The Press., 1913-09-03
Faulkner Mill Burns.

town Sunday morning, when thu
 Faulkner plant was destroyed. Th'
 direct loss is from eighty to hundred thousand dollars, and the loss to thu
 town through the elimination of an
 other industry is a still more serious phase of the case. The fire was dis
 covered by people on the outside abou
 4 o'clock, and at that time had gained
 sufficient headway to be far beyond
 control. It was we'll through the
 plant aud the fremen could do moth.
 ing.
 The plant was the property of the
 Middle River Manufacturing Co.,, and
 the company is in the hands of a re- ceiver. The value of the plant is hard to estimate, as part of it was very old and much of the machinery had seen long service. A value of $50, GOO would probably be excessive, and the company carried about $40, 900 insur- ance. It was leased by Frederic Faulkner, and his loss on stock and manufactured goods was about $40, 900, covered by insurance.
 It is the talk of the street that the plant was set afire. A charge of such serious nature calls for a rigid ex. animation and presentation of facts to support it. About four months ago the mill caught fire. Four sprinklers went off and the fire was extiuguished. Good and sufficient evidence was found that this fire was incendiary. With this experience to go by the last at tempt was more successful. The sprinklers did not work at the fire Sunday morning for the good and suffic tent reason that the system had been shut off. The indications are hat the person who started the blaze Sunday first shut off the sprinkliDg system to make the loss of the plant sure.
 With these conditions in mind the questions naturally arise as to who started the fire and what was the mo- tive? On these questions there is ab- solutely no light. As far as known MT. Faulkner has no enemy who would make so desperate a move. It is possible that there is local fire bug, but if that were the case it would seem that other property would suffer This one plant has been the objective point, and no less than three attempts have been made to burn it. It was set once from the outside, but was discovered in time to extinguish it, and the other attempts have been made on the inside. While there seems absolutely no clue to the perpe- trator, nothing should be left undone to trace it out.
 Inquiry is made as to the location of the watchman at the time of the fire. The alarm was from the outside and not from the mill. Michael Hannifan is the watchman at the plant. He was seen yesterday, but refused to talk about the fire. From another source it was learned that he made his rounds at 3 o'clock and saw nothing unusual at that time. His time clock, which would have shown his movements, is said to have been consumed in the fire.
 Henry F. Wise, chief of the fire de- partment, has 70 theory for publica- ! tion. It is said that the plant was on fire in several different rooms at the time it was discovered. This may have been true, but is not necessarily 50, iD the opinion of MT. Wise. He thi~ ks the flames may have origi0a- ted in the room where the old drier | was located, and had gained such | headway that the appearance would l be that it had been kindled in several places. A man reported that he found can partially filled with kero- sene near the plant the next morning after the fire. If this is true, it might amount to nothing or it might help in clearing up the mystery.
 A phase of the fire that is one of the most unpleasant is the losses of the overseers. Louis Fedler, the boss dyer, lost lot of valuable receipts, and Frank Malloy, the designer, also loses valuable paraphernalia. Robert Quinley, Fred Sault, David Collins, Henry Laborish and John Comiskey all lose valuable outfits of tools used in their various departments.
 The loss of the industry to the town affects nearly every individual. MT. Faulkner has made no plans for the future and is unable to state whether he will make an attempt to resume business. He is an able manufacturer and has extensive local real estate holdings. He has worked early and late for several years to interest out side industries in Stafford as a loca- tion. The chances for his making al new start in the local field are much better than they would be if the busi- ness had been conducted by an ab- sentee manufacturer. The site of the plant is ideal. It is close to the rail road and the water privilege is very valuable. A new and larger plant may arise from the ashes, but there is nothing at present to indicate such an outcome.
 The plant employed about 15O hands when running full. At the time of the fire about 115 were on the payroll, as it is between seasons and business was quiet. Orders were oom- ing in for next season, however, and the outlook was promising.
 MT. Faulkner took the plant IA years ago this fall. It had run stead fly under his management and has been prosperous.
 St. Edwards parish school will ope.; next Monday.
 ssPietro Panciera has returned from an extended stay in Italy much inn