Evening star., 1921-08-22
FOUR LIVES LOST
AS HOTEL BURNS
Many Hurt Leaping to Street
When Explosion Wrecks
Brown House, Macon, Ga.
BY the Associa ted Press,

BY the Associated Press.
MACON, Ga, August 22.-Four per-
sons are known to have lost their
lives in a fire which destroyed the
Brown House. a frame hotel here,
early today. and f1remen expressed the
belief that the death list would be
materially increased when the ruins
Of the burned structure had been e1-
plored.
John X. Hays, a former Justice OF
the peace, who lived at the hotei, was
one of those killed. The bodies OF lWo
ond floor of the building today have
not been identified.
Many Leap From Windows.
Harry Swansberg of Atlanta. engi-
nerr of the Central Of Georgia railway,
died at IL o'clock this morning. he
was with Hayes when he craWled from
a second-story window to the roof OF
the manufacturing plant, and leaped
soon after he did.
Fear Woman and Babe Lost.
Two charred bodies have been taken
from the second floor of the building
It is believed they are H. A. Turnip-
seed of Hampton, Ga, and his room
mate, B. A. White Of Me!ford, Ga.
Both were fagmen employed by the
Central Of Georgia railway.
It is believed there are at least eight
other bodies in the ruins. Survivors
told today Of seeing mother with
for help, but they were unable to
reach her, and it is believed both per-
ished in the flames.
Clay Murphey, head OF the company
that owns the property. estimated the
! money loss at $150,000, and said 1t was
covered by insurance.
Approximately twenty OF the l5o
guests of the hotel were injured In
the fire which followed an explosion
Of chemicals in an adjoining drug
store. One whole side OF the hotel
was smashed.
MANY guests were cut off from the
staircases by the first blast of flames.
and the greater part of these had only
one means of egress-that of leaping
from available windows. Spectators
on the sidewalks saved some OF them
from injury by catching them in their
arms.
Destruction of the hotel register
hampered the work of checking the
list Of dead and injured.
The Brown House was the oldest
hotel in the city and was located close
to the center of the business district
The flames from the frame structure
spread to adjoining buildings. burn
ing practically half of the block from
Plum street to Poplar street.
Ten Persons in Hospitals.
The explosion occurred at 80 o'clock
and the fire was not brought under
control until several hours later. The
ruins were still smoldering today.
Electric power lines in the downtown
district were prostrated, and fremen
worked by the light of the burning
building, which illuminated the en-
tire center of the city.
Two other hotels near the Brown
House were saved.
Ten injured persons from the fire
were being treated in city hospitals
today.
Among the injured are:
r. NJ. Smith. thirty-one, of No. s1S
; Austell building, Atlanta; fractured
right wrist, fractured right leg.
decorations.
E. A. rinsley. Macon, injury to
spine.
Henry Floyd. nineteen. of Nh. 21O
Residence street, Albany, Ga, horti-
| culturist; glass in feet.
| E. C.<Walton, twenty-eight, store
keeper, Brown House; broken left
! ankle.
! E. C. Crutchfeld, twenty-five.
Brown House. flagman: broken right
| leg and burned left leg.
! c. ]. Bailey, Y. NJ. c. A, minor in
juries.
Jesse Lee Jolly. negro, waiter.
| bruised and lacerated.
Killed by Jump From Roof.
j. X. Hays was fatally injured
when he leaped from the top of the
Collier Manufacturing Companys
plant and fell head first on a pile of
iron. He died on the way to Macon
! Hospital.
! F. c. Claxton. who jumped from a