Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-01-27
CRACKER FACTORY AND PICKLE
WORKS At DAVENPORT
TOTALLY DESTROYED.
ROCK ISLAND AND MOLINE
DEPARTMENTS SUMMONED
Worst Fire in Twelve Years Visits
River City and Throws Many En-
pIoyes Out Of Work-Craeksr Fac
tory Employed $50 PeopIe-Five-
Story Brick Structure Total Loss.

Davenport, Jan. 27.-Property valued
at $S6S,00O, the heaviest fire loss that
Davenport has known in the last
twelve years, was destroyed when the
Crescent Macaroni & Cracker Com
pany factory on Iowa street between
Fourth and Fifth streets, and the
Amazon Vinegar & Pickllng Works
plant, at the foot Of Howell street,
burned to the ground.
Loss at the Crescent pant was
$3.50 900, Of which S15o.oOo is covered
by insurance. Loss at the Amazon
factory was $4,000, with insurance OF
1000. Both factories were nearly
totally destroyed, the firemen being
poWerless to do ought but prevent
the spread of the flames to adjoining
buildings.
Save Books and Papers.
The office of the Crescent plant
alone was saved, and most of the
books and valuable papers were not
DESTROYED. The books had been locked
| UP in the office safe but half hour
| before the turning in of the alarm. No
j blaze was discovered. No one was
i injured In either fire.
| Investigation revealed the fact that
| the blaze had started in front of the
| No. 1 oven in the west end of the
building and on the ground floor. 1t
was a half hour after the blaze had
| broken out before the fire fighters ar
rived on the scene, due to the long
thine the blaze had been smoulderins
before the outburst of flames and
smoke led 20 discovery and the turning
| in Of the alarm.
Call Rock Island and Moline.
When Chief Denger arrived on the
scene he saw the magnitude of the
fire and Immediately 1elephoned for
assistance to the Rock Island and Mo-
line departments, which arrived within
twelve minutes.
A half hour after the first alarm had
been turned in several Of the floors
had collapsed and great clouds of
smoke and flames were pouring from
every window OF the structure. The
walls began to fall at o'clock, the
south wall crashing down a few min
utes later. A few minutes before the
south wall went down Chief Denger
ordered all the firemen from the vicin-
ity and just as they had beaten d
quick retreat to a place of safety the
wall fell with a great crash.
Walls Toppie Over.
The smokestack then toppled over
The north half Of the Iowa street wall
went down five minutes later, tearing
electric light wires from poles nearby
BY the time the new part of the fac
tory adjoining the old building TO the
east. had been Quilted by the fast de-
lyouring flames and the walls com
menced to topple, crashing down at in
tervals of few minutes and sending
great clouds Of burning brands sky
ward.
The hurting projectles of fire flew
among the thousands OF spectators
who lined the iron bridge running over
the railroad yards on Farnam street
and the yards between the Crescent
plants and the Rock Island freight de-
pot. No one was injured by the fall
ing brands altho several of the spec
tators had narrow escapes.
Factory Had Big Capacity.
The Crescent plant was FIVE story
brick structure with ground dimen.
sions OF 2lDxl5O feet. II contained
over 100000 square feet of floor space
There were three immense oven,
where the macaroni and crackers wer,
baked. The plant had capacity o.
200 barrels of -four a day. To handle
, its enormous output twenty five sales
men were kept continually on the road
, The statesmen had for their principa
= territory the states OF Illinois, Iowa
Indiana. Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska
the Dakotas. Kansas and Minnesota
, In addition to this territory the com
! pany had hundreds OF customers al
over the United States and also ex
ported a large amount Of its product I,
Italy, and other European and Soutl
American countries.
The pay roll comprises ESQ employees
men, women and children