The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-13
BUILDING AND STOCK
 ARE A TOTAL LOSS


 The eele-Smith building, an impos- ing five-story structure was valued at s50,000 and it Is a total loss. The one-story building occupied by the AL cazar theatre, valued at sS000. is also a total loss and the two-story build- ing of Goldstein Brothers com pany was damaged to the extent of about 5000. The other losses which will run to several hundred dollars were to awnings and the roofs of the Louis Pizitz department store at Nine. teenth street and Second avenue, the Empire laundry on Second avenue near Eighteenth street; the Southern Bell Telephone company on Second ave nue, near Nineteenth street; Saks Clothing company, First avenue and Nineteenth street, and the Hann Shoe company. adjacent to Steele Smith on Second avenue between Ninteenth and Twentieth streets.
 As to the origin of the fire it is still unknown and will probably always re- main a mystery Chief Sidney Middle ton of the fire department stated that in his opinion the fire originated on the fifth floor near the motor house of the passenger elevator. The chief gave it as his opinion that short circuit or defective wiring in. the motor of the elevtor probably started the fire but he also SIaIcu IDdl tbt pitHS SO't' have started on any floor in the build ing He is positive, however. it start ed somewhere near the elevator shatt which provided an outlet for the spread of the flames.
 Tt could have started anywhere in the building" said Chief Middleton. obut it is my opinion from an inves- tfgation that it started near the eleva- tor shaft on the fifth floor. However, wherever it started 1t must have been near the elevator shaft in the middle lof the building, as that location was the base of the flames.
 "The flremen are all very weary to- day from their efforts as following tre Steele-Smith fire we have had about n score of other runs and in the var ions fire stations in the city you can find about as tired lot of men as you'll find in the trenches in Belgium. MANY COMPLIMENTS l FOR THE FIRE FIGHTERS 1 From all sides yesterday favorable com 1 p1ent was heard about the work of the I fremen Business men who were eyewit- | nesses of the fire stated that it was a l remarkable feat to have managed to Keep | the flames from spreading out to adjacent l buildings. 1t was pointed out that but for the falling west wall the whole loss would l have been sustained by the Steele-Smith company. The excellent water pressure l maintained throughout the heroic fight was given credit by Chief Middleton as being over half the battle.
 l In a supplemeptarN statement to The 1 Age-Herald last night President A. w. B. | Johnson stated:
 q want to thank all my friends for their kind sympathy and offers of aid. It was fine example of the Birmingham i spirit of getting together v,
 'In the wreckage this afternoon we re- | covered one small safe in which were the | cash receipts of Fridays business. The other large safe containing all the valua- ble records of the company is still in the debris and will not be reached until Mon- day at the earliest. l think that our pa pers have survived the fire.
 ..AsI have stated before, we will irime- diately rebuild on the old stand and be ready for business. within q few months
 Many of my employees have been taker ca re of by other merchants and for this l am most thankful. l sihcerely nope ai
 may find employment
 ..The estimates regarding the losses to
 our stock will run between $4oO0oo ano
 $450,000 and we are only fairly well GOV
 cred by insurance. There is a heavy ioss to the company in the loss of the Christ mas trade. which is the harvest time ol all the Birmingham merchants and wnicf | 1dllS eSpeCiaily nedVy On us, dS nO WY ], generally credited to be doing about thu largest business in the city"
 Il To many of the employees of Steele
 Smiths 1t was not until they arrived ol
 Second avenue yesterday morning pre-
 pared for a hard days work that the.
 saw by the charr ruins that an unwecom
 holiday had been provided for them
 Many of the women employees wept. T Children Sorrow Over Contest
 However. 1t was to the children of tn
 city and environs that the fire at Steele
 Smiths was particularly disastrous ,,hi department store had for the past tw
 months been conducting large votin
 contest for girls and boys in which the
 offered 250 prizes for the girls as we'll a
 for the boys. The prizes were Christina
 toys and they were to be distributed O
 Christmas morning by a modern Sant Claus. ss -.- ..s sss.... < l. This contest had been advertised far an fwide and 1t Is estimated about 5000 chil
 dren in the city. suburbs and county na
 entered 1t with high spirits and hopes c z getting at least one of the prize toys. : Last Sunday in full page advertise , ment in The Age-Herald the Stsele-Smit
 sCentI.ues oa Page Ninel