Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-03
BURNED MUCH BOOZE
Big Tobacco Factories Smoke
Up; Also.
PET VICES FIRE PURGED
Flames Destroy the Corning Whisky
Distillery.
SUSPECT THE NIGHT RIDERS
Three Boys Painfully Injured in
Tenement House Blaze in
Philadelphia.

PEORIA. ILL.,, April 3-Fire. which
distillery early today. ragged till noon.
Almost the entire plant. including the
two immense bonded warehouses. ele
vator. cattle yards and stOrehouseS, were
burned. The damage is placed at be
tween S7IWn, and 81 100000.
The firemen appeared una bic to control
the blaze and devoted their efforts more
to saving property in the immediate VI
entity
Several explosions occurred, endanser-
ing the lives of the firenen. Soon after the
fire started $4,000 gallons of spirits in the
still plant We're consumed. TIE result of
an. explosion in the warehouse.
Shortly after the first explosion 1900
head of cattle stampeded and ran at large
in the railroad yards.
Fire in Philadelphia.
- PHILADELPHIA. April 3.-Three
boys were painfully burned during n
tenement-house fire today in the Jewish
section of the city and Il number of
women and children were trampled in
panic to escape from the building. None
was seriously injured Seventeen fam
lilies. comprising 20 persons. reside in
the house. and when the alarm was
given all made a rush to escape. In the
confusion the boys were unable to reach
a place of safety before being burned
about the face and arms. After con
siderable crowding everybody reached
the street and the boys were removed to
a hospital. The monetary loss was
small
Tohacco Factories burned
LYNCHBURG. Va. April Ono of the
most destructive fires in this city i'm
twenty years occurred early today when
four factories. three of them tobacco
plants. and four negro dwellings. were
consumed with a total loss of $4,000.
with insurance of S1IJ.rb.
The fire ragged during twcnty-mlle
wind and the firemeh were powerless to
cope with the blaze.
The factory of the Norfolk and Western
Overall Company and three tobacco fac
tories occupied by w. G. Huntington of
Farmvile in which more than a million
pounds of tobacco for Austrian ana
Italian trade were stored were the busl-
ness buildings destroyed. the loss 1.-THE
tobacco factories being $4,000. fully in
surcd.
A number of small fires were started on
Diamond Hill" by flying embers. and
large number of citizens spent an hour
ana Il THtI pfttSftiiS lit4t WIN
buckets and garden hose 1t is believed
that the fire was of inccndiary origin
Huntington is heavy buyer in Kentucky.
which gave rise to Il report that might
riders might have been concerned.
Feared Awful Explosion.
The fire started i'm the fourth story Of
the mill. $50 feet square, six stories high
and built of brick. Flames quickly
spread to the elevators. four stories high.
ItO feet west OF the mill. East of the
mill were the engine. room. and cooperase
rooms Firemen could not stay the prog
ress OF the flames and these buildings. as
we'll as the elevators. were destroyed
But ii was at the spirits tower ad1on-
ing the mill on the south that the fierrest
battle waged. The tower contained
$4,000 gallons of spirits. infiannable as
powder. Two stories higher than the
mill not A stream could reach its top.
where one by one the four square, wooden
skylights ignited and burned, waving
torches against the wind.
Saved by Fire Wall.
The fire worked down from the sky
lights inside the tower, and the upper
story was burned out, bat the tiremen
checked the blaze there. Below. in great
copper tanks. the spirits. and fusel oil
were. stored. a spark, bit of red hot
metal reaching the fumes. meant an eN-
plosion that would spread death and de-
struction for blocks around. The tower
was saved by heavy fire wall.
In the cattle sheds TO the north 3.l.D
head of cate We're chained in their
places. If the tower had exploded there
would have been repetition of the awful
scene of June 1895. when the sheds We're
flooded foot deep with burning spirits
and 3 100 cattle were roasted alive as they
tore at their chains. but could not escape.
JOHN MITCHELL HERE