The Forrest City times., 1902-01-17
QUARTER MILLION LOSS.
Destruction of the Rioe-Stix Co.'s Premium Shirt Factory
 at St. Louis.
Fl6HI TO SAVE LDJ0IkIk6 PROPERTY.
The Downtown Portion of the City Env~Ioped In PalI of smoke and street Car Trsffic Impeded for several Hour--MaRy Work CTS Rendered Idle.

St. Louis. Jan I6-Fire. Wednes day morning. caused loss of Sz59.. eO0 iu the destruction of Rice->'i1 Co.'S Premium shirt factory and ware house at Io0s St. Charles street All the engine and truck companies in the central and western part of the city were brought to the scene Of the fire by a general alarm which was turned in at s.50 o'clock
 Two hundred persons. three fourths of them women and girls. are temporarily thrown out of employ ment by The confta grafton. which de stroyed the machinery and stock of the factory and rhe contents If the warehouses
 In the aajoining building at Tenth end St Charles. damage amounting to Syeral hundred dollars was done bv water. which found it's way through the roof to the stock on The third story.
 Fight 10 Prevent Its spread.
 The utmost efforts of The frrmen were required to keep the fire from communicating - the Corticelh building. which vas separated from the burning faciors by single wall. On the first floor of The building vas the warehouse of fh- Bice-Sfix C. whose large store. fronting on Washington avenue. and exTenaing back to.>t Charle- street directly .osas the factory oa the rear.
 Cotton and vaaleu Eeois were stored oa she fir feor. 0H fh- floors stsose. shirts jeans and af 3eraseaT vere manufactured and stored.
 The fire 0rigiHss.5 oa tbe ~ecsn7 for. and i> supposed fa hare been ean~ed by an overheaTea -tove in the laundry. which was at the rear e shis floor
 Pirate Wa1ehnan William B~Il and peiir~snan conn~ll saw th- flame q tAe Fear - rh4 second story af sz4- es5ors- and B-5t turned n fh4 alarm. The fire spread fo ih= Two floors ab9F- zaz so the 5r~t floor and he fF~n~n ato entered 1he building on ft@ arrzzz3 of rns Srsz companies were compelled 5u g-SS than Ten min Ete>. fo retreat fo The street
 Dozen streams Ised.
 From 1he roof of the four-storF Cor'ieelii building. from a saloon building across the alley. and from tower on the St Charles street side. streams Of water were discharged directly into the topmost floor Of fhe building. \ dozen streams played on the first and second floors. and the streets, for a radius of two blocks. were converted into canals
 The fire was one of the smokiest ever seen in St. Louis. and the fumes of the smoldering cotton added set- eral degrees ef fog to the ordinary morning atmosphere of the surround ing district.
 With the laying of hose lines across Locust street traffic on the downtown loop of the Suburban line ceased, and blockade increased. until passengers bound for downtown points were compelled to iease the cars al Fourteenth street and Franklin avenue and walk to their destinations.
 On the Washington avenue line a similar blockade resulted but was re- Eeved when the line of cars reached Twelfth street.
 Only the walls of the building were Jeff standing.
 The warehouse of the Carleton Dry Goods Co. al Tenth and Locust streets, was threatened by the flames, but was saved by the fire mems efforts
 As estimated by members of the firm of Rice. StiN 6 Co.. and Moses Fraley, with whom the property was insured. the loss on the building will be S30. GOO; on the stock nearly S200.- ooo, and on machinery s20,000, mak- ing a total of S250,0
 The stock on the first floor was unusually heavy at this time of year" said member of the firm. 'fhe upper floors were also heavily stocked with the product of the fac tory and with raw material. SO that the loss will be very heavy"