The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-01-05
KERR'S LOSS
COMPLETE
Building Quilted
and Contents
Ruined.
STOCK VALUED
AT $4,000
Said TO Aggregate About
sos. O0O-Bookkeeper Last
in Store.

In the fire in the L. B. Kerr & ca (,
Ltd, building over $4,000 worth Of
dry goods, sewing machines and various
furnishing materials were destroyed
, Saturday night, on which there is prob
ably $4,000 insurance. Morgan, the
| auctioneer, sustains a loss of probably
81 900, with about half that amount of
insurance, although the owners of the
goods who placed them in his bands
for disposal may still have insurance
as part of their warehouse property.
Yesterday morning revealed a COM
plete wreck of Kerr's establishments
and its contents, while Morgan's auc-
ton rooms were partially destroyed,
water damaged everything that had not
been removed the night before The
front of Kerr's place on the ground
floor was occupied by the office, and
also the retail dry goods, millinery,
tailoring and fancy goods section. The
gallery, or second floor, of the rear
section contained dress goods and mil
linery. The second story was a storage
place for general lines of goods, new
stock having just been added during
the week. In the room over Morgan's
was a stock of sewing machines and
fixtures, valued at about 100000 The
fod Oh
which there had been paid high duty,
and it will take months to replace
them.
Mr.. Curtis, the manager heard of the
fire only yesterday morning. as did
Mr.. Kerr. A messenger was sent to
his residence by Mr.. Curtis, and it was
then for the first time that the pro-
prietor was aware that during the
night his business had been entirely
swept away. 4lr. Curtis says he, gave
his keys TO the front doors to Mr.
Whitehead, the bookkeeper, who had
considerable work to do in the way of
getting out the monthly statements,
preparatory to all the force going to
the store yesterday to take stock.
Mr.. Whitehead worked until 10 !
o'clock, going out once to mail the |
statements. 1t was when he returned |
to the store that Barney Dat, the
Waterman, saw him enter. Mr.. White
head worked until about half past 10 |
or little later, and then locked up the
establishment and went home on an |
electric car When he left the store |
everything was apparently all right,
and no sign of fire or anything that
would start one.
1t was believed yesterday that burn
ing ashes from a cigar or cigarette was
responsible for the fire. The insurance
men went over the premises during the
day, endeavoring to make a rough es-
innate on salvage, but they were gen.
orally of the opinion that little would
be saved.
The safe will not be opened until
today. The ledger is expected to show
what stock was on hand, but the de-
tails, of course, were destroyed. Mr..
Kerr will at once transfer his busir ess
10 the Wn1Ue house, on fOrL 0IfeeI
next to Wichman's. The company
owns a controlling interest in the
store Large numbers of business men
and friends extended their sympathy
to Mr.. Kerr yesterday, offering him as
and Mr.. Kerr wishes to eX
press his thanks to them He Will, how
ever, make his new start directly in the !
White House and in the shoe store at
the corner of Fort and Hotel streets.
1t is possible that the coral walls sur
the ruins will be torn down
and a new building erected, but as the |
retail business is now further up town,
Mr.. Kerr may decide to reengage in
business on a large scale in the general
shopping district
Mr.. Morgan not only lost his own
but he was a share
holder in Kerr's. Several hundred
cases of canned salmon were removed
from the building before much water
had fallen upon them, but a valuable
organ was lost.