Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-03-17
MANY DIE IN FIRE
FOURTEEN BODIES RECOVERED
&c ARE STILL IN DEBRIS OF
ST. LOUIS CLUB.
lRESCUERS WORK ALL NIGHT
eeven-Story Building Occupied ~ the
Missouri Athletic Club Destr 5yed-
Dozen Men Slide Down F.ope to
Safety.

st. Louis March 11.-Forty men are
known to have persisted and 20 were
injured in fire that destroyed the
seyen-story building occupied by the
Missouri Athletic club on Monday.
Fourteen bodies were recovered; 26
are missing.
The building was owned by the
Boatmen's bank, which occupied part
of the first floor. The bank opened
temporary quarters in a building four
blocks away. In the vaults of ths
burned building, officials said, are ST..
$4,000 in currency and $4,000 in
coin. This money, it is believed, is
intact
The cause of the fire is unknown.
Assistant Fire Chief Tucker said he
found the floor about the desk of the
clerk caved in, but an adjoining part
of the floor seemed to have been
blown upward, indicating that the fire
was caused by an explosion.
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
Juries.
Thrilling stories of the fire were
told at the city hospital by persons
who were injured
About twelve men escaped from tho
fifth floor by descending a rope made
out of two sheets tied together.
At the IL men stood on the roof of
the seed store they saw about twenty
persons at the windows of the sixth
and seventh floors of the club.
The entire city fire department.
aided by 90 policemen and volunteer
squads, worked frantically all night
to force a way into the ruins of the
Missouri Athletic club building, from
which eight identified bodies already
have been taken, in the slight hope
that some of the missing may be res
cued.
The known dead follow: John M.
Hickey, Chicago, treasurer and audi
tor Ford Manufacturing company of
st. Paul; A. ]. Odegard, Chicago, sales
agent railway supply company; L. A.
Ruff, st. Louis, buyer for a wholesale
hardware company; Edwin c. Kessler,
st. Louis, cashier wire company,
killed in leap from sixth floor; James
ID. Reilly, contractor, ST. Louis, body
Identified by doorman of Missouri
Athletic club; unidentified man. The
man listed as unidentified may be
William E. Erd of East st. Louis. The
body was identified also as that OF
Allen Hancock of St Louis.
The injured follow: Charles Schimel.
Chicago: r. D. Harmed. Chicago, super
Intendent of an electrical supply COM
pany; Edward T. Kaub, Forest Park,
H.; T. C. Little. Chicago; Theodore
Levy, salesman; U. M. Stott, st.
Louis; Ben F. Williams, in serious con-
dition; B. c. Holmes, McComb, Miss;
L. L. Leonard. lawyer; Lee Wolf, mer-
chant of Charlottesville, Mo-; David
Blum, purchasing agent for depart
ment store; William Koerner, house
man at club; F. w. Williams, New
York; Lee Walsh, John Dwyer. engine
CON amy No 6.
Following is list of missing: James
McGinnis, or large st. Louis de-
partment Al.Ee; Allen Dow, buyer for
large st. Louis department store; Bert
Crouch, sales manager Western Elec-
trio company. st. Louis; Allen Ham,
cock, typewriter salesman; William e.
Becker, president of paint company;
D. E. Fitzgerald, sales manager Pierce
Oil corporation; John Retz, president
of plumbing company; William ]. Kin
ser, president construction company;
Thomas Shyne, sales manager Under
wood Typewriter company, Syracuse.
N. Y; William Shields, president I've
company; George Goerner, president
commission company; Dan Weatherly,
salesman wholesale dry good COM
pany; Thomas Wright, secretary of
the Apollo club; Allen Hancock, type
writer salesman; J. L. Haihlen; Marx
Hammer. manager department store;
]. E Chesley. L. A. Tilley, l.. R. Ruff,
c. E. Smith. c. E. Hunicke, D. E.
Fitzgerald, Marshall Bier, local fur
dealer; j E. Chasnoff Of st. Joseph,
Mo-, advertising manager for the St
Louis Republic; Frank w. Albright,
travelling salesman; E, P. Williams.
New York. travelling salesman; Roby
Green, Herrin, H.; - Burgess. guest
of members: F. w. Williams. John j.
Ratz. president local plumbing COM
pany; Norman Hancock, st. Louis;
- Wolhson, A. T. Rannus, Mount
Vernon, Ill.