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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1906)
10 THE MOBNINGr OREGOXIAX, . SATURDAY APIL 7, 1906. LIKE PHOENIX F Commercial Club Ready ton Work and Luncheon at Noon Today. BOARD OF GOVERNORS ACTS Concordia Club, OrcRonlan Office, and Tavern Will Serve as Meet ing Rooms for Biibincss and liunchcon of Slcmbers. offer or hospitality by elks. C. X. Ttankln. chairman: IV. "tV. Brethrton and J. P. KJnley. compris ing the board of trustees of the Elks' Building Association, at a meeting last ntcht adopted a resolution ex pressing sympathy for the Commer cial Club, and extending the freedom of the Elks building to Its members. The resolution, which will be sent to the Commercial Club today. It In the form of an Invitation for members of the body to make the Elks club rooms their home until they can se cure headquarters. With the same progressive and enter prising spirit that Is part of the Portland Commercial Club, the officers of that or ganization have set about to make the ust of the Are which destroyed Its . splen did quarters. The members of the Com mercial Club will be, without quarters un til today at noon. Then luncheon will be served as has heretofore been he custom. The rooms formerly occupied by the Tavern, which have entrances both on Sixth and Alder streets, and the Concor dia Club, which is In the same building, will be used for temporary headquarters 'until the Chamber of Commerce building can be repaired. Luncheon at Noon. Luncheon will be served in the Tavern at noon today, and it Is expected that there will be a large attendance of the members of the Commercial Club. The rooms of the Concordia Club have been tendered to the members of the Commer cial Club. F. A. Clark, steward of the Commercial Club, with his corps of chefs and waiters, will take charge of the Tav ern early this morning to prepare for the luncheon. The promotion work of the Commercial Club, which is conducted by Tom Rich ardson, will be taken up this morning where It was left off yesterday afternoon ivhcn the fire broke it off. Mr. Rlchard pon and his assistants will share the of llces of H. L. Pittock In the Oregonlan building for tbc present- Mr. Richardson is acting upon the suggestion of Presi dent F. W. Lcadbctter, of the Commer cial Club. Xol at All Disheartened. While the officers and members of the Commercial Club feel deeply the loss of their magnificent quarters, which were the finest possessed by any commercial organization of the Coast, they are not discouraged or disheartened in the lcasL The Chamber of Commerce building will be repaired as soon as possible. A special meeting of the board of gov ernors was held last night, when the mat ter was thoroughly discussed. Immediate action was taken in securing the rooms occupied by the Tavern. Besides the Con cordia Club, the Multnomah Club and. the Elks extended the courtesies of their or ganizations to the members of the Com mercial Club. Rut It was decided to ac cept the invitation of the Concordia Club to share its quarters owing to its being so close to the rooms which have been se cured for the dining-room. Annual Dinner Postponed. The annual dinner of the Commercial Cub. which was to have been given to night at the quarters of the club, has been Indefinitely postponed In respect to the late Homer II. Hallock, a member of the club, who was killed during the fire. Had It not been for the death of Mr. Hallock. the dinner would have been given at the Hotel Portland instead of the dining-room of. the Commercial Club. Elaborate prep arations had been made for this banquet, which would have been one of the finest events of Its kind ever given in Portland. It promised to surpass all the other ban quets of the club. It has by no means been abandoned. The quarters of the Commercial Club PH0T0GRAPH OF THE ROM ASHES VIEIV SHOWING .STARK-STREET RIUE OF BCILDINO. AS SEEN FR0X THE PERKINS HOTEL. Thi? photograph was taJcen from the Perkins Hotel anil shwsa the Stark-street rtde of tbe CXunber of CrmirTirrc cniUMf ns Jt appeared rtertlj after the Are broke cut en the elfhth floor. To tbe richt Is een the stream frost the u4tfe erf the Sreboat Georre 11, Williams. To the left. Truck Company 1 Is sen ralilnc a ladder in order to recent ytraaaa 1sainljaifl j Barnfo at the northwest comer of the bulldlnr. FIREMEN WHO DID HEROIC RESCUE WORK AND WHO WILL BE RECOMMENDED FOR SERVICE DIPLOMAS BY CHIEF CAMPBELL Var W. (evrn. will be refitted In a manner which will make them even better than, they were before the fire. This was decided upon at the metjting of the board of governors last night. Xot less than JCO.O00 will be expended in furnishing the quarters which they will occupy, an additional story on the Chamber of Commerce building. The owners of the Chamber of Com merce building stand ready to