The Minneapolis journal., 1902-02-22
HOTEL |. GUESTS
MEET DEATH
Continued From First Page.

II
the roof of an extension over the hotel
dining-room several stories below. Then,
by knotting the sheets together, he made
rope and secured it to the window.
When his preparat tions were completed
he lowered himself on the improvised
rope and then dropped. His design was
to land on the mattress and thus hays
the frightful fall broken. He miscal
culated the distance, went beyond the ex-
tension and was killed.
Heroism of a Priest.
Father Smith, a fire chaplain, found
Bishop Ludden Of Syracuse in a room on
the seventh floor Of the hotel and helped
him to the street. Bishop Ludden told
the firemen then that there were a num-
Der Of priests in the hotel, including
Mgr. kenney, also of Syracuse Faith
er Smith returned into the building.
fought his way through the smoke and
up the stairs and conducted the priests
down the stairway to safety.
One Of the bodies awaiting identifca-
'tion was recognized by Henry Newman,
Of this city, as that of his niece. Miss
Esther Schlesinger Of Chicago, who had
come to New York to buy goods for her
employers in that city.
Rear Admiral Joseph n. Miller retired.
who was reported mortally hurt in the
fire was not hurt at all.
Hotel Blaze an Independent One.
How the fire started in the hotel is
mystery Many of the police and fire
officials declare that in their opinion the
blaze In the hotel was entirely indepen-
dent of that at the armory; that it was
! only coincidence that the two fires oc-
cured SO near together.
| It was established with a fair degree
| of certainty that the fire at the hotel
| originated at the base of the north ele-
vator shaft. From this point it crept up
| to the fifth and sixth floors and spread in
every direction, completely cutting the
upper floors. Police Captain Delaney said
! that when he was notified that the hotel
| was afire there was no thought of the
! structure being endangered from the
arnlory blaze.
| Frank R. Reed, proprietor of the hotel.
was burned about the face and hands in
carrying his wife to safety from the fourth
! floor. Mrs. Reed suffered burns on face
| and hands.
Hotel Built by Stewart.
The Park Avenue hotel was built by
| A. 7. Stewart who spent So ,00O. 900 on its
| construction and furnishings. The build
| ing occupies the entire front of the block
on Park avenue from Thirty-second to
! Thirty-third streets, with a depth of half
encloses on four sides court containing
| IA 600 square feet Of space. At the time
| or its construction it was the largest hO-
| tel in the country, with the exception OF
the Palace hotel of San Francisco.
Mr.. Stewart designed the hotel origi-
nally as a home for working women but
when 1t was found that it could not be
managed on the plan adopted by it's foun-
der, it was converted into commercial
and family hotel.
| Distinguished Victim.
Colonel Charles Burdett was one of the
most prominent citizens Of Hartford. He
was civil engineer and a patent lawyer
He was very prominently identified for
many years with the Connecticut bank,
and originated the signal corps of the
military service. Later he became colo
mel of the First regiment and held that
Office at the outbreak of the Spanish
American war. He enlisted with his reg
iment as a volunteer and was for time
stationed at Fort Mead.
| Castor A. Robbins, who was killed was
a lawyer of Selma, Ala. He was formerly
q congressman from that state. John H.
1verson and Thomas P. Horne were de-
partment managers of the Joslyn Dry
Goods store in Denver. They came to
New York to buy goods.
Among the persons killed was Mrs Fos-
ter, missionary who devoted herself to
work in the Tombs prison. She was a
daily visitor to the prison and gave up all
her time to the service of the unfor-
tunates confined there.
miss Esther Schlesinger," says a Chi
cago dispatch, was we'll known in Chi
cago business circles. For fifteen years
she had been connected with the cloak
establishment of her father, M. Schles-
niger, and was head buyer for him. AS
yet her aged father and mother know
nothing Of her fate. There is some mys-
terry surrounding the identity of the VIC
tim reported as w. G. Barnhardt of Chi
cago The directory gives no such name
and members of the Barnhardt families
know of no kinsman in New York"
CulpRble eglect.
Fire Chief Croker said the difficulty in
| fighting the hotel fire came from the fact
that there were no tandpipes Or hose and
no apparatus in the hotel. He said:
Had there been proper fire appliances in
! the hotel the fire could have been put out
by the guests themselves There was not
even a bucket of water, not single line
| of hose or single standpipe in the hotel