Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-04-24
VICE PRESIDENT
AND OTHERS ARE
DRIVEN OUT Of
HOTEL BY FIRE
Six Hundred Guests Are
Routed From Their Beds
When Blaze Starts in New
Willard Ball Room,
FOLLOWS MEETING OF
THE GRlDlR0N CLUB
Cigarette or Cigar Stump
Cast Aside at the Close
Of the Dinner ReSpon-
SibIe, Is One Theory,
(By The Associated Press.)

Washington, April 23. - Vice
President Coolidge, several men,
bers of the senate and house of
representatives and many other
persons prominent in public busi-
ness and social life, were among
coo guests of the New Willard
hotel who were routed from their
beds at an early hour this morn
ing by a fire which swept the ton
floor OF the 10-story grey stone
structure at Pennsylvania aVenue
and Fourteenth street.
The blaze had its origin in the
ball room on the tenth floor.
where a few hours before presi-
dent Harding. Mr.. Coolidge, mem
bers of the cabinet, senators and
representatives, foreign diplomats
and others had sat around the
banquet board as guests of the
Gridiron club, at its annual spring
dinner and frolic.
Water Causes Damage.
The fire was confined to that
floor aud the roof above, but
tons of water poured into the
flames seeped through to the
floors below, causing much dam
age.
There was some confusion and
excitement as hotel attaches. DO
licemen and firemen pounded on
doors and the telephone operator
on duty called room after room.
but all those in the hotel got out
of their apartments to the corri-
dors and lobbies in safety.
How the fire started may never
ht1f
that a cigarette or cigar stumn
cast aside at the close of the
grldiron dinner found n lodging
place beneath a rug or in a fold
of heavy drapery. 1t was 5:45
when a passing policeman noticed
smoke coming from the tenth
floor windows.
Coolidge Is Awakened.
Several fire companies were on
the scene in a few minutes. The
clatter of their gongs woke Vice
PRESIDENT Coolidge, who, upon GO
ing to a window, saw the appa-
ratus drawn W across the stree.
lie called Mrs. Coolidge, remarked
That there was a fire in the neigh
borhood and suggested that they
go out to see it. While they were
dressing they learned that tna
fire was in the hotel.
Descend to Lobby.
Leaving their apartment on the
Third floor they descended to tho
lobby, and Mrs. Coolidge was sent
to the home of the vice presi-
dents secretary. Edward 7. Clark.
Mr.. Coolidge remained at tho
hotel, where he was again Joined
in the afternoon by Mrs. Coolidge.
He was the second successive vica
president of the United States 20
nave an experience in a fire at
the New Willard, a blaze having
routed the vice president and Mrs.
Marshall late one night nearly
four years ago.
Brigadier General C. z. Sawyer.
personal physician to Presid mt
Harding, and Mrs Sawyer, were
awakened by hotel attendants and
later found shelter at the White
House
Other Prominent Guests.
Other prominent guests in the
hotel included General Charles G.
Dawes, director of the budget;
General T. Coleman Dupont, SEN
ator from Delaware and one of
the owners of the hotel; Senators
McNary, Oregon, and Rawson.
Iowa; Representatives Hustled and
Snyder of New York: C. C. Nc
Chord, chairman Of the interstate
commerce commission; John Il.
Adams OF Iowa, chairman OF the
republican national committee:
Mrs George Maynard Miner. pres
ident-general of the Daughters
of the American Revolution; John
Phillip Sousa, Olga Petrova.
Adolph Zukor, Judge Robert W,
Bingham. publisher of the Louis
vile, X, Courier Journal; Arthur
b. Krock, publisher of the Louis
vile, KY, Times: Harry Chandler.
publisher of the Los Angeles
Times; Edward A. Dickson. pub
Usher of the Los Angeles EX-
press.
AS these and other guests made
hasty toilets, firemen from COM
panies that had been summoned
from many parts of the city in
vaded the hotel by the scores to
begin their four hours battle
with the flames. Meantime, hotel
attendants hurried from room to
trunks and other luggage.
Laden With Lingerie.
Some of the women came down
with arms laden with silk lingerie
which they dumped into chairs in
the celebrated peacock alley" and
in the adjacent blue room" where
later they set up and packed their
wardrobe trunks. one man ar
rived in the "alley" clutching the
neck Of large bottle of color
and shape well known in the pre-
Nolstead days. In the case of one
woman guest a poodle dog peeped
out from the folds of cape.
Those who had taken refuge in
the "blue room" found that it was
but poor shelter for within a short
time water had poured down the
stairways and across halls, damag-
ing costly carpets in Its course, be-
gan to seep through onto them.
Before that 1t had found its way
into the elevator shafts and tire
mail chutes, filling and overflow
ing the mail boxes on the main
floor.
Invading the mezzanine the wa
ter seeped through crevices AMI
trickled down the sides of the huge
onyx columns in the main lobby.
The main dining room remain-
ed dry. however, and as the fire
men battled nine stories above,
scores of guests sat at breakfast,
laughing and chatting as though
nothing unusual had happened.
While unofficial estimates of the