The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-13
SET FIRE TO ST. FRANCIS HOME
TWO Is-YEAR-OLD GIRLS THE
CONFESSED INCENDIARTEs.

They Wanted 60 Get Away Prom the
Home and Tried 10 Burn It-One
OF Them Put Fire Coal In
Stocking aud Threw IL Under the
Floor and Then Thrust "A Lighted
Splinter Into N hook CabInet-The
other Threw n Hot Iron Into n
Pile OF Clothes.
The ST. Francis Home for Colored Fee
male Orphans az St James and
Price streets. has had several
very narrow escapes from being
destroyed by FIRE. -Four separate at
tcmpts at incendiarism have been made.
The eliminating attempt was made yes
terday morning. when one OF the bene-
dciaries set IRE TO the cabinet containing
the school books and some Of the cloth
Ing Of the children.
The police were notified two or three
days ago Of these attempts at incendiar-
ism, and Detective Haney was sent out
by Chief McDermott to investigate. He
reported that he was satisfied that some
Of the inmates Of the home were response
BILE for the attempts. The book cabinet
was fired early yesterday morning. before
breakfast, and the matter was at once re-
ported 10 Chief MeDermott by the mother
superior. Sister Mary Beasley. colored.
Chief McDermott took Detectives Wealth
erhorn and klley with him and went to
the scene at once. The home is located on
ST. James street at the southwest corner Of
Price, some distance south of Abercorn
street. After arriving at the home Chief
McDermott conferred with Father Patrick
Donlan Of the Sacred Heart church. which
has charge Of the Institution, and with
Mother Beasley. and found out from them
who were suspected OF the crime.
Suspicion pointed strongly to Georgiana
Frzzle and Meta Douglass, two 14-year-
old girls who had been inmates of the in
stitutiOn for some time. The Douglass
girl ran away yesterday after breakfast.
and went TO her mothers home on Jones
street. Chief McDermott called the Friz-
zle girl into room alone with him anc
questioned her. The girl confessed at
once.
Don't you want TO leave this placer"
aSkod the chief, in opening the converse
ton. The girl confessed that she did.
to the house?' was the next question
asked. The girl candldly confessed that il
was She then told the story of her two
attempts to set FIRE to the place. She said
mat several weeks ago. right after Christ
mas, when she was left In charge of the
washing, one night after supper, she took
a coal from under the pot, put 1t in a
stocking and put il under the wash house
floor. This was discovered before IL had
done any damage. She said she had been
IN the home little more than year. and
was very anxious to get away. Yesterday
morning, before breakfast, the idea struck
her that if she burned up the books of the
place the sisters would have to let her GO
She accordingly lit splinter, stuck It
through crack into the cabinet and set
IRE TO book. The fire communicated 10
the other books, and before II was dis
covered and extingulshed. nearly all the
books in the cabinet and considerable
clothing belonging to the inmates were
destroyed
The girl gave no further reason for her
criminal acts than her desire TO get away
from the place. She was arrested and
sent to the barracks. She stated that the
Douglass girl had also set fire to the house
on two previous occasions.
Chief McDermott sent to the home of the
mother of the Douglass girl, No. 1O5 Jones
street. and had her arrested. She con-
fessed as freely as the other had done.
She claimed she did not get enough to eat
at the home, and that she wanted to be
with her mother, who was sickly and
needed her help. Her first attempt to set
fire to the place was several days ago
when she was doing some ironing. The
supper bell rang while she was at work
The rag with which she had been handling
the iron was seorched and smolderng.
She threw II on top of some clothing in
corner and went on to supper. IL was dis
covered before any serious damage was
done Saturday morning she set fire to a
rag and placed it in the attic of the house
under the caves, where it would catch the
shingles. This was the best planned at
tempt of all to destroy the building, as
the roof is a shingle one Of fat pine, and
would have burned rapidly had the fire
ever gotten Roadway, The smoke was SEEN
however, and the fire eXtinguished before
1t got start.
Chief McDermott cross examined the
girls in his office in the afternoon. Both
adhered to the statements previously made
by them. Neither seemed to have the
least comprehension of the er 0rmity of
the or me attempted by them. They simply
wanted to get away from the home and
hit upon the plan of burning il up as the
simplest and surest form of accomplishing
their object. They will be before the re-
corder this morning. There is no reforma-
tory in this county or state and the girls
will have to either be sent to the peni-
Tertiary or released.