The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1915-02-25
NEWSPAPER IS
WRECKED BY FIRE
DIES MONIES REGISTER & LEAD.
Err PLANT SUFFERS BIG LOSS.
FLOOD STAGE ON MISSISSIPPI
River Raises at Rate of Foot a Day,
Overlooking Low Lands Near
~ Muscatine. Pleasure Re-
sort is Under Water

Des Moines, Feb. 22.-Fire yester-
day morning wrecked the plant OF The
Register and Leader and The Evening
| Tribune, causing a loss estimated at
more than 100000.
/ Eighty per cent of the value OF the
property was covered by insurance.
The policies in the aggregate amount
to $4,000, $138,000 being on machin-
cry and contents and $4,000 on the
building.
The fire started in the mailing room
in the basement at O'Clock when on
Sunday morning the building was all
but deserted. Its origin is not def.
nitely known.
The fire was one of the most stub
born with which the department has
had TO contend in years. Despite the
pouring in of a number OF streams
continuously at high pressure the
flames slowly but surely crept upward
and by $3.50 o'clock were intermittent
Ily breaking out through the roof and
the windows of the composing room
on the top floor.
By noon the flames had been COM
pletely subdued.. At one time it APP
peared as if the plant of the Capital
City Garage company adjoining mighE
share the fate of The Register and
Leader building but the firemen sue
ceeded in preventing damage in that
quarter.
The fire from beginning to end was
totally lacking in spectacular features
but hundreds of persons stood in the
drizzling rain throughout the morning
watching the battle of the firemen.
The walls of the building were still
standing when the flremen had com
pleted their work, and gave little idea
of the destruction worked inside the
building by the fire and water.
| Muscatine, Ia, Feb. 22-F7ood stges
now prevail on the Mississippi river.
Jumping at the rate of a foot day,
the Mississippi at this point reached
an eleven foot stage. on Saturday,
flooding the lowlands in this locality
and threatening the destruction of the
older levees below Mrscatine.
Geneva Island, the popular pleasure
Iresort, is under water and owners OF
the scores of cottages on the island
are making strenuous efforts to pre-
vent the serious damage of their prop
erty by floating ice. The flood tide
had thrown the ice against the cot
itages unprotected by trees and that
some of the more exposed buildings
Twill be carried down straaf is feared,
as in instances human effort is pow
erless against the force of the ice
packs.
| The formation of gorges between
islands below Muscatine has held the
wter at an unprecedented stage near
MusCatine and only the breaking of
the ice bridges by the weight of mil
lions of tons of ice against it will pre-
vent higher stage and greater flood
damage
The damage resulting from the
movement of the ice this yea- has
been greater than at any time in the
history of Muscatine. Carried along
on flood tide the great masses OF
heavy ice, still firm, were buffeted
along the shore and pushed inland,
isplintering cabin boats, motor craft
and all structures in it's wake.
| Local river men fear that the pres.
ent spring will witness the highest
water in years. Never before has such
| floods marked the month of February
and because, Of the heavy snow in the
north the later flood periods which
prevail in April and June are expect.
ed to be without parallel. Everywhere
levees are being hastily reinforced to
prevent their destruction