The Gainesville star. [volume] (Gainesville, Fla.) 1903-19??, 1904-02-16
ENORMOUS LOSSES
EnlalIed by FrIghtfuI Work
of Fire FIend in Baltimore
CITY is DUMDFOUNOED
Appalling Destruction Of Property Cs-
tImated near the Billion Mark.
Decentralization 10
Complete.

The following summary was given
out at Baltimore Monday afternoon
at 8 o'clock:
The burned area Is more than two
miles square md is the site of the
business center OF Baltimore.
Every newspaper plant, the tele.
graph Offices and .ne Office OF the AS
ISOLATED Press have been destroyed.
The loss is estimated at 5000, 900, 900
early In the day, is now reported to far
exceed these figures.
The Are began Sunday morning In
the wholesale house OF Hurst & Co.,
and followed by terrific explosions
Washington, New York and Philadel'
phia and all nelghboring cities rushed
fire apparatus to the stricken city.
Several thousand fremen were en-
gagged In fighting the flames.
The legislature is called In ex'
ira session to authorize the declaration
of marital law.
The city Is being guarded by state
and federal troops, augmented by thou
sands of deputies, policemen and fire
men.
Baltimore's half million people are
appalled, at the disaster, Business g
suspended. The city is under martial
law for ten days and the life Of the
great metropolis is literally suifocatej
Many OF the principal banking insti-
tutions, all the leading trust oompan.
les, all the largest wholesale houses,
all the newspaper Offices, many Of the
principal retail stores and thousands
Of smaller establishments are com
pletely destroyed, while the thousands
of employees who depended upon these
institutions for their sustenance are
sweeping through the streets aimless-
ly stunned into forgetfulness Of their
own calamity which has befallen their
beloved city.
Weeping men embrace each other IN
despair and women stand cowed wait
ing together as they view the track OF
the flames.
Scores of men who closed their
doors Saturday night as prosperous
merchants face utter ruin today, many
had little or no insurance.
Several large insurance companies
will doubtless go to the wall on &C.
count Of the great losses they will he
called upon to pay, and those that will
be able to meet the losses dollar for
dollar will require time In which to
meet the demands.
At one time over 400 streams of wa
ter were pouring on the flames.
The fire department of Washington,
Philadelphia, New York and Whining.
ton Del, having rushed assistance TO
Baltimore on special trains, but IL was
useless. The flames took the water
as though It were oil and only leaped
higher and wilder at the attempts to
check them.
1t was a fearful sight to witness the
progress Of the fire Splendid build
ings OF ten and twelve stories would
loom majestically out OF the smoke
and flames and alter far crashing to
the ground before the fremen could
reach them.
The thunder Of falling walls was
continuous for over twelve hours, in
termingled with frequent roars of keen.
or explosions, when gasoline tanks
and dynamite stored In the buildings
caught FIRE.
1t took twenty-seven hours to stop
the progress Of the great fire.
While anything like adequate com.
putation Of the probable loss Is at
this time outside the real OF posi-.
bility. estimates run from SIS, 900 900
to s20o,00o,000. with the confident be.
lief or those who ought to be best
posted that the final reckoning will
be nearer the latter figure than the |
former
So far the loss Of life and injury to |
person has been singularly small. But
one man, a visiting fireman from York
Pa has been killed while but fifteen
have been injured, none OF these Sc.
riously. Some are reported missing,
but the list is small but few have
been rendered homeless. Thousands
and tens OF thousands have, however
had their means Of earning a liyell.
hood taken suddenly from them, and