The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1904-02-11
BALTIMORE'S
AWFUL FIRE
SUBDUED
Burned District Comprises Is
Blocks, or $500 Buildings.
FIRE BURNED ITSELF OUT
Loss Cannot Be Estimated, But is
Placed Above 500, ooO,O 900.
FIRE BURNED ITSELF OUT
CITY is UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Space Of About 40 Acres is Sea Of
Ruins and Business men Who Were
Prosperous Are Now Poor, AS Many
Had Little lnsurance-Fitty Thou
sand Persons Thrown Out Of En-
ployment-Not Life Lost and No
One Dangerously Injured.
Baltimore. Md, Feb. 9.-Balumore is
staggering under the fire loss which no
one has the temerity TO put into figures.
The important commercial district is
blackened ruins. laid bare by conAa-
grafton which ragged without a mo-
mentary check from 1915 a. m. Sunday
until late yesterday afternoon. AT J
o'clock the city officials again breathed.
II was agreed the flames We're under
control They had ragged for IS hours
i'm spite OF almost Superhuman eflors
put forth by the best fighting forces
which more than half a dozen cities
were able to muster
The city is overcast with gloom. The
Gtores are closed in nearly every street.
Apparently there is but one cause for
gladness. and that is that there are no
homeless. The residence section Of the
city escaped. This phase OF the situa-
ton relieved the officials from any
thought other than the saving Of prop
erty.
Throughout the terrible contest in
which firemen and fire waged for SUI
premacy. humanity was handicapped
by a gale which carried burning brands
far over the heads of the workers and
beyond the reach of the hundreds OF
streams Of water poured into the rag
ing furnaces. But for the work of vol
mteers in seeking ont and eXtinsulsh-
ing these embers il is almost certain
that the burned area would have been
twice larger than it is. About 20
squares or about 1l0 acres are in ashes,
extending from Lexington street. on
the north. TO Pratt street. on the SOUTH
to Jones Falls. on the east
Insurance companies have opened
temporary offices i'm the Lexington ho-
tel. but their representatives decline to
estimate the loss The answer Of one
is typical of all: Its too biz. We have
not figures to describe it, Make 1t
above 500. 600, 600. That's the best we
can do"
The same indecision was true in re-
gard to estimates concerning insur-
ance.
Colonel J. Frank Supplee, compe-
tent authority on factory statistics, IS
Inmates that the number OF persons
thrown ont of employment will reach
10000 Others have estimated the eli
forced idleness at greatly more.
Inspector of Buildings Preston, after
making a careful study of the burned
district placed the building loss alone
at $15OOOOo00.
Not a single life has been lost, and
not a human being has been even
dangerously injured The hospital
lists consist of minor burns with the
exception OF Jacob Ilgenfritz, a fire
man from York. Pa. lie has a frac-
tured leg and is badly burned.
City Under Martial Law
The city was early placed under mar
tial law. and thus all danger of lOoting
in the doomed district was eliminated.
General Corbin. of New York, arrived
here today to take command of the
federal troops The presence of two
regiments of militia, as an adjunct 10
the police, which were augmented ny
details from Philadelphia and Wash
ington. resulted in the maintenance OF
the best of order.
No one dares TO guess what would
have happened if the flames had jump
ed Jones Falls. The struggle yester-
day was to confne the fire to the west
side of the muddy little stream. That
this effort was successful is merely the
result of the fire burning itself out and
coming in contact in front with the
concentrated labOrs of nearly 100 hre
companies. aided by the powerful fire
tug. the Cataract. Again and again the
terrible heat. driven from the burning
district across Jones Falls ignitet
buildings and lumber piles. Furious
hand-to-hand fights occurred, which,
fortunately for the residents OF East
Baltimore. were won by the firemen.
For several hours in the lumber dis
trict of the east side, volunteers watch
ed every ember Bucket brigades were
formed 10 prevent the destructive leap
of the flames across the narrow stream.
Had the fire gained fOothold in the
east side lumber yards, it is conceded
that nothing could have stopped the
onslaught. and the departments would
have been powerless 10 prevent dam
age as great as, if not greater, than
that of the Chicago fire.
Many Buildings Blown Up.
Dynamite explosions were constant
The program adopted Sunday night of
blowing up buildings in an attempt to
stay the progress of the flames was
continued until the fire was under con-
troll. Then the dynamiters turned
their attention TO razing tottering walls
which threatened TO collapse. The re-
suit was almost constant cannonading.
AEW.! "a
s: kE1gnEafsss61c