New-York tribune., 1902-02-10

out. Scores of wagons were backed up to the
doors Of the dwellings, and loaded. but the
wagons did not move away. In the afternoon
they were unloaded again. when It was seen that
the fire had spent itself.
Had it not been for the men at the silk mills
OF Doherty & wadsworth and the William
Strange Company it is likely that the fire would
have spread to the Sandy Hill section. William
Squier. a foreman in one of the mills, got the
force pump at Doherty & wadswo-ths mill
working. and they extinguished roof fires in
both OF these mills and in several OF the sur
rounding houses. They could not save the silk
finishing mill OF Alfred Crew. a short distance
from the Doherty & wadsworth mill. but they
kept the flames from spreading This really
the only volunteer effort TO fight the flames,
In straight-st- line OF hose was run from
the Paragon silk mill. and put out a dangerous
blaze IN saloon across the street from the mill
BY o'clock this afternoon the fire was under
control Most Of the dwelling houses 10 the east
Of the Erie Railroad which were destroyed were
valued at from $4,000 to $4,000 each.
Ex-Judge Van Cleve and City Counsellor
Michael Dunn early this morning begged the
firemen to use dynamite in blowing UP build
ings ar Main and Market sts in order 10 save
the buildings to the east No one In the fire
department understood the use OF the explosive.
and so the suggestion was not carried out.
According TO the general theory the fire origi-
mated in the barn from electric sparks ignit-
ing the roof OF the barn. The feed wires It was
said. seemed to carry the fire into all parts OF
the building at once causing It to blaze as If oil
had been thrown upon the wooden building.
Said a city official who did not care to give his
name:
II understand that all those who lost by the
fire are we'll protected by insurance. It will GER
tainly be heavy blow for the insurance con-
Germs. Together with the fire at Waterbury and
to-days blaze in Brooklyn. they will. no doubt,
lose heavily.
at should not wonder II some smaller con-
Germs would be driven out Of business. have
been told that all coIlectible checks in the Pat
erson Bank were safely housed in the vaults Of
the bank This will be good news to many
business men Much OF the tiling and the rear
windows Of the Second National Bank Building
have been destroyed. but otherwise the struct-
ure stood the test remarkably we'll. Only two
stories OF the five story First National Bank
Building standing The town is full Of
thieves. but have heard OF no robber.es as yet
There are no strikes on in the city to aggravate
the trouble.
Alfred Crew. the silk fnisher was the only
silk man who burned out. The most re-
markable thing about the fire, to my mind
was the way it down Market-st., jumped
two hundred yards of business blocks ana then
burned four hundred dwelling houses. The silk
manufacturers had hundreds of their men at
work all night protecting their buildings and
the wooden structures which surrounded them
The companies have organized fire brigades
trained for this purpose. The order of the
Mayor closing every saloon in the city was
wise action his part. The city has been
singularly free from disturbances by intoxicated
persons"
RENTS GO UP
The rents of stores in Main-st. and adjoining
streets went UP at alarming rate during the
day, when people who were burned out tried
to secure temporary quarters Bankers, law
yers. business and others were hurriedly
trying to find places to continue operations to-
morrow morning usual, but they found It a
difficult task. Most OF the important businesses
will, however. be able to resume in the morn
ing. number of the business men are practi-
cally ruined by the fire. They had little, IL any.
insurance. and they have lost their all
A number of the churches. including the Mar
ket Street Methodist. the Paterson General Hos
pital and many houses, are open tonight to re-
ceive the homeless. All the people In the city
who suffered loss are showing in every DOS
sible way their sympathy for those in distress.
People are sleeping here tonight in the pews of
churches. upon the floor of the arnaory and even
IN offices