Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-10

Schneider plant TIE flames would unlock
compartment after compartment and the
grain start downward into the mass o.
flames. Before the particles has descended
any distance. the intense heat would have
rendered them incandescent and the shower
would swirl upward in luminous kaleido-
scopic phantasmagoriA No artificial
pyrotechnics could vie with 1t for a minute.
To nremen working through the night
the scenic effects made no appeal. and
their chiefest sensation was Of sorrow that
they could not fight harder Some physical
punishment they did experience, but not so
great as at many a smaller fire. On the
other hand the regret that more could not
be done was a keener feeling than bodily
suffering from standing close 10 the flames.
Some water they threw from a few streams
and aside from this there was not enough
in the neighborhood for them or any ons
else to get even a drink unless a vel Vas
found in a yard.
Work Of salvage went on, beginning
Monday. OF the approximately g75.OO
bushels Of grain which were in the two
elevators Is per cent can be ultimately put
on the market No loayes Of bread will
ever be baked from it because its grade
has been lowered far beyond the flour
heAAlr ~ VIA &c 6AbaEAAfL ~ AttA4lAk
process and after being ground up and
sailed viii be sold as stock feed. Ult-
mately this grain may again find its way
to this vicinity in the form Of beef sinev.
Machinery is. Of course, utterly ruined.
Some OF the twisted steel may be sold for
Junk, but that is all Fans and conveyors
must be replaced and all the other expen-
sive apparatus used in the elevators.
With prospect Of both elevators being
replaced the fire will in no way endanger
Omaha as a grain market. Plans for re-
construction were started even before The
ruins ceased smoking and the pen Of the
draughtsman was busy tracing plans.
while foremen yet worked on the destroys ed
buildings These are not the only men for
whom the fire has meant extra work.
Section hands have been busy pulling
ruined steel rails from the ties and tele-
phone and telegraphic linemen have been
active putting into order a badly tangled
mass Of wires and conduits. For several
days after the fire there was work day
and night for The men who use climbers.
Instead Of extra hours for the elevator
hands the fire means TO some loEs OF
jobs for a time. However the fire started.
whether by crossed wires or by unknown
and undiscoverabls carelessness or BY that
rather meaningless phrase. spontaneous
combustion, the fire means for these sep
aration Tor days and, perhaps months from
the weekly payroll Temporary work in a,
salvage way has been found for some Of
the mill and elevator employees. but this
cannot asst long at best. Some are al
ready at work In other grain plants. but
not all can thus relocate themselves
Bad a. the fire vast is the biggest
Omaha had ever kn0wn-it does not even
approach in extent Of damage what con-
flagrati0ns have done in sister cities in
recent years. Not % refer 20 the awful
hsroc in 1906 al San Francisco. there r. the
great Baltimore fire Of a year previous
20 that. and there have been lumber yard
fires in Mississippi river towns. the total
loss OF which 10 considerably in advance
OF the amount here. Locally the fire %
April 3 has not been surpassed In a spec
t~acular, not even by the burning Of the
Garter Lead Works some years ago. There
were highly infAmmable chemicals in that
and these burned wildly enough. Never
theless, the quantity Of flame visible was
less in amount than when the grain vas
consumed.
Guesses A. the size OF the crowd which
gathered al the scene run from 1900 70
2uO0 Nothing but guesses are possible.
for the people were spread over too great
q territory for any estimator 10 see them
all al once. and the spectators were rarely
stu but constantly on the move.
How many thousands more saw the Irht
in the heavens would be even more diff
cult 60 guess The brilliantly lighted sky
WAS visible for miles and miles from the
city Of south Omaha Far out Ia the eoun-
Try, pfoDie Eazed a. The brilliant skies and
wondered whether IL was a fire or 4 ths
comet "a come ahead Of tina