Waterbury Democrat., 1902-02-11
BANKS IS MERE.
The State Fire Marshal is In-
 vestigating
CAUSE OF WATERBURY FIRE.

Interviewed Chief Snagg, Chef Egan
 and Several Others To-day-Insur-
 ance Companies Heavily Burdened
 By Fire Here and in Paterson Com
 ing so Close Together-Some of the
 Big Fire Losses the Past Thirty
 Years.
 State Deputy Fire Marshal Banks or Hartford came to Waterbury to-day and commenced an investigation as to the cause of the fire. The deputy called upon Chief Snagg, dropped ln and had a chat with Chief Egan anu visited the officials in the City hall building. Just what he will be able to find out that escaped the notice or the reporters is something everybody WILL be anxious to know.
 Aside from this there is nothing new in connection with the fire. It mlghr be said. however. that business so far as digging and shoveling go never was better in Waterbury at this season than at the present time. Large forces of men are at work in the cellars clear ing away the wreckage and in one or two instances the work of repairing buildings that have not been totally de- stroyed has commenced and Is being pushed. The sight of new timbers among the charred beams and blackerl- ed bricks in the block at the corner of Scovill and South Main streets Is en- couraging, and it is thought that with in q week masons, bricklayers, joinerss fathers and other men who have to do with the construction of blocks will be in evidence everywhere about the scene of the big fire, and with an ef- fort of this kind the work of rebulld- ing will be well under way before tie summer sets in. Many state that most of the proposed new buildings will be practically completed by July 4th.
 \ good deal of clothing and other property is being found in the ruins which escaped serious damage by the fire but none of the articles can be got in shape so that the owners could realize anything out of them. Rut such as they are, they are being guard ed, much to the chagrin of the fellows who are about ready to bounce upon everything they see and make their own of it. All the ruins display signs telling where the men who did busi- ness there before the fire can be found so that between these and the papers customers find little trouble in reach. ing those with whom they had been doing business. Of course 1t Is a good time for folks to hold back payments of goods purchased on the installmeilt plan. for it Is the easiest thing in the world for debtors to say that they ca1l- ed at the old stand and not finding anyone there decided to wait until someone called upon them SncM D ,o- pie are not supposed to {aEe any TO- tice of signs posted on tiio f,si~S
 The losses occasiGRei " fhe fire in this city and in Paterson put q burden on the insurance companio. at they have never before. hoen ea'.sa iDon to assume during the first 3Ayc ta nlths of the year. The great tres in previous years have happened in later months. as will be seen from the dates of the principal ones which are given in the following list:
 Place. Loss. Chicago October s. 1871. .sl96. GOO GOO Boston. November 9. 1872. 73 591. goo Seattle, June 6, 1889 ..... 15.OOO. GOO Spokane Falls, Wash, Au-
 #. 1SS9 ...i............ 15.000, 900 Lynn. Mass, November 26,
 1889 ................. 100000 Boston, November 28, 1889 6OO0000 Oil City. Pa, June 5. 1892. 3.OOO,OOo CampbelFs wall paper fac
 tory. Forty-frst street
 and Tenth avenue. New
 York, December 2, 1893. 2.OOO COO Block at Bleecker street
 and Broadway, New
 York, November 5. 1895 2.OOO. 900 Windsor hotel New York,
 March r, 1899 ........ 100000 Ottawa. Ont, April 26, 1900 100000 Hoboken steamship fire,
 June 30, 1900 ..... 5.ooooo0 Bavonne. July ,. 1900 ... 100000 Jacksonville, Fla, May 8,
 1901 .............. e.ooo,ooo Waterbury. Conn, Febru-
 ary 2. 1902 ..~ 100000
 The bulk of the loss in this case. az in that of Waterbury, says the Hart ford Times. is borne by the country at large, and the effect must be to divert just so much capital as may be re- quired in the reconstruction of these cities from other uses to which IA might he profitably employed.
 In Paterson, as in Waterbury. the cause first suggested was imperfect electric light wiring. but it is note worthy that no evidence was produced to support this suggestion in Water bury. 1t Is probably because no evI- dence ever can be found to sustain it that this talk about defective electric wiring is so often heard after a large fire has occurred. A more natural and probable explanation of the origin of the Paterson fire is that 1t was caused by an overturned stove.
 The most satisfactory feature of ves- terday's disaster is that the homes of a number of the anarchists who live there were burned. together with the ball in which they held their meetings. But no doubt even these buildings were insured and the occupants will readily find other quarters.
 PREPARING TO BUILD.