The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-04
12 HOTELS
 ARE BURNED Fierce Fire RageS in At
 lantic City. LOSS PLACED AT $750,000 Section of the Famous Board Walk is Destroyed. Camden and Philadelphia Send In- zines to Assist in Distinguishing the Flames-Insuranc is
 About $175, ,oo0.

hotels and more than a score of small buildings adjoining the board walk which Is built along the ocean edge. were ds- stroyed today by fire which swept tho beach front for two long blocks from H. Iinois Avenue to New York Avenue. The loss, 1t is believed, will not exceed 06o.- 0Oo The loss will be only partially cov- cred by insurance. as the rate of per cent charged by insurance companies on
 property here is regarded as almost pro-
 hibitive.
 Fortunately, no lives were lost. though
 probably dozen persons were slightly
 injured and burned, \.
 The origin of the fire is unknown, but
 is said to have started i'm either Bradys
 Baths or the Tarlton Hotel, which ad-
 joins the baths at Illinois Avenue and the
 board walk The city tonight is guarded
 by a company of militia who were re-
 quested by the municipal authorities to
 aid the police in the prevention of iooting-
 About a dozen men were arrested ouring
 the day for robbery.
 |. The hotels destroyed and their esti-
 mated losses are: The Luray and Annex. the latter formerly known as the Nor wood owned by J. s. White & Son, si25,- 900; the New Holland, Mrs. M. J. Lee.
 80 900; Stratford. Arnold w. Waldners
 S4oo 900; Berkley. Bew Bros. $so,ooo; Bryn .Mawr, J. and E. J. Keller, s25,ooo: Stick ney, Mrs. L. V. stickney. s2o.ooo: Evard. James T. German. s2o.ooo; Rio Grande. J. P. KiIpatrick. $S0.000: Mervine, ]. F. | Bells, $2O GOO; Academy Hotel and Acad- | emy of Music, Chas. Farlinger. 2o,oo9: | Windsor, c. J. Waters tpartly destroyedl,
 s25. 900.
 Charles W. Keeicr. who conducted l oxnr na waI | lucky Avenue estimated his loss at $6D- l 900. and Victor Freisenger. proprietor of \ an art store at St James Place. and the
 board walks, says hfs loss Is s5c.ooo Other victims whose losses range from | 6. 900 to sf0.o0O arc: James A. Brady. bath | houses: David John. druggist; Nsbass Kazaar. Oriental novelties: ctng Hop | Hing, Chinese novelties; John Fl. Flett. art store; Partridge & Richardson, mil | lincry and dry goods; Womans Elk change; E. r. Quinn. hair dresser; NJ. { Mover & Bro., jeweiry; Richard Binder. barber.
 The fire was discovered shortly after 9 o'clock this morning and for nearly five hours the flames ragged with such violence as to threaten the city with, destruction. All of the burned buildings were frame structures and the flames. famed by g. strong west wind, swept along the front E with amazing rapidity. The Tarlton Ho-
  bris and the flames fed on the small stores and booths between Illinois and Kentucky Avenue until they reached the Stratford Hotel which was soon envel- oped. The fiery tongues leaped to the Bsrkley. adjoining. and in a few minutes the New Holland, the Bryn Mawr. the Evard and
 the Stickney. all located on Kentucky
 Avenue. near the beach. were doomed.
 The local fire department worked well.
 but was unable to cope with the flames and it was found necessary to send to
 Philadelphia and Camden for aid The former city sent three engines and two came from Camden. The engines were
 brought here on two special trains furnished by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and they made the run of nearly
 sixty miles in fifty-five minutes. They
 were of vast assistance to the local fire
 men. but it was not until an hour after the arrival that the fire could be said to
 be thoroughly under control. Just as the special train bearing the Philadelphia firemen arrived a burning brand set fire to the centre of Young pier Meantime the flames had conmu- nicated with the Rio Grande, the 'Mervire and the Academy hotels. and the Academy | of Music at the corner of New York Ave- nue and the beach For a few minutes Young's pier burned fiercely. but the flfemen Succeeoe0 tn confining the flames to Marine Hall. which was situated in the center of the pier. This structure was destroyed. dissectins
 the pier.
 During the progress of the fire the
 widest excitement prevailed among the guests of the hotels which later became a prey to the flames. The beach was piled with many nondescript heaps of clothing. bedding and furniture. This rendered extra vigilance necessary on the part of the police. The members of the
 volunteer fire department acted special
 policemen and Company I. National Guard of New Jersey. was called out to preserve order. e r,
 Nothing is left of the board walk from
 Illinois Avenue to point within a few
 feet of Young's pier. but the iron sup
 ports This is the portion of the walk
 which Is mostly used by promenaders.
 It was o'clock before the firemen were
 convinced that there was no further
 danger Most of the fire victims ex-
 pressed desire to rebuild quickly as
 possible The local board of insurance
 underwriters after a meeting tonight an-
 nounced that the total los would not ex-
 ceed S750O0O and the loss to the insur-
 ance. companies would be about $l75,000
 and that no individual insurance company
 Ice.