The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-01-05
FIRE BURNED
DURING NIGHT
TWO Newspaper Plants Visited by the
Flames and Theatre Patrons
Thrown Into
Panic.
BARE FOOTED GUESTS
Hotel Blaze Sent Inmates Out Onto
the Cold Iron Escapes
Without Any
Clothes.


electric wires in the building occupied
by the Commercial Tribune on Wal
nut street early today caused a fire
which for time threatened to destroy
the newspaper plant. Automatic
aprinklers sending flood of water into
the composing room gave the occu-
pants of the building warning and the
building was quickly vacated. A
telegraph operator in the Tribune Of
flee who but a few hours before was
interrupted while taking message
from the Louisville Courier Journal by
the message fire in the building, !"
later was compelled to break off a
telegram to the same operator with a
similar message.
In Their Bare Feet.
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 5.-More than 125
guests OF the st. Charles hotel were
routed from their beds early today
and forced to flee down fire escapes
! in scant attire in escaping fire which
broke out in the hotel storeroom. All
escaped uninjured save for several
bruises resulting from clambering over
steel fire escapes in their bare feet.
! Men and women dropped from the fire
1 escapes into the street clad in little
but their night attire. The tempera.
ture stood at II above zero.
Two Theatres in Panic.
LOUISVILLE, FSss,. JAM - lAs,ttasii-
ences in two theatres We're badly
j frightened last night when fire broke
out in the heart of the retail district in
! Fourth street, south of Green street
4 When the flames were under control at
midnight it was estimated that $780,.
1000 damages had been sustained by a
4 dozen firms.
4 Fire Captain Steve, Obst, fell through
skylight three stories. 1t is believed
he cannot recover.
Because of a strong wind, 1t seemed
! for time that the entire shopping
section OF the city would be destroyed
4 The flames were discovered in the es.
tablishment of A. e. Guttman & Co.
: The cause is unknown. Twelve hun.
dred persons were in two theatres
I across the street from the scene Of the
4 fire. A panic was narrowly averted
With the temperature only ten de.
grees above zero the firemen suf-
fered intensely from the cold. Captain
1 Geo. Fitzpatrick was frozen uncon,
4 scious. Henry Martin, aid to the
chief, aud Chas Weible, driver, were
1 hurt when team ran away Two
other men were frozen seriously. On,
ly a shift in the forty miles an hour
gale saved the Courier Journal build
ing.
Big Fire in Chicago.
4 CHICAGO, an. 5.-'rhe Transit
house, famous hostelry of the stock
/ yards, caught fire this afternoon and
] before the firemen arrived the
/ flames had gained such headway tnat
AZ a general alarm was sounded 1t is
i the third big fire in the stock yards
in three days.
The firemen We're seriously handi
capped by the cold, and when it was
seer that the historic old building was
/ doomed, their efforts were turned te
4 saving adjoining property. Clerk Wal
| ters Of the hotel refused to leave until
lie hid checked UP his register and
found that every guest was accounted
4 for.
The flames We're communicated te
the Ellsworth and McNair company's
! stables, the Pure Bred Live Stocl
association building, the Stock Yards
Trust and Savings bank and. severa
smaller structures. The flremer
mounted the roof OF Dexter Pavilion
where the horse and stock shows ars
held and confined their efforts to say
i fpp this immense huildinp