Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-04-20

the advent of the lovely spring
time: "The winter is past. There
are more evidences of it than the
mere facts of warm winds, of
quickening flowers, and of burst
buds. The bill boards no longer
proclaim the next attraction at the
opera house. The ice cream soda
is beginning to come forth upon the
scene to tempt women and children
out of their treasured change.
The Tom and Jerry is no longer
kept ready upon the bar, the cold
bottle is already first in the affec-
tons of every chance acquaintance
of King Booze. The old family
horse is now brought out from his
long winter rest to earn the tons of
hay and many bushels of oats that
he put out of the way during the
long, cold months. Easter hats
are a fertile subject of conversa-
ton among the womenfolk. The
sweet girl graduate-to-be is al
ready looking through her ancient
history and her encyclopedia,
picking up hints on how to solve
the liquor problem and the best
method of making Christians out
of the Fiji Islanders. The school
mann begins to look longingly at
her radidly diminishing pay days,
and wonder if the board will hire
her again. The farmer is putting
in his crops and wondering if they
get through the spring floods, if
they will survive the summer
droughts, and if they get through
both of these his prophetic eye
sees the time when free from in
sect blights and early frosts they
are indeed ready to exchange for
the current coin of the realm. The
man who has gone behind, the
last three years hopes that this
year he'll pay up the back interest
and get his face around toward
the principal. 1t is the time of
hope and fear, of anticipation and
apprehension, of promise and of
delusion. 1t may far a brief time
relapse into winter. Our eyes may
occasionally be directed back to-
ward the past, but spring is here
and she is typical of youth, we
cannot long keep our eyes turned
from the future"
Afew minutes before two o'clock
Monday morning, the people of
lronton were aroused from their
slumbers by the whistle at the hub
factory sounding the alarm of fire.
Investigation located the con-
Migration at the Commercial Ho-
tel on Main street. Many citizens
hurried to the scene, but by the
time they reached there the flames
had gained such Roadway that
saving the building was impos-
sible, and all efforts were directed
to getting the furniture out of the
hotel and preventing the fire COM
municating to adjacent structures.
About all the contents of the lower
floor were removed to a place of
safety, and, after some hard fight
ing, the flames were kept from
spreading to the drug store on the
north, Gay & Kindell's store on
the south, and the buildings across
the street. 1t was only by hard
and valiant work that the fire was
confined to the hotel building.
Had it not been that the drug
store and Gay & Kindell structure
were brick they would certainly
have been destroyed, and the
frame buildings cross the street
had a narrow escape, the fronts
being badly scorched and the show
windows broken to pieces by the
intense heat. The furniture in the
upper story of the hotel was de-
stroyed, and Mr.. Kanouse's loss is
probably 5000, with no insurance.
The building was owned by w.
T. Gay and was insured for 5000.
The drug store building was dam
aged to some extent, and while
the fire was at it's worst, and it APP
peared that the flames would COM
municate to the drug store, all the
stock was carried out, as well as
the furniture from DR.. Gays office.
The drug store building and stock
are both protected by insurance.
The stock in Gay & Kindell's was
badly damaged by water, but the
matter was adjusted with the in
surance company the following
day for $3.50. The fire originated
in the kitchen of the hotel, aud
could probably be traced to a de-
fective flue. Mr.. Kanouse says
that if, when he first discovered
the fire, he had had two or three
men to assist him the flames could
have been extinguished. But by
the time word was sent to the hut
factory, and the alarm sounded.
the fire had gained such Roadway
that it could net be put out. The no
tel building was a ~two-story frame
erected eight years ago for a mer-
camille house, but was shortly af-
terward converted into a hotel,
The first floor was the Office, dining
room and kitchen and on the Sec
ond floor were eight bed rooms,
Clothe yourself well. This you
oap do yary roo poh ly Of p NJ