New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-01-10
IN THE WHITE CITY'S RUINS.
THE TOTAL LOSS ESTIMATED AT ABOUT
s1OOO0Oo
FIRST REPORTS OF DAMAGE TO EXHIBITS
GREATLY EXAGGERATED-Loss ON BUILD
INGs PLACED AT $4,000. AND ON
PROPERTY 200 Ooo-THE FIRE BE-
LIEvED TO HAVE BEEN OF
rxrrHpr.pv oPTCIN
INCENDIARY ORIGIN.

INCENDIARY ORIGIN.
Chicago Jan. 9-Colonel Rice. commanding the
Columbian Guards. said to-day that In his opin-
ion the fire at the Manufactures Building last
night was undoubtedly Of incendiary origin. In
support of this he cited the fact that the names
were first seen issuing from the second story Of
the Casino where visitors were not supposed 10
stray. and where it was scarcely possible that
workmen could have carelessly dropped fire. as
no workmen had business there. The Colonel de-
clared that he was in no responsible for
the safety of the buildings already turned over
to the Park Commissioners. However, he mad
stationed one man near the Peristyle although
the Park police were supposed to be In authority
there. With his limited force. numbering not
over 175 or 200 men. it was impossible to DO
more than cover the inside of the large build
ings wherein valuable goods were stored The
Park policemen he added. showed their in
efficiency from the fact that they scarcely had
stamina enough to keep the crowds back during
the fire. In his opinion, If some dynamite had
been used before the flames reached the Quad
riga. the havoc could have been effectually
stopped
The commonly accepted theory among the
thousands on the Worlds Fair grounds to-day
was that the fire had been caused by tramps
sleeping in the Casino.
At II o'clock last night the attention Of the
fire department was turned toward saving the
Manufactures Building from the impending
danger of total destruction. The smouldering
embers Of the Peristyle were famed to life
again by the brisk breeze and set fire to the
piling Slowly the flames worked toward the
Agricultural Building. Four engines were kept
busy playing on the burning piles and succeeded
in subduing the flames and putting the Agri-
cultural Building out of danger. When the
ping underneath the Peristyle had burned
away the earth. deprived Of support, gave way
and fell into the lake with a crash. leaving
hole $50 feet in length and 20 feet In width. The
statue Of the Republic was left unharmed save
for little scorchng by the heat. At o'clock
this morning the fire on the roof Of the Manu-
features Building was extngushed
REPORTS OF LOSS ON EXHIBITS EXAGGERATED.
When the extent Of the confagration became
known President Higinbotham fastened at once
to the Fair Grounds. where he spent nearly the
entire night, directing operations toward sup
pressing the spread of the flames and minimizing
the danger TO exhibits. Az midnight he made
the following statement to reporter:
Reports have greatly exaggerated the value
Of exhibits stored in the Manufactures Building.
some of them placing 1t as high as s5.ooo,Voo.
Even at the most liberal estimate their value
will not exceed s2000.00O. and the loss TO ex-
hibitOrs will not be over 100000, which Will be
an outside figure. The damage IS entirely by
water and smoke, and none OF the exhibits have
been injured by the fire. Two engines have been
inside the building all night, and as soon as fire
caught among the cases it was exuIgrisne'l
know little or nothing about the origin OF the
fire. 1t very unfortunate, though. 1 am
mostly concerned about the goods held In Gov
ernment bond. II 1t were not for the contents
we might let this big building burn without any
serious loss
rough estimate places the loss on the build
ings at about 100000. No approximately accu-
rate estimate Of the loss on the exhibits can be
given until the cases containing the stored goods
shall have been examined
DAMAGE PRINCIPALLY BY WATER.
Customs Inspector F. b. Phillips was early on
the ground. Il am at loss" said he, ito give
any opinion as to the value Of the contents Of
the Manufactures Building. In all there were
5000 cases Of exhibits stored there as bonded
warehouse, and all are well packed. The Russian
and French exhibits are intact. and are right
under the heat Of the fire on the roof. This Is
also true OF the British exhibit These will
surely suffer greatly from water II they escape
the fire. AS / the danger to the
goods | ordered their removal to the basement
of the big building and the work was begun"
The Collector Of Customs. Mr.. Clark. said this
morning that the amount Of damage to the eX-
hibits in the Manufactures Building was not
great There were about $4,000 cases Of goods
in the building, packed and ready for removal
said Mr. Clark land l don't think any OF them
were injured by the fire itself All the damage
that done was caused by water. and don't
think that much water reached the contents OF
the cases"
The French Commissioners and special agents
in charge of exhibits I'm the French section said
to-day that the total loss In the s'rench section
by fire and water would not exceSl $4,000 Pro-
fessor Alexander Albini. Italian Commissioner
decided that the loss his goods would be
small The Danish exhibit was not injured
Neither, was the Spanish. Austrian nor Russian
Damage to the Canadian and British sections
will not exceed $500 in each case.
The only information obtainabe as to the In
surance on the contents Of the Manufactures
Building was from the Lancash re Insurance
Company The books al the general offices show
a poucy OF 81 900 on the Norway exhibit which
does not expire until February 20, 1894. The
local agent Of the Lancashire Company, F. D
James said he believed this pocv had been can
ceel some time ago. but he was not certain
Continuing he said that all the policies on the
buildings expired at the close OF the Fair, ana
that a large majority of the risks on exhibits eX-
pired at the same time. Few OF the foreign ex-
hibits. he added were insured in American COM