The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-12-27
DISASTROUS FIRE IN
VIENNA THIS MORNING
Continued From Page Three.)

seemed to keep the fire confined to
the one side of the street; another
thing which aided very much was
the fact that the iron roofs fell in
such a manner as to present a bar
rier across which the flames found
difficulty in jumping.
Mayor Lloyd S. LeCompte render
ed signal service with his force
pump, especially as a number Of
the pumps in the vicinity were fro
zen. AS soon as the fire started Mr..
LeCompte started his gasoline en-
CINE, and coupled up two pumps,
which he had down alongside of
ter into tank, which holds about
500 gallons, by means of which he
succeeded in maintaining a pres
sure of about 80 lbs, and was able,
by the use of hose, to throw
stream of water upon property that
needed protection. His own proper
ty was undoubtedly saved by this
means. as well as the adjoining
property.
The people Of Vienna stated that
it seemed as if the bank building
was determined not to be burned
Notwithstanding the fact that the
fire ragged around it, the building did
not catch on fire for a long time; in
fact, had it been possible to get
close enough to it to have thrown
water, it could have been easily saw
ed, as being brick building, with
a slate roof, there was little to catch
on fire; the heat, however, soon be-
came so great, the store burning on
one side of it and the opera house
on the end, that it was almost i'm
possible to get close to it on the fire
sides, and the wood work around the
caves finally caught, then the heat
broke the windows, and in a short
time the whole interior of the build
ing was Quilted; the walls, however,
remained standing, and appeared to
be but little damaged.
No one seems to be able to &C
count for the origin of the fire Mr..
Ellwood Bell, of the firm of J. D. |
Bell & Son, stated that they closed
Last nigh t....,a hsalat =. asseyeI'
product, leaving the contract coal,
the bulk of deliveries. until later.
In consequence, he said, Coal usu-
ally shipped to the Great Lakes, New
England and other sections during
the summer, was not sent, and in
the fall when the operators turned
to their contracts, there were no IA
cilities for delivery.
Prices set by the President were
high, the commissioner testified, but
not nearly so high as those in most
contracts, and much lower than that
sold without contract. Existing con-
tracts in most instances have been
allowed to stand, hence much coal is
being sold at prices higher than
those fixed by the President.
The committee will take up sugar |
again tomorrow morning, with Food |
Administrator Hoover testifying. |
The statement which he tried to get |
before the committee last week al !
ready has been made public at the
White House, but it is expected he
will be questioned during the entire
day. Other witnesses may be called
for Saturday, but the committee has
no definite plans beyond Friday.
Ohio State officials who were to
have testified at today's hearing on
the coal situation did not arrive, so
Commissioner Colver, of the Federal
Trade Commission, took up the ses-
sion recounting the investigation of
The situation before the Fuel Admin
stration came into being.