Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-06-10
Court House Burned.
Polk County's Temple of JuS>
tice in Ashes.
Large Part of the County Records Are
Destroyed.

/
light by fire Of incendiary origin.
A great many of the county's valuable
records are lost. The papers Of the
county clerk were in nre proof vault
and were not injured and the records
of the county treasurer are probably
safe; the Others were destroyed In the
conflagration.
The fire was discovered at 2 O'Clock
this morning, but at that time the
flames had gained such headway that
to combat them was an impossibility.
Great lurid tongues Of ire were BURST
ing from every part of the building
and no intelligent guess can be given
as to what part Of the structure
was burning first. The front plate on
the door to the sherlff's Office was
blown of and 1t is believed from this
that the door was blown open by dy-
Mantle and afterwards set on fire, or
probably the fire followed the explos.
ion as a natural sequence.
Everyone believes the fire to have
been the work of an incendiary, but
there are no we'll defined suspicion; as
to who the culprit is.
1t is believed that all the records
and ballots OF the election were de-
stroyed, but as the official account had
been made and certified to, the loss
cannot possibly effect the result.
The court house was an old frame
barn-like structure erected in 1857. 1t
contained great deal of infammable
material and burnt like tinder when
the torch was applied. The loss was
partially covered by insurance.; poll
cies being held to the amount Of $4,000.
There is already considerable spec
ulation of reYiYal of the old county
seat war between Dallas and Inde-
pendence when the PROPOSE
tion to rebuild the court house
comes up, but there is little likelihood
of the change being made.
DALLAS REPORT.
Special to Journal.)
DALLAS, June 10.-An Observer
special says:
This morning, at 2 o'clock, the fire
bell rang out, and the people Of Dallas
were aroused from their slumbers to
to see the court house in flames, and
burned to the ground. The old court
house that has stood Al years was in
brief period of time reduced to heap
of ashes.
The fire was undoubtedly the work
of an incendiary. The fire was dis
covered in the entrance hall way, and
by the time the fire department
reached the scene the building was
mass of flames The indications are
that coal oil had been spread through
out the house.
County Clerk Hayter, sheriff Plum
mer and Treasurer Fenton were all
on the ground. Clerk Hayter says
that all the records and papers are In
the vault, that were usually kept
there.
The assessment rolls, present own
ership maps, current circuit court
papers and many other valuable
papers are lost. There can be no es-
timatiOn of the loss to Polk county
until the vault is opened. The re-
cords in the vault are supposed to be
safe, as to all appearances the brick
walls are perfectly sound.
The Observer refrains from any
comment on the probable cause of
the fire; enough to say that Polk
county has suffered great loss, and
untold trouble in the way Of lttiga-
tion is in store for her people.
The morning Of June 10, 1898,
marks the end of the old landmark OF
Polk county.
81 HOWARD OF SALEM
saw The fire from the first alarm. He
says: IA thousand people turned cut.
1t was universally thought to be in
cendiary and some go so far as to say
the firebug can be closely located. The
sherlff's and treasurer's safest are both
ruined. The former safe was steam
ing or smoking at $50. A hand pump
was worked without effect. The
flames went up thousand feet high,
A large brick vault outside the court
house was not injured,
AN EYE WITNESS,
The only water to be had was from
wells on the street. But there was no
way to get it onto the fire. VIM.
Ryan saw the fire and says the safe in
the sheriff's Office shows no signs of
haYing been drilled OF the hinges
broken of. He says he thinks the
building was set on fire.
"If there had been a wind half OF
Dallas might have been destroyed.
Cinders as large as mans hat were
carried two blocks. At five o'clock
the sills were still burning. In the
county clerks office there was splen-
did vault aud all the records are
probably saved"
Although the volunteer firemen
fought brayelY nothing could be done.
Had there been present perfectly
fire department the result
would have been the same,
ALL THE RECORDS SAVED.
Judge Wells, Commissioner Reese,
and Sheriff Plummer of Polk county
we're in the city this afternoon. In
speaking Of the destruction OF the