New Ulm review., 1922-12-13
SEE DEEP PLOT
TO BURN STATE
NORMAL SCHOOLS
Officials Investigate Sim-
ilarity Between Two
College Fires.
EDUCATIONAL CRANK
MAY BE GUILTY PARTY
New Building At Winona
Must Await Action
Of Legislature.


total loss of 81, 100000.
officials have already collected evil
dence that purports to show incen-
diarism in each case. Both fires start
ed early on Sunday, s1noldefed a long
time and could not be controlled when
they were discovered. The fires in.
both cases broke out in the Easements
of the main buildings. Fire chief il
each community report that suspicious
persons were seen lettering about the
campus before the blazes.
Light Is Seen. y
w. G.. Nottan, chief of the Winon:
fire department, has reported to the
state officials that a light was seen be-
tween / a. M and 2:45 a. M Sunday
December 8 in the library building on
the Winona college campus. The.
library is connected by a tunnel with
the main building. .'
Chief Norton declared that then he,
answered the fire alarm at S q. n. I he:
drove around tn, building aud found a.
window oren in the library room where
the light had been seen.
Clues Point To One Person.
Ben E. Bangerte--, Mankato Fire
Chief, has declared that incendia ism
was probably the cause Of the. FIRE
which destroyed the main building Of
the Mankato college.
We have eliminated all other prob
able or possible causes with the ex-.
ception of elites which have pointed tc
one person who may have started the.
Are because OF a grudge," Mr.. Ban
gerter declared. In our investigA-
ton following the fire, we worked
around TIE theory that this person,
who we feel is mentally deranged,
might have started the fire due to a
3grudge he is known to have had,
prey yious to the fire, against some OF
tha officials Of the college beard"
Person Seen In Vicinity.
I'VE knew at that time, this person
had been seen in the vicinity Of the
fire here on several days pior to the
fires but we could not obtain any
evidence which would connect the
person being in the vicinity Of the
college prior or after the fire.
I'm making our deductions we have
Eliminated tho probability of the fire
tarting from defective wiring, spon-
taneous combustion, or from the boilers
If the building. We know that. the.
wiring was not defective because.
thousands Of dollars had been re-
Gently spent in putting in new ap-4
,aratus and that they had been re-:
emily inspected. The boilers Of the.
building were not in the main building
Hhere the fi.e started. If the fire had
tarted in the manual training room,
where there would be plenty oily
waste and cans Of paint and varnish, it
night have been laid to spontaneous
ombustion.
I'VE know from our investigation
;hat the fire started down in the ven;
tilating system ia the wooden shafts.
The conclusion that it started here
from an explosion of dust is wrong be-
;ause there would have had to, be a
spark to set off the explosion, the same
IS setting off charge Of dynamite.
The investigations of Chief Ban
yerter. in arriving at the conclusion
that the fire at the college did start
in the ventilating system, and it by
spontaneous combustion bears out
the theory, that the fire was set by a.
fire bug" in as much as the Winona
State Teachers college fire is known te3
have startedin the same place. .
Crank Guards Lives.
Authorities point out that crank
opposed to al forms Of education may
have been responsible for the fires.
It is evident that if the fires were 81;
;ncendiary origin, the frebrg was
careful to cause no loss of life. Both
the Mankato and Winoua buildings
burned on Sunday morning when it
was impossible for any loss Of life to.
occur. Il
Winonai is now lowing the example
Of Mankato and housing its students
| in churches, halls and other availab bic
structures. Judge s. H. sornsen Of
Winona mem Der Of the State Teachers