Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-29

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burned out for the most part set TO
work at once finding opportunities to
re-establish themselves. although their
stocks were exceedingly small.
The local telephone operator at Free
port was rushed with calls from the
i Freeport merchants who were ordering
new goods. Practically all will resume
business inside of a week.
Everyw here praise is heard Tor the
able manner in which Nathan n. Ken
dali, chief of the Freeport fire depart-
ment, handled his men and boys or
the Citizen Hose Co. and the CaSco
Hook 4 Ladder Co. boys are receiving
the credit due them for their efficient
work
At times the firemen were hampered by
poor water pressure, but with the arrival
of the steamer from Portland that trouble
was overcome. Most of the morning sew
Ell streams of water were playing on the
fire, but toward noon they were taken
off one by one until at 12.30, when the
car line was cleared to allow the passage
of the electrics which had been held up
all the morning. only three streams were
left Engine 3 from Portland return
ed home about 1890 after having done
magnificent work.
J. Fred Davis, who was one of the first
to arrive at the fire, said that when he
reached the place the fire was very small
and was in an unused portion of the base
ment in the rear of the Curtis & Morton
store, and had he had a chemical handy
the blaze easily could have been eXtn
guished. There is no doubt but what the
door of the safe in that store had been
opened in some mysterious way as there
are fully half dozen witnesses to the
fact that the safe door stood open when
the firemen arrived.
Both Mr.. Curtis and Mr.. Morton are
unable to explain how the safe door could
have been opened, unless somebody en-
tered the building. Mr.. Morton was the
last to leave the store Monday night and
is fairly certain that the safe was locked
with the big combination at that time. If
the fire was set by somebody who had
entered the building and took that meth
cd of covering up his crime. without
doubt he would have entered and left
the building through the unused base
ment where the fire was burning when
first discovered.
Mr.. Morton said that no employee of the
firm had been in the basement for more
than week
Just who discovered the fire cannot be
told as about half dozen seem to have
smelt the smoke at the same time. But
Joseph E Clark, proprietor of the hotel,
was the first man on the ground. He
said that when he looked into the win
dow of the Curtis & Morton store the safe
was in it's usual position but was turned
half way around. This adds to the theory
that the store had been entered by
thieves. The firm left but little money in
easily opened.
The telephone and electric light crews
put in a hard morning Strengthening out
heir wires which were in a terrible tan
gle in the street At 1890 the first electric
car left Freeport for Brunswick, and
within an hour later We're running practi-
cally on schedule time. The telephone
company's wires were working by 10
o'clock, although many of the local lines
were not in commission until the middle
IF the afternoon.
The Freeport insurance agents, E. E.
Pinkham Willis H. Soule and w. NJ
Studley, compared notes during the morn
ing and placed the total insurance at $685.
80. The agents estimate the loss a little
over 100000, but in doing so they do not
place the loss on the Davis block at the
same figures as do the owners of the
block
AT noon II. E. Davis of the II. E. Davis
Co., who owned the block, stated that
the building could not be replaced for
$4,000, while the agents II. figuring the
loss on the building had estimated it at
about $4,000