The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-07-11
WHO DID II
Have We Fire Bugs in Our ciy-An
Attempt to Burn the Hardware Store Of
Elias B. Arnold-Intense Feeling Ex-
cited.

Tuesday morning last our citizens were
startled by the announcement that an attempt
had been made to completely destroy the
hardware store of Mr.. Elias B. Arnold. The
night Waterman, Mr.. John B. Mitten, made
the discovery, and we give his story in full.
Usually the first floor of the building,
plainly visible from the street, has been well
Illuminated all night with electric lights.
About two o clock while passing the building,
which is on my beat between the Union Ma
tional Bank and the railroad, | discovered
that the lights had been shut off, and the store
in darkness. As the other electric lights in
the neighborhood were burning, my suspicious
were aroused, and / went to the power house
of the electric light company, which stands on
a lot in the rear of Mr.. Arnold's property, to
ascertain il the cause might be found there.
The machinery was all right, however, and
then | determined to enter the store and as
certain the cause of the strange circumstance
Benjamin Sechrist, the engineer, went with
me, and together we attempted TO gain an
entrance at the rear of the building. Our
movements alarmed the incendlary, who was
at work inside, and he fed through the front
door, plunging through the large plate glass,
of which it is chiefly composed. Hours must
have been consumed in the work of the incen-
diary, which was done with the most surpris
ing detail. In order to give vent to the flames,
FIVE or six two-inch augur holes were bored
through the floor between the cellar and the
main storeroom. In the floor of the second
story three holes nearly foot square were
sawed out. The ceiling of this story is COM
posed partly of wooden wainscoting, and the
upward vent for the flames when started was
provided for by prying couple of these boards
partially off.
But all this work was a trife compared with
the elaborate preparations for giving the fire
sudden and uncomfortable Roadway. In the
cellar three-foot swath of excelsior packing
was laid its entire length, and thoroughly
saturated with coal OIL Around an oven a
large coil of rope, the debris of broken boxes
was piled and saturated with this infammable
substance, also. Then holes were bored in
the barrels of turpentine and coal oil in stock,
the escaping contents of which flooded the
floor and filed the place with infammable
gas The flooring in the main storeroom was
soaked with oil in many places, and the most
combustible articles saturated with the fluid.
In the second story lot of cedar tubs were
not only saturated, but some of them contained
considerable quantities of oil. Other wooden
ware in the same compartment was in a
similar condition, and the floor was reeking
with oil. 1t is believed that if the incendiary
II
would have followed, and the walls of adjoin.
ing buildings so shattered as to have made
them prey to the flames. 1t is very doubt
full whether the man himself could have es
capped, so thorough were the intlammoble con
ditions he had produced He probably in
tended to start the fire with fuse. His
preparations were so thorough that he had
even removed the rope to the fire alarm bell
which has not yet been removed from the
belfry in the building, so that the firemer
could only have been called to the scene by
the outcries OF the citizens. The bell is the
property of the Westminster Fire Department
and was reserved when the building was sold
to Mr.. Arnold, to be removed to the depart
ment's new building when completed, and il
the meantime TO remain in the old belfry and
be used for ringing alarms.
States Attorney Reifsnider and Sheriff
Murray were among the earliest visitors to the
scene, and are investigating the affair. Fire
Marshal Lawyer and two detectives are also
investigating the matter.