The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-12-21
FIRE WIPES
OUT $4,000
St. AlbanS Had a Heavy Loss
Yesterday
MESSENGER PLANT BURNS
Jeweiry Store Of B. B. Perkins & Co.
Also Destroyed-Directors of Mes
senger Company Decide to Start
Rebuilding at Once.

ST. Albans, Dec Ala FIRE loss OF
$4,000 was sustained yesterday in the
destruction of the st. Albans Messen.
ger building. together with the entire
equipment Of the newspaper plant and
the jewelry store OF Il. B. Perkins &
Co. The Insurance carried by the
newspaper plant was $4,000. while
Perkins & Co. carried S2i 800 insurance
on $4,000 stock. The directors Of the
Messenger company met yesterday af-
ternoon and started plans for rebuild
ing, and II is hoped 70 have the build
ing replaced within ninety days. For
few days the daily Messenger viii
be printed from the office Of the Swan.
ton Courier and then from the Office
Of the Burlington Free Press.
Discovery of Fire.
The Are was discovered at $3.50
o'clock in the morning by. Col. c. S.
Forbes, who had offices in the building
and stopped there to await the arrival
Of the Boston and Montreal sleeper. As
Col. Forbes entered the building, he
found a dense pail OF smoke. lie ran
to the fire station on the same street
and the department responded quickly
but the firemen found the smoke 50
dense that il was seemingly impossible
TO live in it. The FIRE at this time was
.conhned to the basement of the jewelry
store OF B. b. Perkins a. Co., which
firm occupied the ground floor az the
cast end Of the building.
There was some delay in getting
water from the FIRE hyd1ant hitched to,
the one at the head Of Kingman on
Main street, where the valves were
turned the wrong way and not until
this trouble was discovered and rene
died, was much water obtained from
that point. The fire was gaining in
fury and intensity all the time and
additional lines OF hose were run from
hydrants on Kingman and Center
streets and the basement was flooded
with water but without apparent re-
suits.
Meanwhile the floor IN the jewelry
store had begun to burn and had soon
spread TO the partitions separating it
from the Messenger establishment. Here
the oil-soaked floors Of the mechanical
department and the large stock Of paper
furnished fuel for a quick and raging
fire, and although tons of water were
poured into the structure at several
points, the fire kept working Through
The building in every directicn. 1t
swiYled up the staircase and within
short time the editorial rooms, compos.
ing rooms, bindsry and job rooms were
roaring furnaces
The frernen kept plugging away game
II, and although they worked hard
much Of their energy was misdirected
and this in convection with the stubborn
nature Of the fire, made it apparent
that the building was doomed. The floor
of the Perkins store fell through and
shortly after the entire roof tumbIed in,
the building was gutted and the min
well nigh complete. The ere was not
under control until the building was
thoroughly burned out.
Adjoining Property Saved.
The Curtis Pierce block adjoining was
on fire several times and it was only by
lively work that this building was saved.
This block is occupied by Palmer g.
Torrence, grocery men, Dr. p. G. Halli-
day, dentist, William Towle & Co, pho
tographers, Mrs. ]. 7. Pencil, dress
maker, ]. A. Jarvis, shoe shop, and Har-
ley l. Burbank, resident, all Of whom
suffered losses either by smoke or water
or both.
The loss OF the B. b. Perkins & Co |
store is nearly total, and amounts to
about 5000, on which there ia S2l 800
Insurance. Nothing was saved from this
fine jewelry stock, except the diamonds |
and the most valuable watches, which |
are always kept in the big safe, and
also the iewelry and other Christmas
gifts which were to be marked and de-
ivered. Mr.. Perkins announces that he
win open a store in the Curtis Pierce |
block, next door, at once. Mr.. Perkins |
yesterday for new stock
ior his Christmas trade, which he hopes
% have in short order,
Other Losses Sustained.
Another loss sustained is that of Col.
,. 5, Forbes. manager of Walton's Yer
mont Register. The Register forms were
III lost, together with Colonel Forhos I
faluable library of Vermont books, /
many of which cannot be replaced. His |
oss is about $1,000, on which there was
'T00 insurance.
A regrsttable happening was the de.
truetion of the history of the 18th Yer
mont regiment in the Civil war, on
which r. 0. Sturteyant of Swanton had
,een engaged for four years. The his. I
ory was just ready for binding and
vas to have been issued with the new
ear.
This is the second time that the Mes.
enger has been burned out within a
'rief period, the plant having been de-
troyed in the big confaaration of Sum
ay, May 10, 1898. when nearly the en-
ire business section of st. Albans was
cveled by flames. At that time the
4essenger was printed at the Free Press
liant till temporary quarters were estab-
ished.
Firemen Criticized
Tho way in which the fire yesterday
vas handled called forth many adverse
Of the FIRE department The
rater used was taken from the reser-
or aud the pressure was ali right. Al
hough the water was on for five hours.
he reservoir level only dropped about