Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1898 — GRAIN BURNED IN ST. LOUIS. [ARTICLE]

GRAIN BURNED IN ST. LOUIS.

Over 1,000,000 Bushels of Wheat, Corn, and Barley Destroyed. Flames that did $1,500,000 durnage at East St. Louis destroyed the Union grain elevator, the Burlington freight houses, forty adjacent dwellings, the stables of the St. Louis Transfer Company nnd 100 freight cars loaded with wheat. The elevator contained 500,000 bushels of wheat, 480,000 bushels of corn and 20,000 bushels of rye. Between 80,000 and 100,000 bushels of wheat was on the cars that were burned, thus making the total loss of wheat in the neighborhood of 000,000 bushels. The fire originated from some cause not known, in the elevator, and was discovered about 10 o’clock. A few minutes later the huge structure was a mass of flames, which lighted Up the country for miles around. A strong wind was blowing from the northwest and carried showers of embers for miles, endangering the whole of East St. Lonis. The loss on the elevator, its contents and on the freight houses and contents nnd cars burned is fully covered by insurance. The risk is distributed among twen-ty-five or thirty companies.