The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1912-01-18
WILL
- =: BUILD SKYSCRAPER
Believed That Every Important
security and All Money and
L,-sn Is Safe From Destruc-
tion-Bodies of Victims
Still in Ruins.

still In Ruins.
NEW YORK, Special It Is
the prevailing opinion here among
tnancicrs, many of whom are
+ connected with the Equitable In
surance Company, that the plan
started four years ago by the
company TO erect Sixty-twO
story building, the tallest I'm the
world, TO take the place of the
building burned yesterday will DO
Immediately put into effect. Of
hcialS of the company would
neither affirm nor deny the report
that such a step will be taken.
j. PierpOnt Morgan, now i'm Paris,
is said to have favored the plan.
He today wired his approval OF
rebuilding ut once.
NEW YORK, Special Flames
were still raging today within the Ice
coated ruins of the Equitable Life As
surance Society's home building.
which was destroyed yesterday with a
loss of seven lives and financial dam
age estimated at from 100000 to
100000.
Millions of gallons of water are be-
ing thrown upon the ruins by eight
engines. AS fast as the water was
thrown upon the ruins il formed ice,
making a whitened sepulchre above
the spot where Battalion Chief Will
liam Walsh and two others reported
missing are believed TO be buried be-
meath hundreds of tons of debris.
For two days more the firemen
will continue to flood the ruins
before IL is possible for active
search to begin for the great
bales of cash and securities va
riOusly estimated at from one
billion TO one and n half billion
dollars, stored i'm vaults i'm tho
basement of the destroyed build
ing.
An armed guard of policemen
from the traffic squad and do
tectives are patrOIling Pine, Cedar
and Nassau Streets and Broad
way about the ruins TO prevent
any attempt TO loot the debris or
the valuableS it contains.
Strict guard will DC kept at
night until all the money and
securities are taken from the
vaults. In fear of criminal raids
through the district under cover
OF the disorder incident to tho
conflagratiOn the police lines
were extended about the zone of
destruction, and only those who
could show that they had legal
business TO transact were allowed
to approach the icc-covercd
ruins.
Enormous Securities.
Securities in the vaults actually
owned by the Equitable amounted to
between $25O,0OO,00O and S30O.0oS.-
In addition there was cash amount
ing to $1O.0OO.OO0 belonging TO the
Equitable Life. the Equitable Trust
Company and the Mercantile Trust
Company.
The latter also had valuable Sc
curities stored in its steel vaults be-
meath the building. Stocks, bonds and
cash worth tens of millions of dol
lars and owned by the banking house
of August Belmont & Co, the Union
Pacific Railroad Company and the
Gould and Hartman estates were also
locked in the vaults in the building
While the searchlight of the Singer
building played upon the ruins fire
men continued TO throw water on the
ruins throughout the
night. As quickly as the water fell il
froze, and today the charred rem
nants OF New York's first skyscraper
resembled a huge berg
The mountain Of debris within the
lettering walls was coated to n thick
ness of several feet with ice. while
lcicles several yards long hung like
giant pendants from the jagged cor
ners of every projection.
ON account of the fresh cold wave
which set in yesterday and which re-
suited in the debris being covered
with thick armor plating of ice.
workmen were unable 10 make per
reptible progress toward clearing
streets
Order is slowly being brought out OF
the financial chaos resulting from the
Ile-up OF vast numbers ot stocks and
bonds in the Equitable vaults. Never
Iheless. the confusion was still so great
ma, ma necessity or closing the stock ex-
oy the Board of Governors.
May Erect Highest Hutfdfnr
The qualifications from the lie
M of this mammoth sum of securI-
the financial world and the effect
was felt by all the big financial In
stitutions. Officials of the EquI-
table Life Assurance Society were
unable Ia make any definite predtc-
tiOns as 10 whether the company
would carry out fits plans 10 erect
q stNty-twO story building, which,
If built, would he the highest In
the world.
state laws. passed since the Arm
strong insurance investigation permit
'eal estate solely for the proper con-
iuet of their business.
Plans for SiXty-two story sky
'craped were filed nearly four years
lSo, but nothing since has been done
oward carrying them out.
he company would sell fits property at
20 Broadway (the burned site) and
At the time Of the fire the Equitable
company held about 100. 900 policies for
oans aggregating $70.000.0O0 which
lad been made to poIicyholders all over
he country. These policies had been
temporarily by their own
RS in order to secure cash loans from
he company.
Morgan Behind Scheme.
The policies were kept I'm steel boxes
n the Equitables offices and IL is
cared that many of them have been
destroyed. However. Il. T.. Ritten-
house, conservation commissioner OF
he society, declared that il any of the
policies had been destroyed they could
egally be replaced
mo pOIicyhOIder OF the society
will lose a cent" said Mr.. R1tten-
house.
A cnbIeRrnm was received today
from }. Il. Morgan, principal owner
OF the Equitable SOcfety's stock,
who is now I'm Paris, by William A.
Day, the president. Mr.. Morgan Is
said to have given the word 90 go
ahead mt once with the work of
putting up a new home for the So
ciety. Whether MIR. Morgan favOrH
the new building the old site or
I'm n less costly district was not
made known.
Sustains Armour Objections.
CHICAGO, I'LL SpeciaI.-Judge
Carpenter in the United States Dis