Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-01

" q
q -. angeles, Cal, Oct 1.-The. build
l Inc and plan. OF the Los Angeles Zines les
40 ~ the best known newspapers Q
n ~ southwest, of. which Gen. Harrison
& ,cray otis Is editor and principal own,
4 j. were destroyed by an explosion am nilc
1 are shortly aftertt o'clock this morning
rssultinr in the DEATH of upwards Of .
i !, liz employees, and q. financial loss OF
i nearly 100000. ~ .''r'.
H Tho management OF the paper ex-
,,asses The conviction that the cXplo-
81 don was planned BY men in sympathy
g With union labor, with which the paper
II AS long been engaged in bitter war;
q ,,,r 1t is charged that unknown per-
81 ans set on a heavy charge OF dynamite
Il IA blind alley which ran into the
s o.nter OF the building, completely
y Trrecking the interior and setting 1t on
q are from roof to basement.
Z EXPLOSION TERRIFIC.
i The force of the explosion was ter
rfc II was heard for miles and all
a the windows In the Vicinity OF The
Il Times, building of First street ard
Broadway were shattered. Between SO
snd 10 employees were in the building
Il at the time OF the explosion and until
The whole list OF employees of the paper
4 can be checked over, 1t will not be
thown how many lives were lost.i
The responsible heads of the paper,
Including Asst. General Manager Harry
Chandler had narrow escapes from
! death, many OF them having left the
building a short time before the ex-
plosion.
The fire spread with amazing rapidity
! and In the course OF n few seconds
danes were bursting from every wins
dow. and door and shooting high above
the roof The building was eauipFed
with gas fittings and the explosion.
tearing these, pipes Into bits, released
gas which was ignited simultaneously
lin every department.
No other theory than a dynamite ex.
plosion was advanced by witnesses ex-
cept in the case OF a Western Union
telegraph operator. William Firmln,
who said that he detected the odor OF
gas throughout the building earlier in
the highland had called attention to 1t.
The Impact of the explosion came
from the. direction from the alley run-,
ming into the middle OF the building;
Here, according to the sbslsefs of 4 The
Times owners. the schHrgs of dynamite
/ had been placed ~ few4inintite after
the catastrophe the police arrested
Harry Flake, who was making his
way through the Broadway tunnel a
few blocks distant. He was locked up
rested later and taken to the station
The police are without clues. however,
as to the probable perpetra tors.
Asst Gen. Manager Chandler's office
vas on the ground floor and he had left
Il only a few minutes before the ex-
plosion. He was accustomed to re-
naming until later, but on this occa-
sion his wife had Come for him and he
had goneto his home n few blocks dis
tant His secretary. j. Wesley Reaves,
remained in the office and persisted.
WAR ON LABOR UNIONS.
The Times was established in 1881
and Gen. Otis purchased the paper six
months later. For 20 years the Paper
and Its owner have been engaged In
bitter war with the labor unions start
Ing with n strike by the members of
The typographical union employed on
the paper.
Gen, Otis was absent from the city
when his newspaper plant was de-
stroyed He is on his way buck to
Los Angeles from the City OF Mexico,
whittier he went some weeks ago MS a
representative of the United States
pyernment, by appointment OF Presi-
dent Taft. TO the celebration OF the
Mexican centennial Gen. Otis Is due
10 arpivc In Los Angeles today.
The building In which Tho Times was
housed was OF stone. and brick. A part
u II was OF -four stories, of stone, and
vas built In ilSs7. Six stories OF brick
.ere added later. Tho American En-
craving company and the American
IlElectrical company. both subsidiary
companies OF The Times Mirror Print
Ing company. were housed In the build
Ing. Mr.. Chandler estimated the f,nan-
.ial loss at $50, 900, with insurance OF
The dead and missing come principal
~ from the composing room OF the
SA'aSii w I'll tLbONt
spot where the explosion occurred. A
Z number Of printers and llnotyp operas
TORS are missing and arc believed to ,be
buried In theistill burning debris In the
basement OF the building. g, tls " 81
~ the local room of the. paper. a II OF
me editors and reporters had gone
three men,
YL&s4DlFD AN pnGr ne, M yu,y-3i.t =. 80
Asst City. Editor. Harvey c.. Elder
was stu on duty When the explosion
. came and the flames shot up through.
q q parts OF fthe But ding. 4 Elder, was
papy stunned, but attcmptcd' to aessll
cape Finding exit by tho stairway
sNut on, he ran 10, tho witch
3pshed out from the third floor on
I !hIpaldlway, There WIS mo fro escape
w ,aefe and and hemmed IN by flames. he
WIS forced to jump. Firemen below
+ neld itaa;net but he missed it and struck
s"s pavement He died soon after,
Il, NNight Editor Taggart WAS ut work
4, ~ y. me COMPRISING room. He leaped
s enough alSwlndowS and made his way
", across the roofs Of adjoining build
5, ,;gll entire force of editors and oper-
p rao'si were mt work In, the. telegraph
4 y s.9, M,,,,c ,xcepting Telegraph Editor n.
5sEis,,M,llhtnley. Harry ~ Crane, tile. as
t sn =, telegraph editor, was seen at Z
h,m,bp,,lllg to make his way out OF tho
Z th a s,,.s, He was not found among
y ii tsnn, men were seen BY. spectators
\ fnomans s 70 the tuppcra windows a few
Sry S,as aiter the fire broke out and
hi M. M, heip, The tiremen failed to
and tho ' 4 , /. w quickly enough
i winsx were stretched and those nj fra
i d,d aoWs were urged to lump. MANY
NV nv, ana alighttd safely. Others hes.
F osn,,s fell back Into the Names.