Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-23

the nghtlng of the flames, which BY
this tine had gained hold on tho
entire building The chemicals were
used, but to little avail. and the flames
kept on mounting higher and higher
untlI the cut hose had been joined
'ogether and line had been laid from
Nineteenth street Then the fight com
nenced in earnest, and in about two
hours the blaze was cxtinguisAed
Right when the fight was at its
ieighth, the second fire call of the
night came in, and one line of hose
had to DE hurriedly taken up and =
wagon dispatched to the scene of the
other conhagration, the Miller veterin-
airy hospital on Third avenue and
Fwenty-second street.
Incendiarism Suspected.
The origin of the fire is a deep
| mystery. Chief g. w. Newberry IF
the fire department said this morning:
1T looked mighty suspiciously az
though it were of incendiary origin
When we arrived on the scene the
ire was well under way and dense
black smoke was pouring OUT of the
basement windows. It was smoke
such as does not come from burning
wood, but from oil, and I have been
unable to learn of any Oil having been
stored in the basement. The acct
dents which prevented us from getting
water on the fire as soon as we got
there gave the blaze time to wori,
from the corner where it started over
10 the elevator shaft and with that
acting as flue the flames were soon
intrenched in the attic and in the top
floor of the building. where it was
hard to get at"
Another Theory.
Another theory as to the start of
the fire mas been advanced in addition
to the incendiary idea. The Union
carrier boys are in the habit of play
ing in and out of the basement of the
building while they are waiting for
their papers and il may be that one
OF them dropped the lighted end of 4
cigaret while in the basement. 1t IS
barely possible that the cigaret fell
into some ignitable material and
smouldered for hours before finally
breaking forth in flames. This theory
does not meet with the approval of
the fire CHER, however. as he does not
believe there was any inflammable
stuff in the basement which would
have smouldered for so long a time
before breaking out
Within a short time after the dis |
covery of the fire, the publisher, S. w. |
Searle, and the greater part of the |
employees of the paper were on the
scene and giving their aid to the fire |
men.
Damage VIII Reach S23.5OO.
The damage to the plant and to the |
building totals up to nearly S23. 800 |
Of this amount the Union Printing |
company suffered to the extent OF |
about $4,000 and the Walter Johnson |
estate suffered $500 in damage 20 |
the building. The structure is a |
wreck and it will have to be almost |
reconstructed as far as the in
terror is concerned The basement |
is burned out and the floor joists are |
barely strong enough to support the |
weight of the main floor. The press room |
suffered mostly from the heat of the |
fire and it is not known as yet just !,
to what extent it was damaged, though |
at any rate the press and the press
room machinery will have to be all /
taken apart and renovated before ii
can be used again. 1t is likely also
that some of the more delicate parts
will have to be replaced.
The Office floor suffered mostly from
water and smoke, but even at that the
n1 |
it is probable that the timbers in the
wall are burned and will have to be
replaced.
Ruins Composing Room.
The second floor on which is located
he composing room presents a scene
Of utter destruction. The two linotype
machines are apparently intact, but
ire covered with rust as the result If
he @etting they received. The rest Of
he contents of the room are scattered
about in confusion and the ceiling is
burned through into the attic. which
was also Quilted by the flames.
The publishing company was fortu-
nate in saving it's files which could
not have been replaced and a large
part of it's valuable cuts and mats.
The Office cat failed to escape and
was found dead from suffocation in
he hallway.
VIII Publish From The Argus Building
The publisher of the Union, S. w
Searle, was this morning rendered the
ABILITIES of The Argus plant and such
,ther accommodations as he might re-
luire to meet existing contingencies
and the same were accepted by him.
The result is that the Union will ap
GEAR tomorrow morning as usual and
here will be no interruption in the
at any time. Representa-
ives of the Davenport Times and the
Davenport Democrat came over to OK
]ress their sorrow over the mistor
une and to offer every facility posi-
liz that Iiiioht he desired III