The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-08
WHO SET THE FIRE
GREAT Law SUIT ABOUT THE BURN
ING OF MULVANE
People Of Mulvane Nearly All Witnesses In
the Case--A Ten Days Trial--Insurance
Company Wants the Santa Fe to Pay
Damages--The People are Divided on
the Issue--Do Not Want Rules Estab-
Hshed that May Come Back and Tor
ment Them--Used Wood i'm an Engine
and Made Sparks.

| The people Of Mulvane have nearly
all abandoned business to engage in
great lawsuit The point at issue is
| whether the Santa Fe railroad company
or insurance company ought 10 pay
| for that part of the thriving little city
that was destroyed by the great fire
| of April II, 1893.
| That is the question now being dis
cussed on the street corners, in the
stores and the hotel at Muivane, and at
the same time the question has been
discussed in the district court of Sum
ner county.
When the fire occurred the Springfield
| Fire Marine Insurance company paid
/ its part of the losses and sued the San
| Ia Fe railroad company to recover the
amount, claiming that the railroad was
responsible for the fire.
The trial has been on for about ten
days and half the people Of Mulvane
have been witnesses in the case.
W. II. Schidel of Mulvane, who was
q witness in the case, said yesterday
that the case was being contested stub
tornly by the Santa Fee and that the
whole section of country around Null
vane and Sumner county had become
interested in the case and that other
cases were awaiting the result of this
trial. The people Of that entire section
are anxious to know whether railroad
can be made to pay for property de
stroyed by fire from their engines.
Mr.. Schidel said that the insurance
company was trying to show that the
town was burned because of the negli-
Sence of the railroad company.
Taking all the testimony and Mr..
Schidel thinks II shows that the Santa
Fe has coal bins at Mulvane raised so
that coal can be dumped from them
into the engine tenders. This necessi-
tated a raised switch from which coal
is unloaded into these bins.
On the day of the big fire some cars
of coal We're set out to be Unloaded
into these bins. The engineer who set
the cars in failed to run them up this
raised switch and a dead engine stand
ing in the yards was fired up with wood
by some of the men in the yards TO put
the coal cars to the bins
The grade was steep and the engine il
was shown threw out clouds Of smoke
and sparks of fire. The wind hoirg
from the west the smoke and fir wac
blown into a re tau ant east of the
track and shortly alter the fire that
burned UP large poruon or MIN ane
was first discovered in this restaurant
building.
The insurance company could not
prove positively that the fire was caus-
ed from the engine but it has put up
a strong circumstantial case TO prove
that fact Then the question is, in case
that is proven, is the railroad company
lia Die.
The people of Mulvane are divided on
the question and some claim that if the
railroad company can be made to pay
damages for a destructive fire because
some sparks blew from the engine in
that direction, that the spark from the
chimney of dwelling might get the
owner Of the chimney In great trouble
in case fire originated from any cause
in thedirection in which the spark had
been blown.
The New York Home is said to also
have a case pending against the rail-
road company for damages for the
same cause.