The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1914-03-13
IS DEAD IN FIRE
Missouri Athletic Club Burns
to the Ground.
SEARCH FOR BODIES DELAYED

SEARGH FUR BUDlES UELATED
Fire Breaking Out in Dining Room De-
stroys Missouri Sportsmen's home
and Boatm ms Bank-Prcperty Loss
About $3.50, 000-Many Jump from
Windows-Dead and Missing.
ST. LOUIS, MO.-Between thir-
" and thirty-five dead is the estimate
made by officers of the Missouri
Athletic club here as the number who
persisted in the fire that destroyed the
seven-story club building occupied by
the club and BCatman's bank. About
twenty-nine persons were injured.
The fire broke out about 2 O'Clock in
the morning and is still burning. Fire
Chief Swingley said it would be un'
safe to send any one into the ruins
10 search for the missing for some
time.
The Known Dead.
The known dead follow: John NJ.
Hickey, Chicago, treasurer and audit
or Ford Manufacturing Company of
ST. Paul; A. J. Odegaard, Chicago,
sales agent Railway Supply company;
L. A. Ruff, st. Louis buyer for
wholesale hardware company; Edwin
c. KessIer, st. Louis, cashier wire
company, killed in leap from sixth
floor; James d. Reilly, contractor, st.
Louis, body identified by dGorman Of
Missouri A. c.; unidentified man.
The man listed as unidentified may
be William E. Erd of East ST. Louis
Letters in the clothing on the body
were addressed to Mr.. Erd. The body
was identified also as that of Allen
Hancock of ST Louis.
The Missing.
Following is list of missing:
James McGinnis, buyer for large St.
Louis department store; Allen Dow.
buyer for large st. Louis department
store: Bert Crouch, sales manager
Western Electric company, st. Louis;
Allen Hancock, typewriter salesman;
VILLAIN e. Becker, president of paint
company; D. e. Fit, erald, sales man
ager Pierce Oil corporation; John
Retz, president Of plumbing company,
William J. Kinser, president cOnstruc
tiOn company; Thames Shyne, sales
manager Underwood Typewriter com,
pany, Syracuse, N. Y; William
Shields. president lye company; Geo.
GOerner, president of a large COM
mission company; Dan Weatherly,
Salesman wholesale dry goods COM
pany; Thomas Wright, secretary of
The Apollo club; ]. l.. Haihlen, Marx
hammer, manager department store;
J. E. Chesley, L. A. Tilley, G. E.
Smith, c. E. Hunicke. D. E. Fitz-
eerald, Marshall Bier, local fur deal
er; J E. Chasnoff, of st. Joseph, Mo-,
advertising manager for the ST. Louis
Republic; Frank w. Albright, travel
ing salesman; E. P. Williams, New
York, travelling salesman; Roby
Green, Herin, ILL.,; -- Burgess, guest
of members; F. w. Williams, Norman
Hancock, st. Louis; - Wolffson,
a. T. Rannus. Mount Vernon, Ill.
Club Register Showed 1876.
One hundred and thirty-fve persons
were registered at the club for the
night How many Of these were in
the building at the time of the fire is
not known. Of those who were in the
club thirty-fve have been found.
The property damage is estimated
at about $35O,000. In the vaults Of
the bank covered by the ruins are
more than $1,0O0,OOO in currency and
$4,000 in coin. At daylight only part
Of the front and rear walls remained
The roof had caved in, carrying sew
tral floors with it, and the walls had
collapsed from the roof to the ground
floor, which is occupied by the bank.
When the firemen arrived On the
scene the flames were shooting out
of the roof and all the windows above
the second floor. Men were jumping
from windows and others were de-
scending ropes made Of bed clothes
tied together. More than a dozen
Jumped several stories to the roofs
of adjoining buildings and escaped
with broken legs or less serious in
iuries
Baseball Men Escape.
One of those who were in the club
at the time of the fire, but escaped,
is Walter Frisch, financial agent of
the st. Louis Federal league baseball
club. Mordecai Brown, manager of
the club, remained at the club until
few hours before the fire was dis
covered
The telephone operator, a young
boy, remained at his post on the
ground floor even after the firemen
began pouring water into the build
ing. Many of the guests credited
their escape to him.
The fire is believed to have origin
ated in the dining room on the third
floor, although the police are giving
some credence to the theory that safe
blowers may be responsible, as two
explosions were heard in the Boat
mems bank