Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-05-22
ATLANTA CARES
FOR THOUSANDS
OF ITS DESTITUTE
5000 Homes Destroyed by
Fire Which Swept Through
City's Heart
DYNAMITE COSTLY HOMES
Greatest Blaze Since General
Sherman Burned Town
in Civil War

Atlanta, Pa, May 22.-Atlanta
went actively 20 work to-day to care
for the destitute people from three
thousand homes destroyed in the fire
that ragged yesterday afternoon and
| last night throughout seventy-tive
blocks and was stopped only after
the dynamiting of beautiful homes
in Ponce De Leon avenue. The prop
/ erty loss was estimated at S3,OOO,OOO
| by Manor Gambler who declared that
! his estimate was conservative. Other
estimates ran as high as $5,OOO,OOO.
The fire started in warehouse
/ in Decatur and Fort streets and
drove first due north and then south
I east at some points Il block Wlde
and at times half mile in width. 1t
/ crossed Ponce De Leon avenue at
one point and swept down Boule-
vary for a block On the south slde
| of Ponce De Leon avenue, wlde
/ residence street, the burned area
/ extended from North Jackson street
some seven blocks east of Peach
| Tree street, the principal business
/ section, out almost to the baseball
/ park.
Property Loss Great
1t was the greatest fire IN Al
/ lanta's history since Civil war days
when General Sherman, terming it
/ the backbone of the Confederacy, de-
creed that it must be burned. In
/ property loss and hardships it was
even greater for the city General
| Sherman destroyed had only ten
/ thousand inhabitants.
Destitute persons from the burned
area, which included negro homes
and costly residences of white people
were cared for by the local Red
Cross and the Associated Charities.
Hundreds were fed last night and
to-day and lodging was provided in
the Auditorium, Armory, the negro
odd Fellows Hall, churches, private
homes and hotels.
| Preparations were completed to-
| day to feed five thousand people.
| Relief work got under way early
| several thousand dollars being sub
scribed in a few hours. a meeting
| of the city's representative men was
called for to-day to provide relief for
/ those needing it. Mayor Gambler
and President Ivan A. Allen, of the
local Chamber of Commerce, agreed
that no outside aid would be need
/ ed
Only One Dead
Only .one person is known to
have died as a result of the fire. Mrs.
Bessie Hodges died of shock after
her home was destroyed. Injuries
were remarkably few.
Here and there fire brands blew
ahead of the blaze firing houses a
block ahead of the wall of fire.
1. d.. Il Il
northward. Before them came hun
dreds of persons. The flames grew
to a roar when within a distance of
a block or more. Men who had COM
I forted their families with statements
that the fire would not reach them
realized at the last moment that
their homes were doomed. All We
hicles We're pressed into service.
Gathering what belongings they
sidewalks rushed men carrying
whatever property they had hurried
| ly collected.
Militiamcn Helped
After the fire reached a block or
j two of Ponce De Leon avenue, an
hour before dark, order began to
come out of the confusion. Militia
men and prospective United States
| officers from the training camp at
Fort Mcpherson took charge of the
situation under personal direction of
Colonel Charles r. Noyes, comman-
der at Fort Mcpherson.
I AS the soldiers took charge, aban-
! doning of homes in the threatened
districts was carried out consistent
/ ly. Automobiles, furnished by hun
dreds, carried people and their most
valuable belongings to other parts
of the city. Furniture, bed clothes
| and all the odds and ends from the
many homes Uttered the streets
which were made impossible in
many cases by fallen wires and splin-
ters from dynamited houses. The
soldiers allowed nothing to be NOV
! ed during the night and blocked
civilians from the fire zone and a
wide area around it. Only one case
of attempted looting was reported
Land that resulted in an arrest.
Advertises For Grandmother
Besides actual relief work to-day
there was a tremendous task ahead
of Atlanta in getting its scattered
citizens together. Members of many
| families had become separated. To-
day a man advertised for his ninety
year-old grandmother. Another
sought his wife and baby through
the want ad section of the morning
papers.