The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-10-01

Los Angeles, Oct 1.-The building
and plant of the Los Angeles Times
ono cf the best known newspapers
of the southwest OF which General
Harrison Cray Otis is editor and pTin
cIDal owner were destroyed by an
explosion and fire shortly after l
o'clock this morning resulting In the
death of upward Of twenty Of It's EN-
Moves and financial loss OF nearly Z
half million dollars.
The management expresses the con
yictlon that the eXpioslon was plan
ned by men In sympathy with union
labor. with which the paper has long
4 been engaged in bitter warfare. II
ls charged that unknown persons set
OF heavy charge OF dynamite in a
blind alley which ran into the center
OF the building. completely wrecklne
the Interior and setting 1t on fire
from roof 70 basement
The force OF the explosion was ter
rife II was heord for miles and all
the windows in the vicinity OF the
Times building. at First street and
Broadway were shattered. Between
fifty and scventy,fivv employees were
IN the building at the time Of the eX-
plosIon and until the whole list OF
employees Of the paper can be checked
over II VIII not be known how many
lives were lost
Had Narrow Escapes.
The responsible heads Of the paper,
Including Assistant General Manager
Harry Chandler. had narrow escapes
from death. many of them having left
the building a short time before the
explosion The fire spread with amaz
Ing rapIdity and. in the course of a
few seconds, flames were bursting
from every window and door and
shooting high above the roof The
building was equipped with gas At
tings and the explosion, tearing these
pipes into bits, released gas which
ignited instantly in every department
No other theory than n dynamite
explosion was advanced by witnesses,
except In the case OF Western Union
telegraph operator, William F. Twin,
Who said that he detected th6 odor
OF gas throughout the building earlier
in the night and had called atten-
tlon TO It,
from the direction OF the alley run
ming into the middle OF the building
Here, according to the belief of tho
Times owners, the charge Of dyna.
mite had been placed.
Arrests Are Made.
4 few minutes after the catastro.
pbe the police arrested Harry Plake
who was making his way through the
Broadway tunnel a few blocks distant
He was locked up on suspicion. WI
liam Irwin was arrested later and tax
en- 10 the station. The police are
without clues. however, as to the
probable perpetrators
Assistant General Manager Chand
lers office was on the ground floor
and he had left It only few minutes
before the explosion He was ac
customed to remaining until later, but
on this occasion his wife had come for
him and he had gone to his home a
few blocks distant His secretary, j
Wesley Reaves. remained In the of
fee and perished.
Bitter War and Labor Troubles.
The Times was established in 1881
and General Otis purchased the paper
six months later For twenty yeaTi
The paper and iis owner have beer
engaged in a bitter war with the la
bor unions. starting with strike By
members of the Typographical Union
employed on the paper.
General Otis was absent from tho
CRY when his newspaper plant was
destroyed He is on his way back t.
Los Angeles from the City of Mexico
whittier he went some weeks ago as
representative Of the United State:
government by appointment OF Presl
DENT Taft. to the celebration Of thu
Mexican Central. General O-is is
Que 10 arrive in Los Angeles TODAY.
me building In which the Tlmo'
vas located was of stone and brick
part OF 1t was of four stories. o
Stone' aud was built in 1857. 81.
.'o'ieS OF brick were added later. Th'
alner,ean Engraving company and tn
Anerican Electrical company, botl
o'ary a,,y companies OF the Times
ad =. ~ PRINTING company. were hous
eu IN Inc building.
otai aholer estimated the finan
Ssa, sna- loss o@s at fi5O,0OO. with insurance O
r, Printers Killed.
4 oeau aud missing come primo
p.''ls nom tne Composing room Of tn
pnpe' ~h'ch was directly above tn
1Po' wnere the explosion occurred
= hunoer OF the printers and linotyp
operators are missing and are belle,
ed 10 be buried In the SIN b,,rnin