The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-12

ing been smoIdering since the fire.
Somebody seems to be trying to
| break us up Mr.. Gayhart told
! State Journal reporter this morning.
They have hit us pretty hard"
rs there any reasonable explana-
/ ton for the origin of the fire except
| incendiarisn ?" he was asked.
Not a bit. 1 don't think there is
! any doubt but that somebody set the
barn and warehouse 9th on fire"
The fire this morning started short
lv before 2 o'clock, and almost inn
mediateIy was beyond control. A
paving and neighing attracted the at
tention of the stable keeper when he
reached the scene, and on opening a
door one horse, that had broken loose
from his stall, stumbled out of the
barn. This horse was the only one
saved.
Firemen remained on duty until
late this morning, watching for a pos
si1Ie outbreak of flames, and putting
out the fire that smoIdered in the bales
of hay.
porariIy to carry on the work of the
company. In the near future it is an
nounced additional teams will be pur-
chased until the business is re-estab-
lished. A barn belong to the company
at 112 Adams street is being put in re-
pair for the new horses to be pur-
chased.
No Proof of Incendiarism.
That the fire which Quilted the
Merchants Transfer and Storage
company's barn early this morning
was of incendiary origin is the belief
of Fire Marshal G. o. Wilmarth, but
the chief declares he has no proof
or anything approaching definite
proof that such was the case.
In attempting to ascertain the
cause of a fire we depend upon two
things that point toward incendiar-
ISM" he explained. eff there ap-
pears to be an absence of all usual
causes of fire, and if the flames
spread with unusual rapidity, the fire
is believed to be of incendiary origin.
I'm the present case no electric
wires entered the building, so it could
not have occurred through faulty or
defective wiring. There was no |
molding hay that might occasion |
spontaneous combustion, and no evil |
dences that the fire was started |
he other hand, the flames spread
rery rapidly, envelopnig the build
ng in a mass of flames. By the time
he department arrived on the scene,
md it was prompt as it always is,
he barn was a furnace, the flames
,eIching out through the roof, win
lows and cracks wherever they ap-
Feared. The fire undoubtedly spread
cry rapidly.
Fire Soon Beyond Control.
I'VE can only say that we believe
he fire is of incendiary origin, but
We have no proof of this, and can
lot ascertain whether or not this is
rue"
The first call, the chief said, brought
lose companies Nos. and and the
ruckJ and chemical from No 2 AS /
Don as he arrived he sent out
econd alarm that brought a hose |
ompany from No. 4. Five streams of
7ater under good pressure were
layed on the building, but to no eff
ect as far as saving the contents of
he barn was concerned. The fire, {
he chief said, was beyond any pos II
Utility of being controlled when the
apartment reached the scene. {
Jenkins Has Police Busy.
Chief of Police Morris Jenkins is
making a thorough investigation of t
he circumstances of the fire today, l
ut is inclined to believe the fire was
he result of carelessness rather than |
Malicious incendiarism. He says that ,
cigar or cigarette, carelessly thrown !
nto a pile of rubbish, might easily !
ave smoldered for hours before (
ursting into a blaze. u
The statements of J. b. Shull, the I
Ia BILE keeper, which are believed to |
e reliable, show that the barn was
0cked- up, and that no one was in
he barn after about 1880 o'clock last ,
light. Whether or not someone broke I
Guild not be determined by the time
he fire department arrived, every l
7indoW on the side where. the fire
,as hottest having been broken out ,
" the heat, and the flames burned
ar enough to hide any marks that !
night have been made. No evidence l
f intrusion could be secured.