Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1912-01-12
1000, 600 BLAZE IN NEW

New York, Jan. 9-The immense
marble and granite home of the Equi
table Life Assurance Society, cover
ing . whole block in lower Broadway,
an historic landmark Of New York s
early period of skyscraper buildings
and one of the city's important fnan-
cial centers, was destroyed by fire,
wi3h loss of six lives and probably
s6. 00O. 900 in property. A dozen per-
sons were injured.
Fought In the heart of the financial
district the fire upset the financial
machinery OF Wall street and business
was suspended throughout the day.
The great structure which besides
containing the main Offices OF the
Equitable Life Assurance Society,
was the home of the Mercantile Trust
Company, the Equitable Trust Com
pany, the banking house of Kountze
Bros, August Belmont & Co, the
Hartman lines, the Mercantile Safe
Deposit Company, the Lawyers Club.
aud many Of the city's most prominent
law firms, stands shell OF ice-covered
granite, with its once magnificent in
terror completely destroyed.
SEVERAL PERSONS MISSING.
Several persons, watchmen and 9TH
ers who we're in the doomed structure
when the fire broke out at an early
hour have not been positively &C
counted for, but are believed to have
escaped. The death total, however,
may not be definitely fixed until the
flames, which we're still burning to-
night, have been extinguished and the
ruins cooled.
Among che injured is President
William J Giblin, of the Mercantile
Safe Deposit Company, whose rescue
from the basement vaults, where ne
was imprisoned, after two hours work
by 6remen, was one of the most SEN
sational episodes of the fire He had
gone into a vault to save securities
and accidentally locked himself in
with an employee who accompanied
him. Their cries were heard by the
iremen, who had to saw through the
steel door leading to the street before
they could rescue the imprisoned men
Mr.. Giblin was removed to hospita
suffering from exhaustion and smoke
One man in another vault of the
Mercantile Safe Deposit Company
believed to be Campion. could be seer
from the street with his legs pinned
down by a mass of debris, but could
n OF be rescued because of heavy stee
doors which barred the way of thu
fremen. Through the smashed win
dows of the door he was given the las
rites by Chaplain Mclean, of the fir
department, just as he was swallowed
from view by the dense smoke and no
seen again.
| PERSONS DISAPPEAR IN FLAMES.
L
Spectators at the windows of nearb,
skyscrapers told of seeing others dis
appear in the flames when the roo
caved in, but the authorities believ
the list of casualties already reporte'
is hardly likely to be heightened
Some estimates of the loss run a
high as SIS, OOO, 900, but more ropser
vative auth orities thought tonight tina
the damage would not run over Sc,
600, 0G0. The property was assesses
by the city at $4,000, 600, a large
sum, with one exception, than on an
other building in the financial district
bat by far the greatest part is base
on the value of the ground upon whic
the Equitable Building stood.
An officer of the Equitable said tina
the society's own loss probably woul
not amount to more than $500, DOC
lowered by its own contingent insur
ance fund, and that duplicates c
every record destroyed were store
in Subsidiary offices. The compan
had planned to erect a new buildin
on the site, as figured by the officer
the expense of tie airing 1t down wi
balance we'll against the actual valu
iof the structure.
| Stored away in a freproof Eau
lover the main entrance of the buill
ing on Broadway we're between $3.50
900, 600 and $500, OOo, 900 of the secur
ties of the ompany. While the vau
Twas subjected to fierce heat, Gage I
Tarbell, a trustee of the Equitable
said tonight that he believed its con
tents would he found safe. Thre
streams of water we're played upo
the vault all day and the freezin
tuoathor nuick1v eoafod II Nth ico