Evening star., 1912-01-10
Securities Of Vast Value in
Equitable Buildings Vaults.
UNDER TONS OF DEBRIS
Firemen Fighting Their Way to the
Papers.
POUR ON WATER ALL NIGHT
Early Estimates Of Loss Perhaps
Too Great-No Additions to the
List Of Casualties.

NEW YORK, January 1o-Half a bill
lion dollars or more in securities lie on
the glowing ruins of the Equitable build
ing today. guarded by 40 policemen and
detectives. The bulk of the Gould, Har-
riman. Ryan and Belmont estates and
the vast securities OF the Equitable Life
Assurance Society are locked in the mas
sive steel vaults. buried beneath hundreds
of tons of debris. With streams still
playing upon the smoking ruins, firemen
are fighting their way to the vaults to
ascertain the condition. All the vaults
are believed to be intact A superficial
examination made today indicated that
the vaults of the Mercantile Safe De-
posit were intact.
The ruins still hold the body of Bat
talon Chief William Walsh. Two watch
men employed by the company also are
missing and are believed to have perished
in the fire. In which six lives were lost.
Because $50,O00.000 to $75.000,OO0 in
collateral of Wall: street loans are
locked in the vaults. the governing COM
mittee of the stock exchange announced
today another postponement of one day
in deliveries.
The records of the Hartman railroad
lines. showing the names and addresses
of 10000 stockholders. were lost. A
duplicate set of the names without the
addresses was kept by the Mercantile
Trust Company. 1t is not known If
these have been destroyed. IL they
were 1t will be necessary to advertise
for the names and addresses of stock
holders.
Pouring on Water All Night.
A white-hot furnace still glowed fierce-
ly in the cellars of the ruined Equitable
building at daybreak today. resisting all
the efforts of the iremen to drown the
flames. Chief Kehlon doubted whether
the fire would be completely extinguished
before nightfall. The blaze is now con-
fined, however. to the heaped-up ruins in
the cellars, for above the first story
nothing is left save the granite walls
with great interpretations of cleaning ice.
.Pilasters and ornaments bear coatings Of
ice which In some places is two feet thick,
while the surface of Broadway and the
other streets surrounding the ruin is
sheathed with ice to depth OF from one
to three feet.
All night long. under the glare OF three
powerful searchlights- from the Singer
tower. ice-covered f1renen poured in
streams from twenty nozzles. Until the
flames are completely extinguished little
effort can be made to reach the vaults
where securities and papers are stored
A rigid police line is maintained on all
sides OF the burned building. and the cor
don covers SO wide an area that thou
sands of sightseers who flock to the scene
are unable to obtain more than a glimpse
of the structure. In addition to the estab-
lished lines maintained by the police, 100
policemen and forty detectives are as
signed to the task Of preventing the theft
of any money or securities still in the
building.
No More Casualties.
There were no additions to the list of
casualties during the early morning hours
today. The official police blotter gives six
dead, two missing and twenty-three in
jured.
Battalion Chief Walshs body has not
been found. One of the dead is unidenti-
fed. The body of William Campion, cap
tain of the watchmen for the Mercantile
Safe Deposit Company. was visible at day.
break through the iron grating at the
entrance of the company's vaults The
other three dead are Joseph Cont, John
Sazzio and Massena Fratta all employees
of the restaurant where the blaze started.
The missing men are two watchmen en-
ployed by the safe deposit company.
New Offices Obtained.
Most of the 1877 tenants of the burned
building were established in new head
quarters in nearby skyscrapers today
The Equitable Life executives found them
selves amply provided for on three floors
of the City Investing building. a block
away. Only about one-fifth of the main
Office force of the Equitable has Of late
years been accommodated in the old build
ing. most Of the subsidiary departments
being housed in the company's annex on
Albany street.
Whether a new and more magnificent
-.ltN \ u ia r~.-
the Equitable Life is a question into which
enter several elements Of doubt. The
site is the most valuable single piece OF
property in New York city. and for sev-
eral years plans have been on file with the
city building department for the erection
there Of a sixty-two-story building to
cost $25, ,O00, ,OO0.~ The building would be
the tallest in the world, 200 feet higher
than the Metropolitan tower, and 150 feet
loftier than the Woolworth building, now
in course of construction.
Question of New Equitable Building
But under the New York state laws ar
fecting insurance companies such COM
panies are permitted to own and hold
real estate solely for the purpose of their
own business and 1t would remain within
the discretion of the state insurance de-
partment whether the society would be
the law IL 1t erected a building
the major part of which would be rent
ed to tenants in no way connected with
its business. A statement by E. T.. Ritten-
house. conservation commissioner for the
Equitable. says that no definite action |
will be taken for few days. "As a mat
ter of fact he says, there has been i
some talk of late to the effect that a life |
insurance company ought not to have q |
big building. Anyhow, no definite de- |
:ision has yet been made"
In the present condition of the real es- |
tate market in the Wall street section It'll
may prove that the interests OF the pol /
Icyholders would be best served by sellingI
the present site and erecting another
building on q less expensive frontage.
Early Estimates Of Loss Too Great.
Fire officials believe that early esti-
mates Of the loss from the fire will be
largely discounted. AS for the building, i
1t cost millions to construct,
vet it's loss has actually added several
hundred thousand. dollars to the value
Of the most valuable block in New York.
The land Is worth more than when COW
cred by an outworn incumbrance.
The Washington office OF the Equitablel
Life Assurance Society has been notified
that the home Office has established
executive Offices at 165 Broadway, wherel
the society's business will be transacted.
The convention OF field managers and
agents. scheduled for January 1917. will