Mountain advocate. (Barbourville, Ky.) 1904-1935, 1914-03-13
MANY DIE IN FIRE.
FOURTEEN BODIES RECOVERED
20 ARE STILL IN DEBRIS OF
ST. LOUIS CLUB.
REScUERS WORK ALL NIGHT
seVen-story Building Occupied by the
Missouri Athletic Club Destroyed
Dozen Men Slide Down Rope to
Safety.

Safety.
st. Louis March 1t.-Forty men are
known to have persisted and 20 were
injured In a fire that destroyed the
seven-story building occupied by the
Missouri Athletic club on Monday.
Fourteen bodies were recovered: 20
are missing
The building was owned by the
Boatmen's bank. which occupied part
OF the first floor. The bank opened
temporary quarters in building four
blocks away. In the vaults Of the
burned building, officials said, are ST..
$4,000 in currency and s27 900 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 b. persons
who we're injured
About twelve men escaped from the
nth 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 so policemen and volunteer
squads, worked frantically all night F.
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 VI .
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
II. Reilly, contractor st. Louis. body
identified by doorman of Missouri
Athletic club; unidentified man The
man listed as unidentified may be
William f. 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.
ILL.,; T. c, Little. Chicago; Theodore
Levy, salesman; T. NJ 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
company No. 6.
Following is list OF missing: James
McGinnis, buyer for large st. Louis de-
partment store; Allen Dow, buyer for
large st. Louis department store Bert
Crouch, sales manager Western Elec.
trio company, st. Louis; Allen Han. I
cock. typewriter salesman; William e
Becker. president Of paint company;
d. Z. Fitzgerald, sales manager Pierce
OIL corporation; John Retz, president {
of plumbing company; William J. Kin I
ser. president construction company;
Thomas Shyne. sales manager Under
wood Typewriter company, Syracuse,
N Y; William Shields, president lye
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,
j. f. Chesley, /. A. Tilley. l.. r. RUIZ,
G. f. Smith, c, f. Hunicke, D. e.
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 I
Green. Herrin, H.; - Burgess. guest
of members; F. w Williams. John J
Ratz, president local plumbing com :
pany; Norman Hancock, St. Louis;
- Wolifson A. T. Rannus, Mount ,
Vernon, Ill