The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-21
HIGH LIFE
 DESTROYED Fire Ruins Popular City
 Saloon.
 INCENDIARISM IS SUSPECTED Downtown District Threatened With Conflagration.
 s Despite Early Discovery of Fire It Gains Headway and Department Has Trouble to Connne Flames
 to the Building.

Fire discovered by passers- by short ly after 10 o'clock last night, complete ly gutted the High Life Cafe on North Perry Street. The well known cafe and bar is no more, and with prohibi- tion coming on January 1, 1909, 1t is probable that none will ever more taste of the cup that cheers served over the popular bar.
 The blaze Is suspected to be of in- eendiary origin. Nat Waller, passing the cafe shortly after 10 o'clock. saw that the door was open. and as he passed in front of the plate glass door he states he saw two men close the door and turn the. key. Both walked leisurely in a northerly direction.
 Mir. Waller continued his walk up Perry Street in the direction of Dexter Avenue and had just reached a fruit stand, not 200 feet from the bar, when his attention was called to the fact that volumes of smoke were pouring from the upper windows ,f the build ing. The sky above was red with tse reflected light. He had not noticed this just the moment previous.
 The alarm was immediately turned in. but by the time the engines ar:ivsd from their run of two and a half blocks. it was seen that the place was doomed. Only by the strenuous work of the iremen was the blaze confined to the one building. The fire fighting was excellent. neither of the adjoining stcres being injured to any extent by water.
 How the fire originated is mystery, but both firemen and police suspicion strongly that the origin was incendi- ary. MT. Castleberry, manager of the bar and restaurant, said that he had left a carpenter named Hampden in the place that he might build a rear eenf 1..At At- known whether Hampden was on the place at the time of the fire or not, 1t being impossible to locate him at a late hour last night.
 The flames had made considerable headway before the smoke was mo- ticed by passers-by. and by the time the fire apparatus arrived. it was seen that the best work of the department should be directed toward conf1ning the flames to the small two-story building. There was a little confusion for the first few minutes in getting the streams of water in play, as the dense smoke Douring out from the doors windows and roof. prevented the men from get ting into the building. The chemical engine was used to effect during the first few minutes.
 After the first ten minutes of stren- uous work, smoke and flames were driven away from the doorway, and the f1remen brought several streams of water into play. The whole of the sec- ond story. from front to rear. was blazing fiercely, and the ground floor was a mass of flames in the rear. The fire did not touch the front part of the bar. The smoke was of the dens- est, and the fremen were forced to work :n relays. Luckily. no one was overcome. .s
 Two FIremen Injured.
 Firemen outside of the building were not so fortunate. Two were injured painfully, though not seriously. Fire man Hudson of the Five Points Station, was knocked off his wagon by a hose, and Engineer McAdams of the Madison Wilson, also of the Madison Avenue Station, wehe hurt by hose blowing off near their engine. Their injuries, while painful, are not at all serious.
 Fire Chief Browder and Assistant Chief Grifiith would say nothing with regard to the origin of the fire last night. Assistant Chief Grif1th said that the fire evidently originated on the ground floor of the building. but as to the cause he would not venture an opinion. He said that on entering the building. leading the first of the men to go in. the blaze had gained such headway and the smoke was so dense, he could tell nothing of the origin. If the fire was incendiary. all traces were obliterated by the time the firemen could enter.
 Chief of Police Taylor would not ex- press an opinion on the origin of the fire last night. Arriving at the scene shortly after the advent of the appa- ratus, the Chief had talk with MT. Waller and other persons In the vicin- ity of the High Life. He would, how
 lao t1hf
 It was impossible to estimate the loss caused by the fire, smoke and water last night. The High Life Cafe and bar is a complete loss, it is thought. The stock kept on the first floor is wholly ruined and the cafe and bar fixtures are a total loss. It is not known what damage was done to the stock in the cellar.
 There is no insurance on the fixtures of the building. They are owned by the Miller Brewing Company and were valued at $1,200. The insurance on the fixtures was cancelled two weeks ago. Thomas Reynolds owns the building which the cafe occupied, but he could not be reached last night. It is not known what insurance was car ried.
 The next heaviest loss was that sus- tained by the Toole Bakery adpoining the cafe on Perry Street MT. Toole's loss Is fully covered by insurance. His loss last night could not be estimated, but 1t is sad to be mainly in his stock of flour stored on the second floor. This stock was greatly damaged by water.
 Mir. Meertief of the firm of Nachman & Meertief. whose dry goods store ad- joins the cafe in the rear, said that his stock was practically uninjured. No water had entered his building and what little smoke crept in through the crevasses of the doors and windows did little. if any. damage. The prob able loss is fully covered by insur- ance.
 J. n. McNeil Arrested.
 At late hour last night, !. R. Mo Neill was arrested by the Police De,