Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-04-08
UNION STATION hT k. LITTLE ROCK BURNS;
 LOSS lS S1,O0O,OO0
Big Structure on West Mark ham is d Total
 Wreck
ALL BAGGAGE AND
 EQUIPMENT LOST
Only Walls Left Standing-With Throrgs in Building Fire From Wiring Gains Big
 Roadway

Little Rock, April 7--The Mis- souri Pacific passenger station here, the largest railway terminal in the state, and one of the best in tue southwest. was destroyed by fire here early tonight. The fire is be- lieved to have been caused by de- feetivc electric wiring. The loss is practically total for the fire had gained such headway by the time fire apparatus arrived that there was no hope of saving the building. Only the walls were left standing. All baggage and all equipment was de- stroyed. All passengers and em- ployes in the building escaped and no casualties have been reported.
 The station was completed in 1909 at cost of $750,000. Loss of cquip- ment and baggage probably will raise the total loss to nearly one mil lion dollars. At the time the sta ton was built it was the largest in the country in proportion to the size of the city
 B. F. Bush, president of the Mis- souri Pacific, is en route to Little Rock from Texasl and is expected to arrive here late tonight.
 With the building thronged, the fire which broke out in the offices on the third floor gained q tremen- dous headway and could not be halt ed. Soon after the alarm was turn ed in West Markham and the side streets nearby were throngd with thousands of people, in many streets three and four blocks deep The flames from the mass of interior woodwork burned through the roof and lighted up the sky so that the blaze could be seen for several miles. Trains arriving and departing were delayed from 30 minutes to several 1 hours. It is probable that the Rock ! Island and the Argenta stations will be used temporarily, though no an- nouncement to this effect had been made tonight
 The departure of Missouri Pacific train No. 1O3, Little Rock to Alex andria, La, which is due to arrive in Pine Bluff at 10:47, was delayed l by fire at the Little Rock termin- al last night. and did not reach here until midnight. When the fire was discovered, according to Conductor James Graham. all trains in the | sheds were pulled out to a safe dis tance, and passengers taken on at that point. Passengers for 103 were taken on just outside the station yards, passengers going down to the l train thru a cut near the station.
 No baggage was carried by this train, though considerable amount was saved he said. Two trucks of meat in transit to Pine Bluff by ex- press were burned in, the fire.
 Passengers and railroad employees arriving here last night stated there seemed to be very little excitemnt among passengers and others in the Little Rock station, and the fire had | gained headway, they stated, before passengers consented to believe the. station was in danger and leave. The ticket sellers were being beseiged by prospective passengers while the flames. M. Phillips, travelling man from Memphis, said last night. They stayed in their cages selling tickets until forced to vacate, he stated, when they gathered their money to- gether, and almost immediately re- appeared for business in booth not far distance from the burning sta- tion.
 The dining room of the station was filled during the fire, and neither patrons nor waitresses con- sented to leave the building until the roof of the kitchen fell in, he said Passengers on 103 who came thru
 Pine Bluff last night agreed that
 those in the waiting rooms in the
 station exhibited only casutl in- teresS in the fire, and many refused to leave the place at first, believe
 ing the alarm to be 8 joke.
 There was little evidence of excite ment on their part, it was said, and at no time was there danger of q stampede. A number of coaches z were pulled out of the train sheds ! with smoking roofs.
 The Little Rock fire department seemed to be unable to combat the
 flames, passengers said, and this,
 together with poor water pres :. sure, allowed the fire to get entire- ' lv beyond control