Arizona republican., 1912-06-30
Sam Rector, Aged 13, Ap-
 plies the Torch at the Suggestion of Johnny Harrington, Aged 10, and His Brother Lee, Aged '
YOUTHFUL FIRE
 BUGS IN CUSTODY
They Had Started Earlier Blaze Which Was Discov- cred Before Great Dam age Was Done; Chagrined at Failure Tried Again

About 5:3O O'CLOCK yesterday aftef- noon, Sam Rector, a 13-year- old boy. set fire to the Jackson street school house, which was completely destroy ed. The only possible salvage will be few second hand brick. The | building was valued at from $12000 1 to S15,000 and was insured for S6000. ] The fire department worked heroic ally but in the face of the unusual wind that prevailed all day long there was never hope of doing more than | to keep down the flames and prevent cinders from flying to other proper 1 ties, but fortunately the school house was in the middle of the block and built of brick. Most of the inflam- mable material was within the walls and there was but small danger of the fire spreading when under the subduing influence of the water from 1 the hose.
 The fire burned fiercely and fast | for there was ample ventilation ow- 1 ing to the construction of the build 1 ing and after a very few minutes every room in it was a Seething fur i mace. On arriving a group of fire ! men forced an entrance through the north door and were we'll within the building when the tower and roof | began falling and they withdrew hastily, some of them narrowly escap- l ing injury or death.
 l sam Rector was accompanied on l his expedition of destruction by Johnny Harrington aged 10 and Lee Harrington aged ' A half hour be- l fore they had set fire to some rub- 1 bish in a vacant lot near the o K store on South Seventh avenue but were detected in their act and MT. | Binkley one of the proprietors of the store tried to catch them but as he
 was more concerned in putting out the | fire near his place of business they l escaped him and strolIed up toward
 the school house. The o K fire was extinguished without a department 1 call.
 Peeved at the partial failure of
 their first exploit as they passed the school house one of the Harrington 1 boys remarked that it was an old 1 building and would fall down pretty soon anyway. and suggested that l they set it on fire. responding to 1 which Sam said, All right and pro- l ceeded to crawl into the basement and do so. That is the story they l confessed last night to Chief of Po- | lice Moore, Department Chief Sulli- van and Officers Bradley and Do- heney. after their earlier conduct had been reported and their actions had | been traced to a certainty of the facts anyway. Sam Rector and Johnny | Harrington were locked up for the might but Lee Harrington, the T. year old offender was sent home. No one knew until late in the eve
 ming who the culprits were but there was a we'll founded belief that it was done by the boys who started the earlier fire which had been re- ported to Chief Sullivan after it was out Also it was common report that some boys had been seen around the building a little while before. The lschoolhouse fire was first noted by u. NJ. Tomusko who was going north on his bicycle near Seventh avenue and Jackson and saw smoke emerg- ing from the windows near the lsouthWest corner of the building. He lcontinued to the city corral and told Wv P Doheny who turned in the lalarm.
 | After the fire was under control a
 member of the Binkley family gave Chief Sullivan the facts of the O K fire and one of the Binkley boys pointed out the three culpritS who Iwere calmly watching the school house burn from a safe place on the
 north side of Madison street The chief managed to apprehend the '- year-old but all he could get out of him was that his brother Johnny
 knew something about it. Then he
 found Johnny and was told that the
 Rector boy could give the informa -
 ltion The Harrington children were
 brought to the station by Doheney
 land Officer Bradley while Sullivan
 made a search for Rector and event.
 tually found him. He admitted that
 he had done the deed but at the lsuggestion of the other boys He
 was brought to the station also where
 he recited the story told above in the presence of the officers named.
 The Jackson street school house IS
 better known as the West End school
 and occupied the block between Sixth
 and Seventh avenues and Madison
 and Jackson street It was built in
 the early nineties and though very
 much out of repair was still service
 able as a school building. The board
 did not care to eXpend much money
 in looming if up as it's abandonment