Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-04
SIX MILLION DOLLAR SEAT
OF GOVERNMENT RUINED
BYFLAMES; 6LIVESLOST

CONTINUED from Page One>
morning and that he could not have
returned before the fire.
The financial loss is difficult to es-
innate, but the contents of the build
ing were of great value At an early
hour today it was believed that the
parliamentary library in rear wing
had been saved. While the building was
burning, soldiers carried out many of
its 100000 volumes.
The parliament building was rated
as one of the finest Gothic structures
on this continent 1t covered four
acres on Parliament hill.
Several persons who were burned
or otherwise hurt in fleeing through
the corridors before the swift rush Of
the flames or in escaping from the
windows are in hospitals today. One Of
those most severely injured is Mar
tin Burrell. minister of agriculture,
who was burned about the head.
Dr. Michael Clark, member for Red
Deer, suffered burns about the hands.
Sir Robert Borden, the Canadian
premier, escaped unhurt.
Two Women Trapped.
Madame Bray and Madame NORM
were guests of Madame Sevigny, wife
IF hn tra in
the speaker rooms Madame Seyigny
dropped her two children into a fire.
mems safety net and then leaped into
it herself as did another OF her guests,
Madame Dussault They escaped I'M
! hurt When the firemen reached the
speakers chamber they found Ma
danes Bray and NORM unconscious.
/ Vain attempts were made to revive
them with pulmotors.
Fire Started BY Bomb!
The origin of the fire can be deter
mined only by an investigation, which,
it is understood, will begin as soon as
possible. The fire started i'll the read
ing room of the house of commons, and
/ Colgea. Bradbury. a member of the
house from Manitoba. Mayor Martin Of
Montreal and Constable Helmer, who
were standing at the entrance of the
library, agree that it was preceded
by an explosion which blew open the
doors of the library and knocked
down persons standing near. They say
they believe the explosion was caused
by a bomb or Internal machine. Po-
licemen were on guard at both doors
of the library and other persons were
in the room itself, so that 1t would
have been difficult for anyone DELHI
! erately to set the fire without detec-
tons. Suggestions were made that the
blaze started from a smoldering cigar
butt, but smoking was prohibited in
} the library.
In this room were thousands OF
loose papers, among which the flames
leaped with almost amazing rapidity
Smoke rolled in dense volumes out
through the doors and into the cham
Der of the house of commons, where
that body was sitting. With the spread
ing of the alarm, members of the house
of commons, spectators in the gallery
and attendants fed in panic for win
dows, doors or fire escapes. So swift
was the rush of the flames that many
narrowly escaped. One Of these was
the minister of agriculture, Martin
Burrell who was overcome by smoke
as he fed through a corridor and wa:
dragged to safety by Robert Rogers
the minister of public works.
Firemen are Helpless.
Colonel John Currie, who command
ed a regiment of Canadians in thu
battle of st. Julien in Flanders, has
tily organized a fire brigade of mem
bers of the house and attendants ant
fought the fire with lines of hose II
the corridors but could make no head
way. The blaze spread so fast tina
when the Ottawa fire department ar
rived the building was doomed. Ali
was summoned from Montreal but a
a special train laden with fire appa
ratus and a company Of firemen wa
leaving that city about midnight tn
call was countermanded.
The tall central tower of the parlia
ment building fell at 1870 a. m. to
day and about the same time three o
four men were crushed beneath tn
falling roof of one of the wings. B.
o'clock the flames were rolling
; through the senate building but tn
: firemen believed the library would b.
saved. The parliament building in
cluded a central building with tw,
wings, in all 40 feet in length with
, tower 220 feet high, and library build
ing In the rear Many valuable sculp
lures, paintings and decoration
adorned its rooms and corridors. |
was erected in 1866 Of cream colore
sandstone on a bluff rising $50 fee
3 above the Ottawa river.