The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-03-10
BETWEEN 50 AND 50
PERISH IN FIRE
IN ST. LOUIS
House of Missouri Athletic Club
Completely Destroyed
SEVEN BODIES RECOVERED
Nearly Thirty Registered Guests
Skill Unaccounted for--Many
Escaped with Injuries

ST. Louis, Mar. 9.--That from 80 to
IS guests of the Missouri Athletic
club persisted in the flames that de.
stroyed the building this morning is
the belief of officers of the club to-
night.
Seven bodies have been recovered
and from 23 to 20 occupants of the
structure are still unaccounted for.
Tonight, fremen continued the
search for bodies In the smoulderlng
ruins under the glare OF searchlights.
Though a committee early today
opened headquarters at the Press
cub and asked all who were guests
OF the Missouri Athletic club last
night to report, 80 to 35 did not reg
lister and hourly the feeling grew
that all these were lost.
Hope was given by Fire Chief
Swingley this afternoon that the
water could be pumped out of the
ruins tonight and that search for
bodies might then be resumed.
Seventeen persons. who were in
jured in the fire, were today under
treatment at pubic and private hos
pitfalls
Much difficulty was experienced in
trying to-identify the dead and some
were identified under two or three
different names.
The blaze was the fourth serious
fire In the downtown district OF st.
Louis in eight days and the most
SERIOUS as to fatalities of any fire in
the city's history.
1t completely wrecked the seven
story building occupied jointly by
he Missouri Athletic club and by
the Boatmen's bank and caused a
property loss estimated at s466.O0O.
Also by destroying the list OF en-
tries and other club records 1t forced
the abandonment OF the In .ercollegi-
ate track meet that was TO have been
held here under the auspices of the
club next Saturday night.
The cause of the fire sill was 2
mystery tonight. Reports that the
blaze was accompanied by a terrific
explosion. indicating that the fire
was due to efforts OF bank robbers
rying to dynamite into the Boat
mems bank were unconflrmed.
Reports of explosions were denied
by the night Waterman OF the bank.
In the vaults of the Boatmen's
bank which occupied part of the first
floor of the building was more than
s1,300,000 in currency. The vaults
we're unframed, the bank officials re-
ported.
The bank opened at the usual hour
this morning in temporary quarters
a few blocks away.
The number OF guests who had
rooms in the club house. either per-
manently or for the night. was about
100. Many of these escaped. some
checked out before the fire. others,
il is thought, were not there when
the flames broke out, some were in
iured in leaving the club house and
the rest are listed among the dead
or unaccounted for.
The fire. which was discovered by
woman who was waiting In the
club lobby for her escort, and who
saw the reflection of the flames in
the plate glass windows across the
street, swept rapidly through the
building.
Thirty eight guests on the fifth
floor were awakened by Mr.. and Mrs.
Robert Magill. who refused to leave
until they had given the alarm to all
within reach.
Mr.. Magill was house manager OF
the club. Mrs. Magill was badly burn
ed before she got outside.
Dramatic escapes we're numerous
One OF the most spectacular was that
OF II or Is men who descended from
a fifth floor window to the roof OF an
adjoining four story building by
means Of an improvized rope made
out Of two sheets.
One guest escaped by leaping over
a chasm 10 feet wide to the roof Of
an adjoining building six stories be-
low.
While the firemen we're a. work on
the Fourth street side the wall facing
that street collapsed from the fourth
floor up The fremen fed to a build
ing across the stree. and escaped.
One fireman was hit and his leg
broken.