Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-21
BLAZE DESTROYS FERRY HOUSES
AND THREATENS MANY NEW
WORKERS
FIGHT FIRE
Women's Workhouse on Blackwe!Po
Island in New York IS Burned and
Inmates Are Barely Liberated in
Time-Business Houses Burn at
Washington.

New York, Dec. 20. - Fire, starting
under the floor where the painters
were at work at 10 o'clock this morn
Ing. destroyed the Lackawanna rail
road ferry house at the foot Of West
Twenty-second street and badly dam
aged the ferry house of the Jersey
Central and Erie docks. For a time
the offices of these roads and the adj
jacent property were threatened, but
these were saved by hard fight on
the part Of the firemen. A ferry boat
with more than 800 passengers aboard
was coming into the slip when the
/ fire started.
The passengers were panic stricken
but were told to run for the street
through the dense smoke. This they
did amid great confusion. The loss is
$65O,O00. Several employees Of the
railroads were severely burned. Five
men were reported to be missing after
the fire was brought under control.
The ferry houses destroyed were the
newest ferry terminals in the city,
having been but recently completed.
Prisoners Save Many Lives.
Fire early today destroyed the WON
ems workhouse on Blackwell island
/ The male convicts marshalled by the
keepers saved 594 frantic female pris-
oners by heroic efforts, from the cells
on the top floor Of the building. They
also took fifty others from hospital
beds, besides aiding greatly in fight.
ing the flames.
Chicago Fireman Killed.
Chicago Dec. 20.-Lieutenant Henry
Bassett of the fire department was
4 killed and more than dozen persons
were injured in fire yesterday aft.
4 ernoon in the lithograph factory of the
Charles w. Shonk company, 7 to 15
Park street. The explosion Of oils and
paints, followed by smaller explosions
shot sparks and burning timbers into
the air for radius of block. The
15O employees of the factory including
thirty-eight girls, jumped from win.
dows and fire escapes and many resi-
4 dents of the neighborhood rushed from
i their homes in the excitement, only
to find in some instances that their
dwellings had been set afire.
\ Officials of the company assert that
every one had been accounted for, but
Chief Campion and Inspector Shippy
ordered the ruins searched for burned
bodies
| Employees and Firemen Injured.
The list of injured follows:
THEIs, JOE, employee; fell dowr
fire escape from third floor.
LEMKE, BERT, SAT North Lincolr
dow and injured right ankle
WORTH. HARRY, 722 Elk Grove
avenue; broken ankle and severe
LESSONS in left leg.
GRANT, MARY, 31o Homer street
employed on second floor; thrown
against wall; taken home
HELSKA, BERTHA. 103 Lestel
b. employees.
STANKA IDA, 106 Lester street
bruised about head.
BRUSSKY, FRANCIS, ,9S3 Pauline
street; thrown from third floor win
dow by employees; ankles severely in
! jured and severe lestons in tendons OF
both legs.
EPPLE. EDWARD, truck 10; shoul
der and right side injured; takel
) home.
) STRAYMANN, EDWARD, truck 10
: crushed by falling debris.
LALLY, PETER; injured by fallin,
. bricks
THOMPSON, GEORGE, lieutenan
truck 2S; head and chest injured b,
!. bricks.
M'MILLAN ANGUS, truck %; hur
Wild Rumors Circulated.
The fire following the explosion com
pletely wrecked one-ha]f the factory, a
an estimated loss of 100000, the tw'
2 story Klocow Brush factory in the rea
4 and two frame cottages to the west o
the factory. All sorts of rumors wer
5 circulated regarding the loss of lif
and certain afternoon papers printe,
$ the tales without investigation. On
! paper said that five hundred were dea
I and this caused Building Inspecto
t Williams and all his assistants, Boile
! Inspector Lummp and other city off
cials to hasten to the explosion
Costly Fire at Washington.
Washington, D. c., Dec. 20.-Tw
e fires in the commission house distric
early this morning destroyed severa
buildings and threatened the destrut
!, ton of the Majestic theatre. The los
is 100000. The principal losers ar
: as follows:
:, : The Juelg Piano Co.
= P. H. Heiskell G Co.