Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-03-24
A CHICAGO HORROR.
three Men Killed. Eighteen Missing and
30 Manned as the Result of "A Savage
Fire In Il business BLOCK.

| on the worlds fair grounds in 1898, to
| take anywhere from to Is lives, MAIN
80 people and reduce the siX-story brick
| building 2li-221 Wabash avenue to IL
| pile of blazing timber red hot bricks
and twisted ron.
The number of dead is in doubt and
probably will not be definitely known
until the debris of the building is suf-
| ficiently cooled to admit of a search
| being made for the bodies of those
| who are undoubtedly in the ruins.
| This will be two days hence at least.
| Three men are known to be dead. They
| are:
Samuel a. Clark, bookkeeper for the Olm-
| stead Scientific Co.
| Miles a. Smith, salesman for the Olmstead
| Co.
Edward Binz, cashier for Sweet, Wallach s.
| Co.
The missing, of whom nothing could
be learned at late hour last night and
most of whom are without question
| buried in the wreck of the building,
| number Is.
The building had two elevator shafts.
one in front and one in the rear, and
reaching from the third story to the
roof was a light shaft which gave the
flames every chance, and it was be-
cause of this shaft that the fire spread
with such awful rapidity.
The building was occupied by num-
Der of concerns, some of them employ
ing large numbers of people. 1t is eS-
| timated that 400 persons were at work
in the building when the fire was dis
| covered.
The origin of the fire is in dispute.
BY some it is said to have been caused
by an explosion of collodion in the
wall paper warerooms of Alfred Peats
on the third floor and by others to have
been the result of an explosion among
some chemicals in the Photographic
supply house of Sweet, Wallach Il Co.
on the sixth floor. Employees of both
concerns deny that there was any ex-
plosion in their vicinity.
The sound of the explosion threw the
inmates of the building into panic.
and on several floors wild stampede
began for the stairways and elevators.
To add to the panic the men in charge
of the elevators ran their cars up to
the top of the building, shouting Fire"
at every floor. When they reached the
top both elevators took on a load of
frightened women and started for the
bottom. The front elevator was in
charge of Harry Gleason, a boy, and
the rear one was handled by William
| st. John, young man. Both of these
| showed much GOODNESS and bravery and
were instrumental in saving many
lives.
| The elevator in the front of the
| building was in good order, but not
| calculated to produce much speed.
Gleason made one trip to the sixth
| floor, carried down a load of women.
and although the smoke was rolling
through the building in dense clouds,
he started up again. At the fourth
floor he stopped to take on a crowd of
girls from the rooms of the National
Music Co., being assisted in his work
| by Miss Katherine Carney, the fore
woman. A man attempted to force
his way into the elevator, but Gleason
| shoYed him back into the hall that the
women might have the first chance.
The man never came out and probably
met death in the flames.
After reaching the bottom with his
load of girls Gleason was about to
start up again when the supports of
the elevator machinery at the top Of
| the shaft caught fire and, seeing that
they would give way before his slow
| elevator could make another trip,
Gleason gave it up.
At the rear st. John did equally good
| work but was not able to make more
than one trip, as the fire swept through
that portion of the building before it
| attacked the front. In less than ten
minutes after the explosion that
| started the fire all escape for the in
mates by the stairs and elevators was
| cut off. There remained only the win
| dows and the single fire escape, a mar
| row iron thing not over Is inches wide.
This was speedily covered with a string
! of people.
| Many of those who could not reach
the fire escape made their way to the
front windows and it was out of these
that Clark, Smith and Binz hurled
| themselves to death.
Clark was bookkeeper for the Ohm
| stead Scientific Co. on the seventh floor
and remained to put the books in the
safe. He might have escaped had he
| run upon the first alarm. He was first
| seen at one of the seventh story win
| dOWS and lew minutes after showed
himself in window of the sixth floor.
The fire was close upon him, the floors
and walls behind him were crashing
| down, and it was certain death to re-
main where he was. There was no
possibility of help and he took his only
| chance. Three seconds later he was
dead on the pavement below.
Miles A. Smith, salesman for the
Olmstead Co., also leaped from a win
dow in the sixth floor. He hesitated
some time before taking the leap. He
was killed, his body being horribly
mangled.
Fruit Crops Ruined.
| San Francisco, March IA heavy
| frost occurred in the southern part OF
| this state Tuesday night and serious
damage was sustained by the fruit in