erect one or more stories on the .structure for the use of the Commercial Club. The club has been growing so rapidly that more commodious quarters are needed. The club has nearly 1000 members. A great source of satisfaction to the officers of the Commercial Club Is that they had in every particular complied TEI.EGIt.VMS OF COKIOLKX'K. Telegrams of condolence from all parts of the country were received by the officers of the Commercial Club yesterday. Practically all ef the com merclal organisations In the North west fejit messages of sympathy, among wnlch were the Seattle Com mercial Club and all of the commer cial organizations of Taeema. The following Is a telegram received yes terday afternoon by Manager Tom Richardson from C F. White, presi dent of the Seattle Commercial Club: Seattle. Wash- April C. IJWfl. Tom Richardson. Secretary ",oni merclal Club. Portland. Or. Members of Se attle Commercial Club express sym pathy and condolence to members of your club as regards recent misfor tune. Can we be of any nsf lstance? C F. WHITE. President. with the fire ordinances of Portland. Only last week, upon the invitation of the offi cers, Fire Chief David Campbell Inspected the quarters. He made several sugges tions, which were all carried out the next day after his visit. Over the door to the stairway which leads to the seventh floor of the building was placed a large and prominent exit sign. This exit was near the hallway leading to the bowling-room. During the noon hour and other times of the night and day when there were large crowds of business men In the Commercial Club, the door leading to the stairway was propped open. ASSESSOR SIGLER'S ACCOUNT Xo One Realized the Danger When Fire Was Beginning. County Assessor B. D. Siglcr. Whitney L. Boise, Ed Lyons, manager of the Northern Pacific Terminal Company, and Homer H. Hallock, who met his death, were engaged In social conversation In the smoking-room when the fire broke out. In dcscrlblnc the occurrences that fol lowed Mr. Siglcr last night said: "Our attention was first directed to the matter by some one coming In and telling its the building was on fire. Xone or us was excited, so far mr 1 could see, because at that time we did not realise the seriousness of the lire. and. therefore, attached hut little importance to it. In fact. I went into the cloakroom nd got my hat, and think the others followed. "Wc noticed the flames breaking through into the parlor from the direction of the dining-room, and I slid down the fire-escape from the club to the seventh floor, and there took the elevator. "I cannot understand how Hallock met his death. He must have lost his head completely, as there was no occasion for any particular anxiety about our escaping. "I have 'no Idea how the fire originated, as It was well under way when wc first saw it through the parlor doors." CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUILDING TAKEN "WHILE THE FLAMES WERE RAGING ' l 4 C". K. HewV.on. TOP STORY SWEPT By TIE FLUMES tCoctlnued From Page 1-1 the ladder to receive him. He was helped Into a near-by store, where he telephoned to assure Mrs. 'Richardson that he was not hurt. 'Lieutenant Stev ens returned up the ladder to assist in placing .a line of hose through an eight story window. Crowd Gives SIrIi of Heller. When all those in peril bad been safely brought to the ground the crowd heaved a great sigh of relief. The sit uation had not lost all Its horror, how ever, as it seemed that at any moment some of the firemen might be struck down by the showers of flying- atone and debris. Many were struck on their steel helmets. but no one was injured. By h peculiar coincidence the fire seemed to lose its intensity when the prisoners it haJ been str!vln for had been released. The flames were gradu ally brought under control and "fire's out signal was blown .In less than 40 minutes from the time of the spectacu lar rescue. The upper part of the building presented a wrecked appear ance. All that was left of the Commer cial Club was blackened stone frame work and a long smoke-stained pen nant which hangs from the south side of the building. THEORIES AS TO ORIGIN CARELESS SMOKER OR CROSSED WIRES THE CAUSE. With Incredible Rapidity the Flames Once Started Ate Their Way in the Club Rooms. There are two. theories given for the origin ot the fire. One is that it was started by an electric wire running along the baseboard in the clubrooms. The other, which is accepted most generally by the club members, who were In the rooms at the time. Is that it was started by MiTK careless smoker who threw a lighted cigar where it could come in. con tact with the curtains. Th; blaze origi nated In what Is known as the cozy room, a small alcove In the west end of the club, which was used by the members as a lounging-room. Before the members were aware the curtains In the