The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-12-09
Investigators Seek Fire Origin in Winecoff Hotel
Four Still Unidentified In Disaster
 Final Decth Toll
 Moy Pass l20;
 SS in HospitoIs

Atlanta, Ia.. Dec. 9 - (UP)--Official investigators spurred by shocked public de- mands, today inspected the burned-0ut Winecoff Hotel in the hope of finding, among the ruins where 120 died, a means of preventing future fire catastrophes.
 Meanwhile, the families Of four missing teen-age girls win meet tomorrow night Co decide if they will accept the chaxTea bones of the only four victims stdh unidentified.
 The families will meet la the E.Inse Baptist Church ct Gainesville. Oe~s to examine what clues of identlEl~ cation are available-a gold ring inscribed "SD" Q high school class ring marked FLIP lo4s," a key Q room Number i230 where some uk the girls were known to be staying. Fear Ten May Mount A number Of the 60 persons lE- jared in Saturdays pre-dawn nre still remained in critical condition from shock burns, pulmonary dis orders and broken bones rece9Ve4 when they jumped from taae burn- ing building.
 It was feared taae flnal death bon may mount. The fire was the nA- tion's worst hotel disaster in history
 Representatives Of underwrf1er firms, fire prevention and buildarB Rroaaps. insurance investigator, a2u fire department offlcials frcln lthroughout the nation joined Ia minute, rourn-to-room check 0k 4e e-blackened hotel slneleton. | varisus Theories 0EeFe4
 The city councils fire committees win meet today. Special commat> Itees from the National Ere fueVene ton Association and the Nettonal Conference of Building OfzaeerB al1p wiIl make exhaustive studies e Sne blaze.
 Unofficial theories for crigln q the blaze include that Of spontane- lous combustion of oily rags in q lmaids closet. There were also sup posed to be paint supplies left over from recent work.
 A guest reported yesterday eaaas he saw sparks in the elevator sna1t several days ago. He believed q was from q shcrt-circzit. H11el 0k~ ficials have not commented.
 Mayor w. B. HartSdeld opened | 4a.. a-.&aa @.> .~Sv.eyskw 4rnp namn ma m grim laboratory, "so that the nation will have the benefit of their nno> ings here"
 Passed Monthly xnspeefism
 It was believed that a speclaz grand jury will make . separate Iinvestigati0n of the fire. Fulton County Solicitor General '. '. An. drews said that if the jury found evidence of criminal neghgence, indictments would be s0uzhi against the hotel management.
 The building regularly he'd passed | a monthly city fire inspection. Because the Winec0H Was nss&o as "fire-proof," it was not required to have outside fire escapes. &og did it have a sprinkler system. As hundreds made pitiful treaEA from hospital to moEtuary. thezls- lands of others attended Sunday memorial services for those Ws1G died ia the nations worst hotel ore'
 Mass Services Held
 Atlanta ministers took their 6ex1l from a consoling verge found & the open pages of . damp. scorN1e1 Bible from one of the heat-coEroaea rooms:
 Let not your hearts be trouhasd Ye believe in God: believe also fu Me. In My Fathers house aEl , many mansions. :"
 Services also were held at hos' pital& At bedsides of some w1l< escaped miracul0usly, prayers 1o| . the dead mingled with prayers 0| thanksgiving.
 One such group gathered around 2l-year-oid Mrs. George D. 1uken of Chattanooga. Mrs. Burch felI \ floors to the concretS, but esoape< only with broken legs and hEuIaeA
 Teen-aged Dorothy Moens q Columbus, Ga, despite Q seven~lzoe' leap, received only g broken aEN and internal injuries. She was be' lieved on the road to recovery. Georgia,s small t0Was-EazH bridge. Thomson, Rome. Aihaaz } Columbus and 0ainesyiile --cia4z' the doors of many business h1zz6e
 today and joined in mass A10lxuzn