The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-03
Incendiaries Again Try to Burn
the Goldberg Block.
FIREMEN WORK BRAVELY
But for Their Heroic Efforts the Build
ing Would Have Been Doomed
and Many Lives
Sacrificed.

| STREET, duJolHlHS the -. ~. LEWIS dry
| goods store, was made yesterday morn
ing Involving, as it did, the possible
destruction of many human lives. it
was about the most dastardly piece of
/ work that has come to the attention of
| the authorities since a memorable at
tempt of similar character which &C.
CURED in West Broadway something
! like year ago. Like in that case, this
last fiendish undertaking may be allow
| ed to pass without an investigation,
| since nothing has as yet been done,
though it is said steps to locate the re-
| sponsibility for the crime will be taken
| AT 2:45 yesterday morning an alarm
of fire came in from box 81 and the de-
| partment responding, the fremen found
| a fire had gained dangerous Roadway
| in the basement of the Goldberg block,
where a barber shop was conducted by
colored man named Steve Deidrick
Owing to the fact that there was no
rear entrance or opening to the base
| ment from which the smoke could es-
cape it rolled out the front entrance and
windows in such volume that the fire.
men had the greatest difficulty in cop
ing with the fire and at one time it was
feared the building was doomed. The
fact that it was not destroyed was
due to the excellent management of
Chief Flannery and Assistant Chief
Sanger and the heroic work of their
men. The chemical was first tried but
1t appeared to make little impression
on the fire and the escaping smoke in
creased in volume till it filled the rooms
overhead and rolled out into the street
as though the whole building We're in
flames. The smoke was SO thick in the
basement that the firemen could re-
main there but a brief interval at
time, and one Owney Cunning. was
overcome and had to be dragged out
Eventually the work of the chemical
began to make an impression and the
opening of all the front openings of the
basement allowed the smoke to escape
sufficiently for the firemen to get fur
Their in to the seat of the fire, and then
Chief Flannery ordered on a stream of
water and went himself at the head of
the men with the pipe. They soon after
had the fire under control and prevented
it from communicating to the storeroom
above on the ground floor occupied as
a saloon.
By $3.50 o'clock the. fire was out and
the smoke had cleared away enough
to enable the fire chiefs to make an III
Vestigation. They then made a sensa-
tional discovery. The basement had
been so Quilted it was impossible to de-
termine the cause of the fire there, but
up stairs in the saloon they found how
the fire started. In two lockers behind
the bar in the saloon were found a
couple dozen towels saturated with coal
oil which had been set on fire, but owing
to the doors of the locker having been
closed, after charming the interior of
the lockers the fire had smothered.
leaving the incontrovertible evidence
of the work of an ncendiary. On the
opposite side of the saloon, at the rear,
more towels saturated with coal oil
were found under a barrel of whiskey,
which We're still burning, though little
damage had been done.
The building is owned by David Gold
berg, who is now in Europe.
The front of the basement, as STATED.
was occupied by the barber shop. The
saloon on the ground floor was run by
Paddy Jennings and Mike Maughan,
who had cock pit in the basement at
the rear of the barber shop The sec
ond story was a lodging house, run by
Mis-. DIR. George N. McGarvin. In the
rear of the saloon a stairway leading
down to the cock pit had recently been
cut without the knowledge of the agent
of the building. AS the fire started in
that portion of the basement used as
the cock pit, and as the coal-oil satu-
rated towels found in the saloon belong
ed to the barber shop, it seemed ap-
parent that whoever set the fire had
gone down into the basement by way
of the stairs to the cock pit, had broken
into the barber shop and got the tow
els, possibly with a view of throwing
suspicion on The barber shop if the
thing should be discovered, and after
q n Nn Hive IN, tt,N hnE, 10 =
gone up stairs and started the fires in
the saloon. 1t was quite evidently the
intention to make a good job of it.
The building, contents of the barber
shop and of the lodging house up stairs |
were all owned by David Goldberg. The
whole was worth about $4,000, on
which there was insurance to the
amount of 800. The barber shop was
only leased by Deidrick and the lodging
house by Mrs. McGaryin On the sa-
loon fixtures and stock, which were |
worth from 5000 to $500, there was 81, 900
insurance. 1t is said the saloon was
doing very poor business. Up to about |
three weeks ago there was but S, 900 in
surance on the saloon fixtures and stock,
but about that time $1,000 more was
taken out. Wien the department ar
rived the front door of the saloon was
locked and had to be forced in
The loss to Goldberg will not amount,
it is estimated, to over $780, That to the
proprietors of the saloon is very slight. |
The stock of the "Kumfirst" boot and
shoe store at No. IA, adjoining the ga
loon on the west and owned by Fred
Holbrook was damaged to the extent
of $3.50 or 5000 by smoke and heat. 1t
was insured for $1,000.
BY far the worst feature of the dast-
ardly attempt, was the fact that the |
lodging house upstairs was filled with |
roomers, most of whom were in bed
asleep, and had the fire gained little |
more Roadway before being discovered, |
the sleepers would have had great diff |
Guilty in escaping, if none of them lost |
their lives.