cozy room were blazing and had quickly spread to some silk hangings which hung from the windows. Efforts were made to extin guish the blaze with a bucket and a pitcher of water, but as the water was thrown nt the flame? it seemed to give only added zest to them. Many of the members were not aware that the build ing was on fire, but quickly realized their danger a few seconds later, when the flames rushed through the rooms. Before the members were even given no- J. T. TrrVl&t. .lice the fire wax rushing along like a prairie conflagration. From the west end of the eighth floor the fire spread to the adjacent rooms, enveloping the billiard- room, the parlor, dining-rooms, and. last of all. the bowling alley in the eastern end of the floor. In almost an instant the entire floor was blazing, and members were rushing toward the elevator, the doors and win dows, where fire escapes were known to be. Before one of the ZO men who were In the room when the tire broke out could reach a point of egress the entire floor was In smoke and flames. The fiercest heat, and where the danger was most to those confined in the rooms was at the west end of the building, where great black clouds of smoke rolled skyward and red flames broke through the windows. First one 'pane of glass would break on the west side of the building, and one after the other the windows along the Fourth-street side of the building gave way to the heat and fell smashing to the rollctmaB J. M. Asdersea. Who Helped Club Members From the Wladows to the lire Ladder. pavement. As the flames rolled from the windows on the west'side of the building smoke only was Issuing from the windows on the cast side, but these soon were broken by the heat. The Are. however, was confined to tbc clubrooms and was not allowed to reach tbe floors below. Streams were played on the Are from all sides and tbc firemen from the Arc boat. George H. 'Williams, were summoned to the scene. They car ried a line of hose up Stark street from the river, and this powerful stream was the only one that was able to reach the roof of the building from the street. On the second alarm, which was turned In three minutes after the nrst one. all the engines In the city, with the exception of three, which were held in reserve in case of another fire, were called out. llos was carrid up over the Sherlock building on the North, and up the fire escapes on the Chamber of Commerce building to light the flames. The stand pipe on the Sherlock building, which had become weakened through age. broke and scattered water jn all directions. That which Is placed on the Chamber of Com merce building was useful and added greatly In getting the fire under control. Rotten, hose, however, was found to be plentiful, and Kvcral streams which were needed badly were shut oft because of the breaking of .the line. Scores of people who crowded too close were soaked T f CHAMBER or COMMERCE BCIT.D 1SO AND COMMERCIAL CLUB HISTORY. The Chamber of Commerce build ing was Talued at about $7Q,0"fl to build, and -traa begun In 1901. The ground it stands on Is estimated In value from Itrs.poft to 50.0(w. The bulldlec 1 constructed of Tealno sandstone. 1 The bulldlnc rr erected by a cor poration composed of members of the Chamber of Commerce. They lost all the money they put Into It when the bulldlnc i sold to satisfy a mortzacre held bjr tbe New Tork Life Insurance Company, fire or six years ago. At tha foreclosure sale the building was bought by tbi Columbia Investment Company, representing capital of the Ladds. Prior to the foreclosure the bulld lnr was involved fn UUgatloc through a ult directed' asalnt Ellis G. Hucbes by tbe Nr Terk Life be cause the former, as one of the build ers, had signed a bond to keep the building fr front cUItr.i. Mr. Hugbe spent a large part of tbe period of building In Europe, and wben.he returned be found debts had bees contracted. The Chamber of Commerce was sold February 10 last by the Columbia In vestment Company, of New Totk, to the t'rtted Railways Company, .which planned to make It the central depot of a system of street and suburban railways. In J an airy. JS9t. the Commercial Club was organised and has ever dace been an lapertaat facte? ia tb develeymeat of the Pacific Nona west. Its ratmbrrshtn reacts Into the buadreds. aad eanbraces a targe aum ber ef local business as4 Brefetstoaal tb en. belag a represeaiatlve body la that resyect. by tbe sraMHr of the Hues, aad the flreatea were taeeaveat eared by eetay la laying In sew kese. The seed ef-a. water tewer was sfeewa. as tbe tley stream. wMek bt eemearl- eea wKfc the Aass-es g'amss1 seaeJL reached eiy te Use seveath fleer, aad tbe aVre- r t f t t t I -" r- t I flk?'