sheet mills being off.
About two hundred men were employed,
and the force was just about in shape
to look forward to a good winter OF
solid work. Now, with more than half
the immense plant in ruins, the picture
presented is dismal one, even II the
assumption of a speedy reconstruction
of the plant is carried out, for months
will be required to get the mill In
shape 10 make iroR-dgain. The mill
men were very much, disposed, yester-
day, to help the Company get in shape
TO resume work as soon as possible, and
to this end meeting of Crescent Lodge
of the Amalgamated Association is
called for Tuesday afternoon at 2
o'clock to consider ways and means to
this end. 1t was proposed yesterday
among the men to make proposition
to Mr.. Whitaker TO donate q full weeks
work from every man in the mill to-
wards clearing up the ruins, and il this
is accepted the men will get TO work,
going at it In turns, the men in each
department clearing up their own por-
tion OF the ruins. This would clear
the ground off in short order and make
the work Of reconstruction easy.
Many hundreds OF people visited the
scene of the fire yesterday, constant
stream Of ladies and gentlemen going
through the Terminal yards or around
by way Of Twentieth street. The ruins
had been roped off and guards station
ed, and spectators could see very little
OF the ruins as a rule, but they loitered
about seeing what they could and de-
voted much time TO praising the fire
department. for saving the structures
left standing. All the furnaces and
stacks, something like forty In number,
were intact yesterday and did not seem
10 be much injured, but the machinery
for the most mart nnneared 10 be In bad