Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 November 1892 — SIX MILLIONS LOST [ARTICLE]

SIX MILLIONS LOST

MILWAUKEE’S TERRIBLE VISIT TATION. Swept by Flames with the Wind Blowing a Slxty-Mlle Gale—Entire Lower Portion of the East Side Is Gone. Wild Night at Bnln. The lower portioh of the East Side of Milwaukee went up in a whirlwind of flame Friday night. The burned portion comprises the wholesale district, the Northwestern Bailway yards, and gas works. It is also thickly inhabited by Italians, Poles, Germans and Irish, most of whom are poor and have lost everything. The loss will be between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000.

The Are started shortly before 6 o’clock in the wholesale liquor house of A. Blade A Son. The wind at the time was blowing fully sixty miles an hour. As the Are broke through the roof the hurricane caught up the brands, and, whirling them across the block, flung them full on the seven-story building of Bubb A Kipp on the corner of Broadway and Buffalo streets. Before the engines, on a third alarm could arrive and come' into action the Kipp building was a mass of flames. This was the beginning of the end. The sparks were caught up by the gale and whirled hither and yon, while the firemen, fighting bravely in the molten shower, found their efforts powerless to stay the progress of the flamd's. A general alarm was turned in, bringing the entire fighting force of the otty into action, but it was unable to stay the steady march of the flames which now were rioting blocks away. From this on it was a steady conquering march. The big streams of water looked like squirtguns playing against the roaring sea of flame. From Bubb A Kipp’s the fire had eaten backward to East Water street, but there it was held by hard fighting, with the fire companies enveloped in smone and flames, undistincuishable except as the wind whirled the curtain apart at times for a second. People Driven from Their Homed. Balked here, the flames threw themselves with renewed vigor on the territory to the eastward and leeward. There no engines stayed their progress, and they rioted down across Broadway, stopped for a moment in the block between that street and Milwaukee street, then jqmped over that and continued Vheir unimpeded career toward the lake, a half mile away, carrying destruction, ruin, and despair to poor families who were in their path. These people hurriedly left their homes, carrying with them what they could, and where this was Impossible by the sudden onset of the hurricane of fire fled swiftly, not stopping 1o look behind, only glad to escape with their lives. Mixed in with the small wooden buildings, which were the dwelling places of those unfortunates, were huge wholesale houses. The fire king made no Invidious distinctions. The big trade warehouses went with the humbler home. The only difference was that he stayed longer with the former. The territory burned out is in the shape of a slightly obtuse triangle with the apex at Blade A Co.’s, on the river, the upper side Detroit street, the lower Menominee street to Milwaukee and then to the Milwaukee River, and tho base Lake Michigan. Roughly it is a space two-th'Tds of a mile long on the ease line.

At 7:30 o’clock Friday night Fire Chief Swenie, of Chicago, received a message from Chief James Foley, of Milwaukee, asking for immediate assistance. Exactly at 9:30, less than two hours after the call for help was received, the train left the north end of the Northwestern yards, with G. M. Harshaw, a trusty driver, at the throttle. ' The train consisted only of four flat cars containing the fire apparatus and a caboose, and looked more like a circus train than anything else. The caboose was filled with firemen, reporters, and fire-insur-ance adjusters. It was run as a special, and was givon a through right of way from Chicago to Milwaukee. Assistance also came from Kenosha, Racine and other towns near by. In the meantime in Milwaukee the scenes of Chicago’s big fire were repeated. Hundreds of poor householders carried in their arms, in carts or wagons whatever they had been able to seize and save before they were obliged to fly from their burning homes. They did not feel safe until they put the Milwaukee River between them and the destroying enemy. The few engines which could be brought into action were unable to prevent the wild riot. Every street looking south was a molten hell. The efforts of that portion of the department to the west and north of the fire had been'directed toward holding it from any retrograde march, and in this the men were successful. The flames showed considerable eoeentricity in their ravages. They would jump across buildings for a block, leaving them untouched, only to return later and wipe them out in spite of the efforts of the firemen, who fought gallantly against the heavy odds. Capt. Davis of the revenue cutter Johnson, which was lying -in tho harbor, tendered his crew to Chief Foley for uso in fighting the fire. They were gratefully accepted, and relieved the firemen in places where they had become exhausted by their hard fight. The reserve force came just in time, and the Johnson’s men fought gallantly and effectively. The Fourth Regiment, under the command of Col. King, was called out to assist In guard duty, as the crowds in the vicinity of the burned district numbered thousands, and the police force was in need of assistance. A platoon of the Fourth which assembled at the armory earliest was sent to the House of Correction, near which institution a fire was reported raging, where there were no police for guard duty, all the men being busy at the other fire. Companies E and F were used for guard duty along Detroit street, where there were piles of household goods which had been hastily removed from the burning houses. Company A was on guard duty around the Northwestern yards, where thieves had taken advantage of the fire to attempt the looting of box cars. Fully 10,000 people were made homeless, and leading insurance men say that about half the less?, is covered by Insurance. They estimate the total loss at $5,775,000. The losses are as fellows: Bubb & Kipp, tumlture $300,000 J. E. Patton & Co., oils and paints 250,000 P. Kissinger, wholesale liquors 75,000 Milwaukee Mirror Works 60,000 B. Leidersdorf. tobacco 250,000 Guyler Lithograph Company 100,000 Boundy, Beckham & Co., wholesale produce 300,000 H. Scheftel & Co., wholesale grocers... 200,000 J. Wellmure *fc Co., wholesale grocers... 200,000 Milwaukee Chair Company 250,000 Northwestern freight house, contents and cars 300,000 Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western freight houses 50.000 McLanden Hotel 25,t0:i P. Finger & Co., confectionery 26,000 Saner & Co., glove manufacturers 10.000 Fifty smaller business houses 600.001 Five hundred dwellings and cottages... COO, 000 F. P. Dohmen & Co., drugs 150,000 Welser <fe Vllter, machinery 100,000 Toepfer & Sons, machinery 40,000 Bayley & Sous, machinery 60,000 Inbuschßros., grocers 260,010 Femeker & Bro.. confectionery 25, 1100 Delorme A Quentin, tool shop 35,000 Milwaukee Rag Company 50, 000