- - -..sLLLs. ' I K. M. Ilenitoa. boat stream was the only efficient one that could be used from the street. Chief Campbell has advocated the need of a water tower and has asked for "new hose. but so far has been unable to have hU requests granted. The work of the firemen and of the Chief was noticed by all and their efforts were praised upon mil sides. In speaking of the Are. the Chief said that, although it was one of the most spectacular in the history of the city, he felt 'well pleased with the work done by the mem bers oi the department. HILLOCK'S FATAL FALL 1IIS XIXE-YEAH-OLD SOX HEARS XEWS IX CROWD. Breaks Into Tears and Says. "That lafily rana." When Fatality Js Announced. Homer H. Hallock. who lived at 1S! Fourteenth street, the father of four children, and an employe of the Willam ette Valley Traction Company, met death during the fire ycsterdiy afternoon. In trying to escape from the burning build inff by way of a tire escape on an Inside court, he fell to a skylight tledge sever stories below, and was crushed to death In tbe excitement In trying to escape. many members rushed to the window of the Inside court and descended two small Are escapes which led to an open window on the seventh floor, by which means they could gain entrance to the stairs. Several made their way to safety by this means, but Hallock becoming Impatient of delay tried to reach the fire escape I ! from a side window not leading directly 4 J to the ladder. He scrambled upon the i J ledge of the window, and grasping the sill i with one hand attempted to reach the ; ladder with the other. H lost his bal ance. Seeing that he was .going to fall, he grabbed at two small electric wires which supported him for a moment and then broke. Endeavoring wildly to grasp at something for support. Hallock plunged from the eighth floor to the ledge on the skylight, seven stories below. Pcr- -aons wno saw the man fall turned from tbe windows at the sight, although smoke and flames were pouring around them. iiaiiock was kilted Instantly, and. It Is said, never moved a muscle after reach ing tnc ledge. His body was removed from the sky light during the nrocress of the (Lim and was carried to the entrance to the court on tnc stark-street side. AVhcn .Mr. Hallock was killed by falllng into the court of the Cham ber of Commerce building;, his D-year-old son. Joseph, was one of the thous ands of persons outside the building who had been attracted to the conflag ration. The little boy was standing- on the sidewalk, looking; up towards the Arc which was leaping- from the win dows of the Commercial Club, when he heard a bystander remark that his father had been killed. This was one of the most pathetic incidents In con nection with the Are. Deputy District .Attorney G. C. Moscr. who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Hallock. was the person who made the remark that was overheard by the little boy. At the time he was talking to H. W. Goddard. Mr. Moser noticed the little boj- standing; near him. but did not know who he was. -Homer Hallock was "killed by falling-.- said Mr. Moscr to Mr. Goddard. "What did you say? questioned the boy In a whisper. "Oh. oh. that's my papa. he said, breaking- Into tears and almost fainting-. Mr. Moser took the boy to his of Ace. where he was placed In charge of the stenographer. He then went to the home of Mr. Hallock. 18R Four teenth street, where he broke the news to Mrs. Hallock as gently as possible. Mrs. Hallock is heartbroken over the sad death of her husband. Mr. Hal- nmauoK. LLHHsfil2s)?'"VlSBBKHEafi "':SsSsSSSSSHSBB ju ssssssssssssss ' " ' "" - jjM sOsfHilslslslslslslslslslslslslslslsl 3sSa?HMMisBMMB leek. wko was aVoat 4t years ef age. is survived by foar children. Blaine. who Is employed la the offices of the O. R- A N.; Alraa. a High School stu dent; Mrs. James B. Welch and the little boy. Joseph. Mr. Hallock came to Portland about two years ago from Baker City. Be fore going; te Baker City he was ticket agent at Pendleton, where he was a member of the .Elks. Upon coming- to Portland he was flrst employed in the offices of the O. R- & N- and later ac cepted the position of right-of-way ageat for the Willamette Valley Trac tion company. FIREMEN DO GOOD WORK HOW THEY FOUGHT KLAMKS FROM THREE SIDES. Heroic Efforts In Hcsculnr Men From the Burning Chamber of Commerce Bulldin?. Lieutenant Jay W. Stevens, in command of Truck 1. Laddermen Charles Hewston and Cy Perkins were the nremen who assisted la saving- the lives of the per sons caught in the northwest corner of the building, and also In taking Tom Richardson from the roof. Those who fought the flames from the Are-escape on the Fourth-street side were Captain James Dllane. Lieutenant Walter Wilson and Pipeman Ed Lam bert, of Engine 3; Laddermen Wllford Davey and Ed Hewston. of Truck 1. and Fred Wagner., an ex-fireman who volun teered his services. All of these men per formed heroic services, and Chief Camp bell intends recommending them to the board for service deplomas. The