The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-09
THE FIRE IN THE WHITE CITY.
Thought TO he of Incendiary Orlgtn,
Probably Was.

CHICAGO, Jan. 9, 1S94.-Colonel Rice,
commanding the Columbian Guards, said
that in his opinion the fire at the Manufac-
tnrers' Building last night was undoubtedly
of incendiary origin. In support of this he
cited the fact that the flames were
first seen issuing from the second story of
the Casino where visitors were not
supposed to stray, and where it was
scarcely possible that workmen could have
carelessly dropped fire, as no workmen
had business there The Colonel said
that he was in no sense responsible for the
safety of the buildings already turned over
to the Park Commissioners. However, be
said, he had stationed one man in the
vicinity OF the peristile, although the
Park police was supposed to
be in authority there With his limited
force, numbering not over 175 or 200 men, it
was impossible to more than cover the inside
of the large buildings, where valu-
able goods were stored The park
policemen, he said, showed their
inefficiency 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 Quadriga the havoc could have
been effectually stopped.
A rough estimate places the loss on the
buildings at about $500, 900. No estimate of
the loss on the exhibits can be given until the
cases containing the stored goods can be ex-
amined.
At eleven o'clock the attention of the fire
department was turned toward saving the
Manufacturers building from the impending
danger of total destruction
The smouldering embers of the pari-
stile were famed to life again by the
brisk breeze and set fire to tine piling
Slowly the flames worked toward the agri-
cultural building. Four engines were kept
fta
ceeded in subduing the flames and
putting the agricultural building out
meath the peristyle had burned away
| the earth, deprived of support, gave way
and fell into the lake with crash, leaving a
hole $50 feet in length and 20 feet in width.
| The statue of the Republic was left un-
| harmed. save for a little scorching by the
heat.
| When the extent of the confiagration be-
] came known President Higinbotham repair
| ed at once to the Fair grounds and put in
nearly the entire night directing operations
towards suppressing the spread of the flames
| ing the danger to the exhibits.
At midnight he was seen by reporter and
made the following statement:
"Reports have greatly exaggerated the
| value Of exhibits stored in the Manufactures
Building, some of them placing it as high as
81, ,0o0, 900.
l.Even at the most liberal estimate, their
value will not exceed 81, ,000, 600 and the loss
to exhibits will not be over s30O, 900, which
will be an outside figure
1.-THE damage is entirely by water. and
smoke, and none of the exhibits have been
| injured by fire. The engines have been in
| side the building all night, and as soon as
| fires caught among the cases it was extin-
| guished
II know little or nothing about the origin
of the fire. 1t is very unfortunate, though.
am mostly concerned about the goods held
contents we might let this building burn
without any serious loss.