The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-07
AlKEN'S BIG HOTEL ABLAzE.
THE HIGHLAND PARK BURNED JUST
BEFORE DAYBREAIx.

The Guests Save the Greater Part
of Their EHects-PeOpIe of the City
Throw Open Their Homes to the
HouSeIess strangcrs-The Loss on
the Building Estimated mt $14O,OOO
with 100000 InsurOnce.
Augusta, Ga, Feb. 6.-Highland Park
Hotel, which. for more than score of
years, has been filed every winter with
Northern people. and which has made
sorts in the whole South, was burned to
the ground this morning, and only half a
dozen or SO tall chimneys remain standing
as grim monuments over the funeral pyre
of what was last night the center of life
and busge and gaiety. There were about
$50 guests in the hotel, and the house was
full, in the very midst of its season
1t caught fire from the little brick engine
house in the rear Of one of it's wings, In
which the laundry was located. No one
has any theory as to the origin.
After the fire. when Thomas Fallon
chief engineer, and John McGowan. a
laundry boy, were talking, the latter shot
the former. making only flesh wound
MCGOWAN had gotten wet fighting the
fire, and had taken some whisky to keen
warm, and was under the influence. 1t is
generally supposed they we're ouarrelling
about the responsibility of the fire, but
they declined to say, and tried to hush the
matter up saying it was only an acci-
deat.
The fire occurred about $3.50 a. M, and
the hotel was burning for several hours
All the guests escaped without injury, and
all without loss except those in the wing
near the engine house. who lost their cloth
ing through panic resulting from their
rooms being filled with smoke.
The guests are outspoken in condemna-
tlon of the failure 10 give them immedi-
ate notice OF the fire, and say it had been
burning one hour before they were noti-
fed, and even then there was no notice
given TO each room, but the inmates were
awakened by smoke in their rooms, or by
the general excitement and general panic
and women were running through the
halls in their night clothing, or
wrapped in the blankets snatched
from their beds. when they had
plenty Of time to dress, pack their trunks
and get out without alarm If the matter
had been intelligently managed.
The hotel was a large frame four-story
building of 1S0 rooms, and $4,000 had been
spent this season in completing, return
ishing, repairing and papering.
The hotel Is owned by j. II. White
more, who owns a half interest," and
H. II. Peck and Franklin Farrel, each
with quarter interest, all of Connecticut
and was leased and managed by II. W.
Priest of Magnolia, Mass.
The insurance on the building was $70,-
Co., on the furniture, $4,000; engine, dyna-
mos, etc, $500, and on the property of
the guests from 5000 TO $4,000. 1T is
divided up among the leading companies
in small policies, none exceeding 5000,
and most of them only half as much
There were no casualties and no serious
accidents. The guests from the hotel are
crowded into all the boarding houses and
private houses that had a room which
could be engaged About twenty-five
came over to the Bon Air Hotel tonight
and others will come tomorrow Others
will go to Asheville and to Florida. Some
who lost all their clothing viii go back
home
Mr.. Whittemore, the only one OF the
owners who Is In Aiken, has telegraphed
to his partners and says he Is unable TO
say what will be done about rebuilding
until they arrive and the losses are ad-
justed.
The one-story brick building in which the
fire started was Joined to the main hotel
by small narrow wooden structure
which the guests say might have been
chopped away with axes and entirely cut
off the fire from the hotel, II there had
been any intelligent direction of the ef-
forts that were made to save the hotel
II. W. Priest, lessee and manager of
the hotel, who is one of the biggest losers
says he has no idea how the fire originates
The head laundress claims there had been
no fire in the laundry since noon yester-
day.
Manager Priest says the wind was blow
ing in favorable direction for saving the
hotel, and 1t might have been saved with
all ease II there had been any adequate
fire fighting apparatus, but the streams
that were turned on 1t from the stand pipe
of the hotel ground was Intellectual.
Boston New York, Philadelphia, Chica-
go, Cincinnati Toronto, and several towns
in Connecticut and New Hampshire, fur
nished the majority of the guests