The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-11-26
BEDDING SCHOOL NEAR DESTRUCTION
 BY DAYTIME FIRE
MT. Thorn Fails to Exercise Option on the Nichols
 Property.
Special to The Farmer.)

part of the public school system as the Center school, had narrow es- cape from destruction by fire on Mon day afternoon. Only the chemical en- zines saved it previous to the1r ar rival those who attempted to suodue the flames. by throwing on water were prevented by the dense smoke from getting near enough to do effectlVe work The two chemicals stationed at the Ridge were rather slower than usual in responding, but when they arrived on the scene after 9 haul be- hind autos of two miles they made quick job of it. The fire started in the basement. evidently from the furnace and the suppositfon is that floor support which was very close to the heater was first ignited- It is said that there were noA kindlfngs or com bustib ble rubbish near the furnace to account for the fires origin. Smoke coming through the floor shortly be- fore 2 o'clock gave the teachers and pupils the first warning and they quickly vacated the building and gave the alarm. Nearby residents who tried to get into the cellar and dash water on the flames were repelled by the smoke despite 8 resort to wet cloths over their faces and the fire was rap idly getting the upper hand when the chemicals got into action and changed the situation. The flooring of the room directly. above the furnace was burned through in places, but the damage can be repaired with inter ruption to the school sessions of only a few days at the most. The loss is fully covered by insurance.
 The assessors have held several ses- sions and performed most of the work preliminary to that of fixing valua- tions They find that 160 property owners, a majority of them non-resf- dents, failed to return lists and are therefore subject to the penalty of a 10 per cent. addition. They have also found some property which did not appear at all in last years abstract, this including building and two stocks Of merchandise in Georgetown. Before entering upon the main task. of valuation the board will make gen. eraI tour of the town in order to make a particular inspection of such pieces of property as. they feel they are not already sufficiently inforned about. These will probably constitute com parative1y small part of the whole. Last week they made a. tour of the west side and on Tuesday paid a visit to the Ridge section.
 Suffragans Bishop Acheson, the re- cently chosen assistant of Bishop Brewster, visited the Episcopal church at the Ridge on Monday and in the evening administered confirmation to eight candidates. Previous to the ser vice he held reception at the rectory Wn1Cnz was aIL0nQ6Q by DSLW6Sn 00 anu 70. The service began at 8 o'clock be- fore "a crowded congregation, a fact which the bishop commented upon as not bearing out the oft-repeated as- sertfon that interest in religious mat. ters especially among the rural pop
 ulation. was at a low ebb. He also referred to the need of a local parish house and asked those who favored the efestablishment of one to raise their hands. The response was general. Those who received the. confirmation rite were Joseph and Neil1, the young Sanford and her son Jesse; Eric Blake, d pupil at the Sanford schools: Harley Nichols, Genevieve Sherwood and Mrs Benjamin Bassett. The ser- ,vices was the first at. which Bishop Achesen efficiated as the bestower of confirmation. Clergymen from New town, Bethel and Danbury were par ticipants in 1t.
 Ark lodge. F. & A. M, of George town, received an official visit on Mon Theodore w Benedict of New Ca naan. He was accompanied by the degree team of Harmony lodge of that place who exemp1ified the Fel1owcraft degree upon one candidate, the ac- lcompanying lecture being illustrated
 by lantern views. Following the lodge room exercises there was a banquet with addresses in the basement of the Congregational church. The option obtained by Joel Thorn of New York on the Nichols property near the Ridge schoolhouse expired several days ago and in answer to an inquiry subsequently 'phoned by the Sanford real estate agency MT. Thorn said that he had decided to let it lapse. He added. however that he would come to ReddingA again in few days and might then do, some business His z Q nnJ caused much surprise as his state ments on his last visit indicated that he had plans wei matured for the i'm provement of the property. MT. Elm erson, Of New Canaan, made second visit of inspection to the Della Lyon place on Monday and on leaving said he would make known in a few days his decision regarding it's purchase improvements at the Henry Shaw place have been begun by John Muen- nich in anticipation of his acquire ment to the title of it within a few days. When MT. Shaw vacates it he will go to Islip, L. l., where his wife is now living with their married daughter
 There has been as yet no t1sagic se- quel to the Black Hand warning which was part of a blackmailing demand for s250 that recen fly came to an Italian cobb1er in Georgetown The cobbler~ fears, however, that the blow may fall. at any moment and goes about in anticipatory fear and trern- bling Literally speaking he goes about very little, keeping close to a corner of his shop during the day and at night barricading himself in his sleeping apartment upstairs It is ru-j mored that he has armed himself H realizes, however, that Black Handers dc not attack openly, but adniniste doom by 8. stab or a shot in the back when there are no witnesses about One theory regarding the case is that friends Of another Italian cobbler. 2 oicilian, are. trying to throw a scare into the subject of the warning so as to drive him from the village Tn latter is popular and has built LID