New-York tribune., 1902-02-24
DEATH LIST NINETEEN.
JEROME WITH DETECTIVES
GOES OVER BURNED HOTEL.
HE TALKS WITH THE PROPRIETOR
CROWDS BUY FAKE RELICs-CORO-
NERs INQUEST BEGINS TO-DAY.


who died yesterday morning at Bellevue Hospital
and the identification at the morgue Of the body OF
Mrs. William BOardmap, Of Norwalk. Conn, by
her niece. Miss Florence Boardman. bring the
total list OF deaths from the Park Avenue Hotel
fire OF Saturday morning up TO nineteen
District Attorney jerome reached the hotel jusc
after 10 a. m yesterday With him we're half
dozen county detectives Chief Croker OF the Fire
Department arrived soon afterward evidently by
appointment. The officials made thorough in
vestigatton OF the building, paying particular at
tention the fifth, sixth and seventh stories
They found the rooms facing Fourth-ave- to have
been but moderately damaged by the nre- Cur
tains and furniture therein looked as if they had
been adre only moment or two. Representatives
Of underwriting companies were covering furniture
with strips OF rubber and canvas. Signs OF dense
smoke. more than traces of fire. were found
JEROME TALKS WITH MR. REED
The District Attorney found F. A Reed. manager
of the hotel. in his room on the fourth floor. Al
though the burns on Mr. Reeds face We're covered
with bandages and his left arm in d sling, he
abed. The men tl.ke1 earnestly for an
hour When the District Attorney left the room
he declined TO tell the Information he had gained.
and refused venture any opinion 70 the cause
of the fire or tell what the outcome Of his invesJi-
cation would be-.
After looking over the front rooms Of the fourth
floor, the District Attorney and Chief Croker Went
to the basement and examined the foot OF the eIe-
vator shaft They found in the shaft an opening
which led to the engine room. The engineer OF
the hotel could be found His assistant told the
officials that in no way could FIRE from the engines
have been communicated TO the base Of the elevator
shaft. The assistant said thar II the fire started
the latter point IT set by incendiary.
Chief Croker found an empty hand FIRE extinsuisher
on shelf in the basement near the shaft the
only fire fighting instrument Of any kind which he
had discovered in the hotel
After looking at the root of the building, to in
form themselves as 20 the likelihood of sparks
from the burning arnorv igniting it, the District
Attorney and Chief Croker talked with the Office
clerks and with several guests. and then left the
building
GUESTS SUMMONED BY CORONER
Coroner Go-denk~auz yesterday issued subp1enas
for the inquest, which he viii hold to-day. Z is
understood that large number of guests of the
hotel have been summoned.
j. ]. BrOUshall, Of Denver a guest and friend
Of Miss LIggert who lost her life. said last night
tha1 he thought the IRE started IN the room Of the
hotel from drebrands blown from the armory. He
said he left his room 250 o'clock. before
alarm Of fire had been raised in the hotel AS he
was descending i'm the elevator a train Of smoke
followed the car down He declared that the alarm
was not given until some moments after ne reached
the LOBBY. Outside OF the hotel thick shower OF
embers and drebrands was falling. Had not the
roofs Of houses been coated with snow and ne
thought terrible fire would have resulted.
Nearly two hundred thousand persons viewed
the ruined armory and the hotel Yesterday. The
blaCkened armory walls attracted the crowd a
Spe'I3''lF- pure ana simple Lnere no deaths mad
occurred and so the charred walls had deep,
human interest. But with The great. veH1wtSh-
brown hotel II different. Almost invariably
when new sightseer arrived on the scene he said.
IN substaI 80.
Why it's all there The hotel IS only burned a
little on the roof hardly a window IS missing
cant see how so many people We're killed
Why ala not the hotel management order the
guests from the house before IL was TOO Iare2
the query heard on every side
Apparently In could offer z =ariSfaCt0ry-
ply. The few privileged ones who We're permitted
10 pass the officers guard at the front entrance
20 the hotel We're surprised TO find that evil
dences Of a great disaster We're noticeable in the
lobby Barring an unusual activity on the part OF
the clerks and employees. at first glance there
nothing OF the ordinary tell that a
tragedy had occurred there. The entrance the
elevator shaft ar tho foot N which some theorists
believe the fire started. vas covered with sheetnS.
The lobby and the reception rooms AT either side
were comfortably filed with guests and their
friends. who chatted in a matter-of-fact way OF
their experiences OF Saturday morning Otherwise
there were no signs of the dre
FAKE RELICS SOLD
Many members of the list Regiment We're noticed
in the throng. some Of whom had come for the
first time 10 view their wrecked armory. Some C
them moUrned the loss of personal effects, worth
several hundred dollars which they were in the
habit of storing In their locker. The crowd was
allowed near the north side or the ar-nory. for
the walls that point cracked and weak
ened by the fire Notvit 1standing that these walls
had been shored up by the Buildings Department
they still considered unsafe
Every twentieth had with him kodak.
There We're pushCarts AT every corner. and even
baby carrfazes were seen. Pedlers reaped a haT-
vest by Offering for sale twisted bayouets, sabres.
crushed brass buttons ana portions OF uniforms,
many of which they had bought in the Bowery
and lower FOurrh-ave- pawn and curiosity shops.
Alleged relies sold anywhere from 81 to s. The
fact that many of the curiOs were palpabe frauds
did not seem 20 deyracr from, their intrinsic value
The crowd JhlUnea away AT tWlliSht- by 8 q CLOCK
the thoroughfare was almost deserted
At the northwestern corner OF the ruined arrnory
a single fire engine puffed and steamed through the
a group of hremen played on pile of smoking
ruins under which were buried IN steel lined vault
thousands of rounds OF cartridges and a quantity Of
powder The fact that This ,.mmCnIuion was stored
minds ~ he frenen from The suspicion that h
might explode At any moment According 10 Colonel
ignted az the re consisted for the greater part Of
pistol cartridges
EVIDENCES OF FIERCE HEAT.
The interior OF the armory was picture OF
twisted iron and steel beams. piles Of blackened
stones and still heated ashes In many places could
be seen bricks which had been subjected 10 great
a heat that they had melted and together and
had cooled into semblance of lava Rarely, the
building inspectors said, had they seen evidences
said yesterday that the walls OF the armory espc-
cally those the west and south sides. so
badly damaged that they would have 10 be pulled
indorse M Stewards view. holding that when the
walls cooled closer investigation would prove
that much of the stone could BE- left intact
regiment one Of the first visitors at the ruins
He asked TO be allowed 70 look for the barrels OF
od muSkets which the regiment had carried IN the
civil War He thought he could recover many
relics of valuable trophies which the regiment had
affected when Commissioner Stewart refused to let
Nh +t ,oGAl's IN over Liie ou1sfhs painted on cotton
ma n MA ~wfF