The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-12-02

Floor Soaked With Oils.
The building was four-story brick
structure occupied on the two lower
floors by the Newark Paper Box Com
pany and the A. A. Drake Paper Box
Company; on the third floor, where
the fire started, by the Anchor Lamp
Company and the A1tna Electric Com
pany, and on the top floor, where the
death list ran heaviest, by the Wolf
Manufacturing Company, makers OF
underwear.
The wooden floors we're soaked
with oil drippings from the machin-
cry and the flames ate through them
| like pasteboard.
When they warped and weakened,
the weight of the machinery tore
them from the walls and they fell
into the basement in horrible tan.
gle Of hot iron and mangled human
ity.
Sadie Benson, an employe of the
Etna Electric Company, was clean
ing an electric light fixture in gaso.
line bath.
1 Gasoline Can Explodes.
II The gasoline took fire she does
not know how-and trickled In lit
tie rivulet of flame on the floor
where stood a full can of gasoline
The. can exploded and the burning
liquid few far and wide.
Lewis Cox, an employe of the boz
factory on the second floor, was
standing in the hallway at the time
of the explosion. The shock was
strong enough, he says, to hurl him
against the wall, but the girls up
stairs at their whirring sewing ma
chimes heard nothing.
Fireman Brown, who turned in the
alarm, was at work directly opposite
the building, cleaning the windows OF
the engine house where he is sta
toned. He saw a girl rush out OF
the factory into the street, scream.
ing and wringing her hands.
There's FIRE in there" she cried.
pointing back to the hallway she had
left
Brown did not wait to ask any
questions. He turned in an alarm
| and then dashed up the f1re-escape
Already he found 40 girls at the
fourth-story windows, some OF them
| SO dazed with terror that they hadn't
the wit to pull down the sashes AND
climb out. Brown smashed In the
| window and began pulling girls out
upon the fre-escape. He counted 20
that filed past him.
Face Scorched BY Heat.
The floor was far from cleared. but
the heat had then grown SO intense
that the skin was beginning to
scorch ON his face. He pulled him.
self up to the window for last look
in, but at that moment gush of red
streaked smoke blinded and almost
smothered him, and he was forced to
drop into the lee Of the wall.
"It was the most horrible thing
I've ever seen," he said afterward
'.The girls were dropping from every
| window. never saw a fire spread
so fast once 1t got started. Before
we could get the girls through the
windows on the flre-escapes the
flames were licking the wooden
| sashes."
/ Fire Chief Ashley laid the RESPONSE
bility for loss of life on delay in turn
] ing in an alarm. He says that five
minutes were lost in trying to fight
the blazing gasoline with sand in
| barrel. eff those precious minutes
had not been wasted" he almost
sobbed, 1--WE would not have lost one
single life"
Owners In Tears.
David Levy, president of the Wolf
Manufacturing Company, and Alfred
M. Wolf, secretary and treasurer,
broke into tears when they were ask
ed for an estimate of the loss.
/ "What is loss in the face of this
4 disaster?" said Mr.. Wolf What Ia
any investment against the life OF
| one of those poor girls? When we
can talk coherently we'll give out a
statement"
Frederick Weimer, chief inspector
of the public prosecutors Office, is
making an investigation to determine
the responsibility of the tenants and
owners.