Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1903 — FIRE IN BIG ARSENAL. [ARTICLE]

FIRE IN BIG ARSENAL.

FLAMES DO GREAT DAMAGE AT ROCK ISLAND. J - __ Heat Sets Off 1,603,000 Hounds of Ammunition, Endangering Lives of Many—Govern me nt Loss Est i mated at ♦2,000,000 -Fineit Arsenal iu World. The arsenal at Rock Island, 111., was visited hy a fire which caused a loss of about $”,000,000 in the destruction of storehouse "A,” the principal shop of issue of the government’s immense ordnance and equipment factory, and of its entire contents. < A thrilling incident of the tire was the discharge of 1,000,000 rounds of KragJorgenseu ammunition, the cartridges exploding in one continuous fusillade, scattering bullets to every part of the island and endangering the lives of scores of men who laid been called out to tight the flames. Boon Beyond Control. The fire started at about i) o’clock, and was soon beyond the control of the arsenal fire department. Appeals for help were sent to Davenport, Rock Island ami Mfrline, which Mb near by pn three sides the beautiful island on which the arsenal is located. Fire conymnies were immediately sent to help save the building, but found themselves powerless because of the Dying bullets. As a result the firemen’s efforts had to he confined to saving the rest of the plant. In this they were successful. Storehouse “A” went up in smoke, with all its contents, including a large quantity of military equipment. Estimate of Loss, Major S. E. Blunt, the arsenal commander, says that the burned building cost $250,000. and that its contents were worth over $1,500,(XX). It was the most costly tire that ever occurred in that vicinity and probably entails the heaviest loss upon the arsenal system of the United States that has befallen it iu time of peace. The Rock Island arsenal is the largest in the United States, luiving a greater capacity than any other and being advantageously located, comprising ten immense and substantial buildings with thirty-four floors and covering in all thirty acres of ground area. It represents an expenditure of $12,000,006. The site of the arsenal, the island of Rock Island, has been repeatedly reported by army officers to the War Department as not only the most beautiful and one of the largest in the Mississippi, hut as possessing extraordinary natural advantages from a military standpoint. General Ramsey, chief of ordnance, wrote to the Secretary of War in ISO 4 that "it is perfectly secure from an enemy advancing either by lake or river. From it supplies can he transported in any direction at any season of the year.” Rising from fourteen to twenty-three feet above the high-water mark of the river, it lies midway in the stream, with Davenport and its 40,000 people just across to the north and with Rock Island nnd Moline on the south bank, with a total population of about 40.000 more. The island stretches east and west along the course of the river for a distance of about two miles and three-fourths, with a width of from one-fonrtli to threefourths mile. Bridges, nil owned by the government, span the river and connect the three cities with the island and with each other. Description of the Plant. Located practically in the very center of the island, the buildings hare been built on the highest point of land. On either side of the main avenue there is a row of shops—five on the south for the arsenal, five on the newß for the armory. Driving through the main entrance from the west the road leads past the headquarters building, down by the "shop rows” and on to the driveway and bridge leading to Moline. On the northern shore is the handsome residence of the commandant at the end of "hedge row," and elsewhere nre located the barracks, equipped for six families and 170 men, and another building where the officers live. The geuernl plans of the shops are uniform. Each Is built in a “U” shape, w Ith the opening in the rear forming a court IX) feet wide nnd 238 feet long. The pnrallel wings nre 00 by 100 feet. The total area of each shop is 44,280 square feet—a little more than an acre. The eeuter building in the arsenal row is the forging shop nnd foundry. Opposite, in the north row. is the rolling mill and forging shop for the armory. The walls of the building are of Joliet limestone, and throughout the structures are of the most substantial kind. Nothing like these shops is to be found In the country, and it is doubted if they are equaled in the world —all things considered. Besides tlie main buildings there are six fireproof stone storehouses and one powder magazine. The arsenal ns such dates its birth back to July 11, 1802, when Congress passed an act locating it’ on the island and set uside SIOO,OOO ns a beginning. Ground for the first building was broken on Sept. 1, 1803.