Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-04-16
s10,00O,O00 FIRE
THOUSANDS HOMELESS IN BOS
TON SUBURB.
THREE DEAD; HUNDREDS HURT
Square Mile of Chelsea Is Swept
by FIames-Terrific
Aids.


Boston, April 13.-At an early hour
this morning the ruins of the burned
district in Chelsea were under guard
of fourteen companies Of the state
militia and marines from the Charles
town navy yard, and the city was put
under martial law to prevent loot
ing. The soldiers were supplied with
ball cartridges.
Boston, Mass, April 13.--An appar-
emily Insignificant fire which started
among rags OF dump in the city OF
Chelsea yesterday was famed by a
northwest gale into confagration
which obliterated over one-third Of
the city. Five hundred dwelling
houses and public buildings were de-
stroyed, fifteen hundred families were
driven from their habitations and ten
thousand people made homeless.
Three lives are known to have been
lost, and at late hour last night it
was reported that two other persons
had persisted, one woman, having
shot herself in frenzy over her in
fifty to one hundred were injured.
Accurate estimate of the loss is I'M
possible. The city solicitor esti-
mates it at s1O,OO00OO. The fire,
which was the worst Greater Boston
has known in many years, ragged be-
fore forty-fve mile gale for more
than twelve hours, defying the ut.
most efforts of the combined fire de-
partments of Chelsea and several
nearby cities and large detachment
of Boston firemen and apparatus.
The fire area, which was in the
form Of an elipse, mile and half
long and half wide at its broad
est part, extended diagonally across
the city from a point near the bound.
airy between Everett and Chelsea to
the waters of Chelsea creek. 1t was
useless for the firemen to attempt to
check the onrushing flames before
the gale, and their main efforts were
to prevent spread of the fire on
either side. Their last stand was
taken at Chelsea square late in the
afternoon, and for hours a doubtful
battle was waged, but at 1850 o'clock
last night the fire was under control
The state fire insurance commits
sioner declares the insurance will
probably total s5,00O,000.
The great majority Of the build.
ings were of wood and were com.
pletely destroyed but structures of
other material were almost as quick.
ly and thoroughly incinerated by the
ferceness of the blaze All the banks
more than three-quarters of the
churches, half of the business blocks
and nearly all the school houses
were wiped out One hospital and a
day nursery were destroyed. In the
turmoil many of the sick and infirm
found difficulty in obtaining assist.
ance and several of them had narrow
escapes.
The exact cause of the fire is not
known, but 1t Is supposed that spon-
taneous combustion among the rags
was responsible. A high wind blow
ing at forty-five miles an hour from
the northwest drove the flames from
wooden buildings of the Boston
Backing company. The buildings
were soon mass of flames, and as
the surrounding property consisted
largely of wooden buildings used for
storage of rags, the fire department
realized that serious fire was then
threatened, and general alarm was
sounded. In the gale, shingles, burn.
ing paper and oil soaked rags were
flung high into the air and went soar.
ing over the city.
Among the structures destroyed
were thirteen churches, two hospitals
the public library, city hall, five
school houses, twenty business blocks
nearly a score of factories and up
wards Of 30 tenements and dwelling
houses.
Among the places burned were:
Frost hospital, Childrens' hospital
Fitz public library, Stanislaus Polish
Catholic church, Chestnut Street Firs
Baptist church, Grand Central Avenue
! church, Central Unitarian church, st
Luke's Episcopal church Gold build
ing), First Methodist church (McGar
rey avenue), Elm Street synagogue
Walnut Street synagogue, West Pres
byterian church, Peoples Afro-Metho
| dist Episcopal church, Fourth Stree
Universal church, Fourth street Con
gregational church, Schurtiff Method
! list Episcopal church, Second Advent
To-. rDzI
and Telegraph companys centra
! offices, Austin & Young's cracker fac
tory, Chaplain & Soden Car company
shops, Rosenfelt Brothers three stor.
rag picking factory, the Tidewater Oi
company's immense tanks near thu
/ "a farlu ond of MARGINAL ctro.ct