The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1918-03-20

Roy aL0lt, bupeTlNtNnuent or Iht
Greenwood Light and Water Works
STAGED this morning that the fire We l.
nesday night had consumed more WA
ter than any other blaze experienced
in the city, And at that. sufficient
supply for the demand could not be
secured,
1t was stated by an official of the
fallahatchie Compress a. Storage Go,
this morning that the cotton contained
in the shed numbered from $500 TO
1000 bales, Practically all Of this was
insured.
Three hundred and ffty-six bsles
belonging to Mrs. S. p Southworth,
Sidon, was uninsured and is total
loss
Farmers residing in the county are
said to have some cotton destroyed in
the fire, which was uninsured.
All the cotton mems cotton was In
sured and the majority Of il in the
river shed was stored there by them
Cotton was put in the river shed 70;
the last time some ten days ago Cot
ton stored there was that which was
brought in from the neighboring sec.
ton Only a little cotton from the
railroad was lost in the fire, Practi-
cally all of 1t was Lefloro county cot
ton.
officials of the compress asserted
this morning that it is impossible To
get the exact number Of bales in the
shed. The first figures given, they
stated, were probably correct and
about as complete and concise as could
be arrived at for the present. The
work Of checking, which will consum.
ate considerable time, has not beer
begun, II is understood that the com.
press men are awaiting the arrival Of
insurance adjusters.
lncendiarism Ia Hinted.
While there IL no definite clue from
which to base the assurpti0n, the
ready oa.'y%ar y the aueryfw4ssarJlnG
the origin OF tae iire frons 5liieialsl
and others, AS well, seems to be uni
Hersslly agreed upon Is the work OF
a German fire-bug.
Sympathizers of the Kaiser and the
German government and peace pr0po-
gandists are coming In for their share
Of cisicism this morning Jas the ruins
of the destructive fire are viewed by
the residents.
Here are the facts, uncolored:
The fire started from the southern
corner Of the shed situated off 10 it.
self. II is the most accessible one 10
from either the public road.
way or the railroad yards some few
yards distant.
The fire originated from the south
western corner. The wind was blow.
ing at a great velocity to the north
east.
Sparks from the switching railroad
engine on the tracks did not start the
FIRE. The northeastern wind would
have carried these, as it did the sparks
from the cotton fire, In that direction
instead Of to the northeastern side
Of the track, where the shed was sit
uated.
Cotton was last stored in the river
shed ten days ago.
A rumor last night said that work
men had been smelling something on
fire at this shed for number OF
days" Officials denied that this was
true this morning. The first time that
any scent of cotton burning was dis
covered was ut 7 o'clock last night.
Compress Stocked Up.
One might look upon the fire as a
fortunate affair, If there were to be
one at all. Had the wind been blow
ing in an opposite direction, there is
little doubt but what the entire town
would be in ashes this afternoon. Had
the wind been blowing due westward
ly It would have been impossible TO
save the other sheds and the sparks
from these would have marked their
path with flames.
The stock on hand at the compress
totalied 1880 bales yesterday after
noon.