The San Francisco call., 1897-06-16
Ellis Island Is Now Sim
ply a DeSOlate
Ruin.
Immigrants Tell Fairy Tales
About the Money That
They Possessed.
Floating Dormitories to Be Used
Until the Government Build
ings Are Reconstructed.

NEW YORK, n. Y, June 15.-An Off
clal investigation of tie fire which de-
stroyed all the buildings on Ellis Island,
with single exception, this morning will
ce begun tomorrow when the officials of the
Treasury Department arrive from Wash
ington. 1t was made certain to-day that
there had been no LOGS of life. The num-
Der of people on the island, immigrants,
employees and Others was known, and
every one has been accounted for. This
is considered little short OF marvellous,
owing to the flimsness of the buildings
burned and the swiftness of their destruc-
tion.
The island is now simply a desolats
ruin. Here and there few feet of brick
walls are standing. On the south west
corner stood the slate-covered machine
shop, which was only scoIched. A dozen
streams Of water were kept plying on the
ruins all day to cool them off ana there
were dozen gangs at work on the safes
containing money, railroad tickets and
valuables. The specie was found intact
The paper money in some instances was
Scorched and shrive!ed. A great many
thousand dollars were taken out of the
safes during the day. The railroad tickets
we're nearly all destroyed. Aside from
the money and these tickets the most
valuable things on the island were the
records OF the Department of Immigra-
tlon, going back 10 1S40 From half to a
third of these records were DESTROYED.
The fire started in an unoccupie6 room
in the northeastern tower of the main
building, Immediately over the statisti-
clans room. There were electric lights in
the room, and one surmise is that the wires
supplying these lights had crossed. But
the officials are inclined to Hay the origin
OF the fire TO dropped cigar stump or
match ignited by rats. The burning of
the buildings and the destruction of
large part of the baggage belonging to i'm
migrants who were detained has compii-
Gated the business of the Immigration
Commission very much. There were
hfty-tive sick immigrants, twenty-five
who were barred and awaiting deporta-
tion and sixty one who had not been fully
inspected. When the time came to get
rid of as many as possible of every one
those delayed and about two-thirds of
those who had been ordered deported
declared solemnly that they had all the
way from a hundred dollars apiece to a
million, and because they had so much
were entitled to land. They had no proof
that they had had the money, and the
Government officials had no proof that
they had not. Out of all the stories the
officials sifted twenty-five that were GER
tainly false and the twenty-five authors
OF them were ordered to be deporte
Forty other stories were sifted and were
certainly trae, and forty immigrants we're
allowed to land. Tonight there were
forty-tye still detained, who slept in the
quarters improvised in the barge office.
Commissioner Senner said he would -e-
quest the Government to establish floating
dormitories for detained immigrants un-
til the Government had rebuilt ( lis
Island. Meanwhile the barge office will
be used as an immigrant depot.
WASHINGTON, D. c., June 15.-Secre-
tary Gage will probably ask Congress TO
appropriate $500, 600 to construct new
buildings at Ellis Island. Part of the busi-
ness connected with the visit of Assistant
Secretary Howell and Commissioner
General Stump to New York will be to
ascertain what money is needed to re-
establish the citation. The Treasury Off
cials have already decided that no NOR
wooden buildings shall be erected.