The record-union., 1897-12-25
CHICAGO SUFFERS
ANOTHER LOSS.
Flames Lay in Ruins the Big Coli
scum Building.
A Number Of People Believed to Have Lost
Their Lives
The Fire One Of the Quickest Ever
Seen in the City-Twenty Min
utes After the Flames Broke
Out the Immense Structure Was
a Mass Of Ruins.

CHICAGO, Dec. 24.-Fire tonight de-
stroyed the Coliseum Building at Sixty
third street and Stony Island avenue,
in which the Democratic National Con-
vention was held last year. The fire
was one of the quickest ever seen in
Chicago. The time when the fire origi-
mated, by the crossing of two electric
light wires, until the Coliseum was a
pile of twisted iron and hot bricks, was
not over twenty minutes.
The building had been rented for a
manufacturers exposition, and was
filled from end to end with booths, all
of which were destroyed.
1t is supposed that number of peo-
pie We're lost in the flames, and although
no bodies have been recovered, the fol-
lowing people are missing, and have
undoubtedly perished:
Two women, dancers in the Midway
exhibit, seen entering the building just
before it collapsed
Two men seen in the center of the
building during the fire by fremen.
Howard Geiser, Wilmington, Del, a
decorator.
Joseph Byrnes. Hoboken, decora
tor.
Geiser and Byrnes were decorating
one Of the booths in the balcony when
the fire broke out. The manager of the
exhibit ran to the booth and called to
the men that the place was on fire and
for them to save themselves. They
were apparently in no hurry, and the
last seen of them they were still at
work. 1t is thought they We're both
lost.
The injured are: Peter Foots, watch
man, burned about the face and
hands; Mrs. G. A. Lyons, severely
burned; M. J. Morley, lacerated by ex-
plosion of Crookes tubes and burned
about head; William Robertson, face
and hands burned; M. j. Wheeler,
watchman, hands burned; James
Mazer, fireman, burned while cutting a
live wire with a pair of shears; Robert
Harley, fireman, severely bruised by
debris during the collapse of wall of
the building: Miss Helen Conger,
shoosed<sy tssFe ss1Se and severely burn
ed about right arm; George Dekreke,
proprietor Of the Streets of Cairo ex-
hibit, jumped from a window of the
burning building and was severely
bruised; Louis Weiss, janitor. burned
about face and hands; Frank Murphy,
st. Louis, severely injured; Harry
Hamilton, burned about arms; w. H.
Wright burned about arms: William
Allaby, firerYra2, thrown from engine in
collision with a Lake Shore train at
Cottage Grove avenue and Forty-firs
street; Albert Chamberlain, burned and
cut en- face and hands; Eugene Duggan.
burned about the left side.
While responding to the alarm of
fire from the Coliseum Engine Company
No. IL collided with passenger train
on the Lake Shore road smashing the
engine badly. Only one of the firemen.
however, Albert Chamberlain, was in
jured.
The fire originated in booth
which was used for an exhibition of
X-rays, the booth being managed by
NJ. j. Morley and William Robertson.
The two men were examining their
Roentgen machine, when they were
startled by Sizing noise behind them.
and upon turning saw a part of their
exhibit ablaze. Crossed electric light
wires which We're over the exhibit are
thought to have caused the flames.
They at first tried TO smother the
and cloth the fire had spread through
out the entire booth. Morley, realizing
that he and his partner would be unable
to cope with the flames then made an
endeavor to save some of the most
valuable OF the X-ray paraphernalia
Running to the machine he grasped
two Crookes tubes, and with Robert
son began fighting his way out of the
building. Before he reached an exit
the tubes which he held in both hands
exploded from the heat, severely lacer-
ating his hands. His hair also caught
fire and he was severely burned about
the head. Robertson was burned about
the face.
About 800 people We're in the building
at the time of the fire. and at tha
first alarm there was a rush for 50 fe-
ty. Fortunately the a4sles We're wide
and owing to the comparatively small
number of people in the building. there
was little difficulty in reaching tbA
doors. Most Of those endeavorinp to
escape ran TO a large door on the east
side of the building. which is wide
enough to admit team of horses opd
wagon. A crowd of fully 300 neonl4
gathered before this door which was
found TO be locked. and as the fire was
roaring through the building with great
speed. it seemed for a few minutes as
though none would be able to escane
w. j. Wheeler. a watchman. saw tho
trouble, and ran to open the door. hut
the crowd was packed in front of r. ca
closely that he had the greatest difficul-
ty IN opening it. Once 1t swung Omen
however, the crowd was in the omen
air in a few seconds.
During the jam at this point several
people were crushed. but none We're .se-
riously injured. The balance of the
people made their way through the
other doors. and several who were
caught in the balcony were compelled
to jump to the ground from the roof
The balcony is lined with windows
that swing outward, and they had no
trouble in getting upon the roof. and
from there the leap to the ground was
not great.
The firenen were at hand before all
the people were out, and before they
made any effort to fight the flames
they devoted their attention to clearing
the hall CT the people. By the time