Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-02-08

! Owing to THE wide eMtent of the calam-
| ity it will be some time before an es.
Innate csn be made. 1t is certain ,tha
it will exceed s4O.oo0.0G0.
| The fire broke out shortly before II
O'Clock Sunday morning in the whole.
sale dry goods store of John F.. Huns
& Company, on Hopkins place in The
heart of the business distinct, with {
series of loud explosions which were
heard in remote parts of the city ana
spread with fearful rapidity.
In half an hour a dozen big ware
houses in the wholesale dry goods ant
notions district were burning fiercely
The entire city fire department was
called out but We're utterly powerless
to check the spread of the flames
which wens' aided by high winds. and
by noon there were savage fires in al
least thirty big warehouses. and the
| contiagr,i:snn WAS steadily e,ptdng its
way into successive blocks east, north
west and south
Building after building fell a prey tc
the flames and apparently there was nc
check to the onward sweep of destruc-
tion.
On Baltimore street THE block be-
tween Liberty and Sharp was soon Il
blaze, then calne the next block east.
to Hanover. and after that the block
on the south side OF Charles street
broke out into flames the Cocrsom dated
Gas Company's building and Oehm's
Acme hall burning flercely.
Meanwhile stores north of Balti-
more street were being similarly con-
sunred. Mullins hotel caught and other
buildings near 1t. West OF Liberty
street, on the south side OF Baltimore.
the block was doomed. and the big Bal
i.tmore Bargaln house also caught.
Down In Hopkins street wtsre the con-
Migration started. Hursts building and
the other wholesale houses osl both
slides OF the street crumbled and fell.
The big dry goods houses OF Daniel
Miller & Sons, and r. NJ. Sutton & Co..
were soon afianre, and along German,
east and west from the Hurst building.
there were a dozen buildings burning.
and scores more threatened. The
spectacle of ruin and destruction from
any point of these doomed blocks was
something appalling.
Buildings Crash Into Ruins.
Mass e. Kempers big wholesale store
on Baltimore street, quickly succumbed
70 the flames and the walls fell with a
crash that was heard for squares. The
Hurst building was utterly DESTROYED
not even Z, wtatl ten feet high being
left standing, and was apparently the
center of the caldron, from whence the
flames radtaIted over the doomed neigh
borhood.
on Hopkins place, the Hopkins Saw
ings bank and the National Exchange
bank were Quilted by flames. the few
streams of water that the firemen were
able to turn ON them proving utterly
Intellectual TO even halt the destric-
uioul. Here. across the street. We're the
ruins OF John r. Hurst & Co., and mex.
to 1t the buildings of S. Heche, Jr.. q
Sons were in flames. Adjoining was
the large building owned by tale Will
lam Koch Importing Company. which
was also quickly destroyed.
Across ,the street the Stanley &
Brown Drug Company building was
quickly in ruins. while fronting on the
Baltimore street side of This block
were the Roxbury Rye Distllery Com
,,any, The building occupied by Siiber-
man & Tottes. the house OF Alien Sons
a. Co.. which has hardly been COM
pleted, while next Ito Il was the es-
uahNshmen, of NJ. Moses & Co. ON
the corner was the building occupied
by Messrs Sugar & Shear. and several
other smaller concerns. All Of these
were swallowed mp On flames and. in
fact. the whole block was nothing but
a oaldron OF fire.
AT 1880 O'Clock Mullins hotel, a
seven story structure, at Liberty and
Baltimore streets. was in flames from
yarn4, to cellar and its great height and
narrowness acted AS I'll SORT OF fiue,
which converted the doomed building
into u huge and dreadful torch. All
THE guests of the hotel had been order
I'd out of the building shortly after the
fire broke GU. in John Il. Hursts place.
There was no panic or confusion and
none was injured.
Water piues In every section WITHIN
n radius of l1iaiH u mile from the fire
were In use, and ut !ts roughly es ulnsnii
that there were $50 hoss all plaNtng
ait ore time upon different pants of the
confia.Tation
Owing ito THE great con gesrion of fire
apparatus. the crowds of people and
the general confusion. t,f;iiFty of tine en-
rinet, from out of town We're unable Ia
find a place wheie, 'they would be OF
amy service.
With loud roants With after walll top
pied into the streets 'Mld itrenen ran
Hor their Lives.
All kinds of wires had to be cut to
clear the way for the fire lighters
The fire was beyond their control
and the flames ran from one building
to another In spite of the fact that the
firemen had done their best to check
the progress OF the flames by soaking
the structures with water.
Red-hot cinders ignited the roof oil
the Front Street theater and for j
time it looked as tho that structure
would be burned down. The building
is at least a half mile from the mair
confiagration, and the fact that the
roof caught from falling clnders shows
to what distance the fiery rain fell. The
blaze which was on the southwest
corner, was extinguished by the fire.
men, assisted by citizens.
Congress May Help.
Washington. Feb. S.--A bill was in.
toduced by Representative Emerci
of Iiinois, appropriaIiing "a million dol.
lars for the uelief of the suffers from