The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-01-10
Immense Stone Building.
Totally Destroyed
Yesterday.
RESCUES ARE
SENSATIONAL
Giblin Taken Out of Vault, and
Caznpion Given Last Rites by
Priest Through Bars Just Be
fore Fire Reached Him-Valu-
able Libraries Go Up in Smoke,
and Financial Business Brought,
to Standstill.

New York. January s.-The Immense
marble and granite homo OF the Equi- 4
tabl, Life Assurance Society, covering !.
whole block in lower Broadway, u b
historic landmark OF New York's early
period of skyscraper buildings, and &
one of the city's important financial,
centres. was to-day destroyed by hrc,5
with loss OF six lives and probably
sG,oo0,0o0 in property y dozen per-
sons were injured.
Valuable records. Including the biog-
raphy OF e. II. Hartman and two
priceless libraries which cannot be re- ri
placed. went up in flames and the fato E
OF hundreds Of millions of da1iars'
worth of securities. stored In safe de- HI
post vaults. was tonight in question:.
In the heart of the financial district,
the fire upset the financial machinery
OF Wall Street, and business was prac- Il
tically suspended throughout the day.
The great structure, which. besides
containing the main offices Of the%2
Equitable Life Assurance Society. was
the home OF the Mercantile Trust Com
pany. the Equitable Trust Company,
the banking house Of Kountze Broth
ers, August Belmont & Company. thu
Hartman railroad lines. the Mercan-
tile Safe Deposit Company, the Law 4
yeTs club. and many of the city's 3
most prominent law firms, stands to- II
night shell of !cc-coated granite,
Win us once magnificent Interior COM
Pletely guttcd.
Spectacular Sight
Besides involving heavy innnciat
loss and serio,is disturbance to biz
business interests. the fire. starting on Z
ono OF the coolest and windiest morn
lnss OF the winter. was one OF tno
most spectacular ever Witnessed ~ thn y
far downtown section. It's nrorresa 4
was replete with narrowing incidon ~.
narrow escapes and brave srescues. ana
the men who fought 1t did SO under
eonditions that taxed both skin and }:
The intense cold acted a1n,ont In. II.
simultaneously Upon the water nn,,rnn
upon the flames. and thick Ice cont Z.
ms speedily formed on the facades ~
covering skyscrapers adjacent and
. upon inc parements for blocks aroInd
ne ouiwnrk OF modern freproot
Conr,'ss, nearby according TO Flre
Invaluable as protection to the an
IRE financial district. AS II was tho
aa mage except by water. was confined
ent'feiy to the Equitable structure.
LOSS of Life.
VI those who lost their lives +b-o.
men wero killed by jumpinr fren
coming OF tho roof of the structure 70
@h'ch they were driven by the 6ames
ihey were employees in the butldinr
battalion Chief William ]. walsh
aisa ppeared in a whlrl Of smoke end
names. when n cavern occurred m
.he third floor where he was hEht,na
the flames. No trace or his bodv h.5
been found tonight -
Two other men. william Campio1L
captain OF the watchmen I'm the oIorI
camille safe Deposit vaults, and Frnnu
- elder, special officer, whose
ood'cs have not been recovered con-
piete the list OF dead so far as known. &
oeNerai persons. watchmen and 9th.
ers who were In the doomed str,Icturs
when the fire broke out ut an earia
hour, have not been positively account.
Cd ior, but are believed 10 have 90.
capon The death total, however. nav
not Do definitely fixed until the tiames
which were still, burning to-n.ght,
nave been eHtinguished and the ruins
cooled
Locked In Vault.
Among the injured is President yyt.. N
lam j. Giblin. of the Mercantile saf.
deposit company. whose rescue tro1n y
the basement vaults where he was i'm
prlsoned. after two hours work nv t,rf- z
men, was one of tho most sensatfcnaI
episodes OF the fire. He had gone into 4
vault 10 save securities and accid.nt-
ally locked himself in with an emr,Iova
who accompanied him. Their crios
were heard by tho fircmen, who had Ia
saw through the steel bars of u door
reading TO the street before thew could
rescue tho imprisoned men. Mr.. Glib
IN was removed to a hospital surfer
Ing from exhaustion and smoke.
Ono man in another vault Of tho
Mercantile Safe Deposit Company. be-
iieEed to BIO Campion, could be seen
from tho street with his legs pinned
down by mass of debris, but could &
not be rescued because of heavy oteol 4
doors which barred the way Of thu a
firemen.
Through tho smashed windows of 4
the door he was given the last rites by
Chaplain Mclean. of the Fire Departs Z
mont. Just as he was swallowed from 4
view by the dense smoke and not seen
again. I'll
Some estimates of the loss run as
high as $l5.ooo,ooo, but more conseeva-
tive authorities tonight thought thas
the damage would not run over ss,)o0,s
600
Kept Securities Cool
An officer of the Equitable said that
the societys own loss probably would
not amount to moro than 100000 COW
cred by Its own contingent insurance
fund, and that duplicates OF Every re- E
cord destroyed were stored In lub-
sidiary offices. &
Stored away in fire- proof vault Il
over the main entrance OF the builds N
Ing on Broadway were between $685.
100000 and $500. o.06a OF the seciir.-3 "
tios OF the company, while the vault a
was subjected to ierce heat Gage n. rs
Tar6ell. trustee OF the Equitihls,ks
Continued on Sixth Pase.l i7S;f
sTI .TA prffYyrNryfsyt q SEyuVt r.r.s!'ls