The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-03


Heavy Losers.
PHILADELPHIA. Feb 2-Chestnut
street. above Broadway, was visited ear
ly this morning by one of the fiercest
fires this city has known for years. The
seven-story building of Charles H Ha-
zeltine. Nos. 1916 and 141S Chestnut
street, and the adjoining five-story struc-
ture of the Baptist Publication society
and the American Baptist Historical so
ciety, No. 1920, were destroyed. The
buildings damaged by fire and water and
falling walls were the four-story dry
goods house of Homer, Leboutillier &
Co.. Nos. 1412 and 1414, the dwelling house
at 1922, owned by the Wistar estate, and
the Hotel La Fayette, at Broad and San
som streets. On either side of the main
entrance to the Hazeltine building were
the piano warerooms of Hallet & Davis,
at l4l6. and of Steinway & Co., at 141S.
The two Baptist societies lost large and
valuable COLLECTIONS of paintings, books
and curlos. The detailed losses have not
YET Deen MADE up, but a conservative eS-
innate places the aggregate at close to
S2,NO,OO. 1t is thought that this is al
most fully covered by insurance.
GUESTS ESCAPE.
There were about 25O guests in the La
Fayette hotel. which is in the rear of
the destroyed buildings. Among these
were Mayor King of Atlanta Ga and
the others of his party who escorted the
liberty bell home, and reached Philadel-
plfia Yesterday. Olga Nethersole, the &C
treSs. her brother Louis Nethersole, and
Madge Meadows and Maud Clayton of
her company, were also guests of the
La Fayettte. While there was consider
able confusion in the hotel, the guests,
barring a few fainting women, kept cool
heads and all were removed in safety
The Atlanta party was carried in a pa
troll wagon to the Continental hotel five
blocks away. and the Nethersole party
10 the Metropole, opposite the La Fay
cite Every other hosiery in the city
was thrown open for the reception of
the disturbed guests. Only the eighth
burned, although the back part of the
building from cellar to roof was badly
damaged by smoke and water 1t had
only been recently opened by a new man
aSement, after thorough renovation.
SOIELLED SMOKE.
It was shortly before 3 o'clock when
POLICEMEN Rice and Howard while pa
trolling their beats at Broad and Chest
nut streets detected smell of smoke
Iney straightway ran to the La Fay
looking for fire. When they reached the
sixth. fierce blaze met their sight. 1t
was in the rear of the Hazeltine build
ing, which reached dangerously near the
back of the hotel building. An alarm
was struck Immediately, but before the
first fire engine could reach the scene a
strong west wind had carried the flames
throughout the entire building A dozen
lines of hose were turned on the Chest
nut street front, but the light wood and
paper which stocked the second third
and fourth floors were easy food for the
flames. The upper part of the building
was known as the Hazeltine art gale
rieS. Many of the leading artists had
studios there and the arts stored under
the roof aggregated thousands of dol
lars in value. At o'clock the walls
BEGAN TO COLLAPSE
and the flames spread on the east to FIo-
mer Leboudllier & Co. and on the west
to the Baptist Publication society. A
general alarm was turned in, and the
hremen directed most of their energies |
to preventing the destruction of the en-
ened. The upper portion of the La Fay
cite hotel was ignited by sparks flying
from the burning building on Chestnut
but the blaze was confined to the eighth
and ninth floors. The ire was not CON
trolled until long after daybreek and
lines of hose are still pla+ing pom 1t.
Mayor King, of Atlanta, aroused from
his bed by the fire, refused to leave the
threatened hotel until he saw that every
member Of his party had escaped.
PUFF FOR OLGA.
Olga Nethersole was one of the calmest
persons in the building. She saw most
of her effects safely removed before she
left the hotel. Many of the other guests
rushed from their rooms and would have
continued into the street had not as
surance been made that the lower part
of the building was in no danger. Among
the guests were Jennie Steele Terre
Haute; Thomas A. Renham, Detroit; j. ~
Campbell, Spokane; Charles c. Bosche
and wife RUffaln- M Rarraft
cinnati; George Foran, Chicago; E. A
Patterson, Chicago; John w. Delano,
Salt Lake city; George B. Clark, Wash
ington, d. c.; and the following New
Workers: J. H. Lyman and wife, J. r.
Eagan, jr., Thomas Paul and wife, F. a.
Ranney, John p. Haines, H. NJ. Kretch- !
jan and A. G. Pukeysea; r. H. Gillespie
and A. Wilson, E. r. Lamson, of Boston;
NJ. c. Harrison and William Parson, of
Baltimore, and j. e. Blythe, of st. Louis.
THE LOSSES.
The Hazeltine building was valued at
$780, 900 and was fully insured. 1t was
erected in 1883 and the first two floors
were fire proof. The loss on paintings on
the second floor is between 100000 and
S400 600, uninsured.
Among those destroyed were two by H
G. Selous. valued at $4,000 each; one by
Roberts-F'leury, valued at $4,000. There
were thirty-nine offices in the building,
occupied mainly by artists, lawyers and
dentists, on hte bird floor, lost a collec-
dentists on hte third floor, lost a collec-
ton of South American curios valued at
$4,000 partly insured. Other tenants lost
sums ranging from $50 to $1,000 The val
liable stock of pianos in the stores on the
first floor was destroyed, but the amount
Of this loss has not yet been estimated
The Baptist Publication building and
stock were valued at 100000, insurance
not given. The Historical Society lost
10000 volumes valued at 100000 and in
sured for S25 900.
DR.. Wayland, the eminent divine also
lost valuable private library, on which
Stolmoyer lost $4,000. The losses on the
Homer, Ieboutiller and La Fayette hotel
buildings have not yet been approximate
ed The origin of the fire has not been
learned.
A GOLDEN CARGO.
NEW WORK. Feb 2-For on HON.