Are-escape crew Is especially de serving or mention, for the reason that It was necessary to play a stream of water from the small line on the Iron framework of the Are-escape on account of It becoming: heated. When the flre mcn first ascended, parts of the escape were red hot. and It was some few min utes before It cooled sufficiently to per mit of them working without being roasted. When Truck 1 Arst arrived it was switched In on Stark street, and the lad der was being- raised to the scene of the flames from that street when Chief Homer II. Hallock. Who Lost Ilia Life. Campbell arrived and ordered the appa ratus to the Fourth-street side, and the heavy truck was hauled around to that side by hand. ' Battalion Chief Holden commanded the forces from the Sherlock building, which were somewhat handicapped by the burst- HALLOCICS FALL FIRST INTI MATION. Secretary Clltner and Assistant Secretary Mosessohn of the Chamber of Commerce were not aware that anything unusual was happening until they were startled by seeing the body of Mr. Hallock hurt past the window as he fell from the upper floor. Even .then they did not know of the fire, but thouRht that someone was com mitting suicide. They telephoned for the ambulance, after which, for the first time, they heard the cry of fire. They carried from the building the most valuable papers of the club and a large amount of money belonging to the organlzatlop. Tbe large exhibit In the main room of the Chamber of Commerce, however, was badly dam aged by water. The loss will prob ably be about $600. injr of the standpipe through which their supply of water was being pumped. Battalion Chiefs Laudenklos and Hol den commanded the Aretfgbtlngr brigades that fought the flames from the Third street side of the building. Chief Campbell Is well pleased with the able assistance rendered the flremen by the police department, for the battalions of bluecoats from all three reliefs were .mlllllllllH IT - view, smwijfs the roin or the commzxcxax. clxtb. Whole Foot Nothing But Proud Flesh Tried Different Physicians an& All 'Kinds of Ointments Could . Walk Only With Crutches Ohio Man Says : "CUT1CURA REMEDIES THE BEST ON EARTH" "In the year 1899 the side of my right foot was cut off from the little toe down to the heel, and the physician who bad charge of me waa trying to sew up the aide of my foot, but with no success. When he found out that wouldn't work, he began trying to heal the wound with all kinds of ointment, untilatlastmy whole foot and way up above my calf waa nothing but proud flesh. I suffered un told agonies for four years, and tried aiuercnt pnysicians ana su miius ui uin la ments. I could walk only with crutches. It is sixteen months ago since I began using Cuticura Soap and Ointment for my limb and foot. The first two months the Cuticura Remedies did not seem to work, but I kept on using them both. In two weeks afterwards I saw a change in my limb. Then I began using Cuticura Soap and Ointment often dur ing the day and kept it up for seven months, when my limb was healed up just the same as if I never had trouble. "It is eight months now since I stopped using Cuticura Remedies, thn best on God s earth. I am working at the present day, after five years of suffering. The cost of Cuticura Ointment and Soap wa3 only $6; but the doctors' bills were more like $600. You can publish my name and refer any one to write to me about Cuticura Remedies. I wfll answer all letters if postage is enclosed. John M. Lloyd, 718 S. Arch Ave., Alliance, Ohioi June 27, 1905." Corap'f! Ezternsl sod TalrrriU Tmbneat far .every Haranr.trora FlmplM to Scrofula, from Infnejt Ac, eoniiiting of Cnttcura Sosp, 56c-. Oiotmtut, i8c-, Rtfoi Tnt, 30c (ia form of Checolsta Costed Fills, He per vial C Bu). may mdisciui arnfguu. a uorie m onca c fatttr Dmj k Cbtm. Corpw Sol PrqsjfBpston. . trM.ravwiHltefi.t.SMartivllM ably handled by Police Captain Moore, who directed the placing of his men in the most efficient manner. Two arrests were made at the fire, one by Captain Bruin and the other by Pa trolman Ed Burke. They were "W. M. Waterford. arrested by Bruin for disor derly conduct, and. Edward Gallagher, a messenger boy. arrested by Burke for rc fufdnjr to move out of the firemen's way. Both were released on assurances of their appearing at court this morning. CR1SSETS NARROW ESCAPE TOM niCHAHDSOX'S SECRETARY TELLS OF DAGGER. Vu& in the Tower Room and Flames Were Coming Through the. Floor AVhcn He Fled."" V. I. Crlssey, private secretary to Tom Richardson, was among those who had a narrow escape .from the Commercial Club during the fire of yesterday after noon. Mr. Crissey. was in the tower room in company with Mr. Richardson and S. L. Barnett. stenographer, when the lire broke out. He and 3Ir. Barnett clam bered out of the window of the tower room to the roof and escaped to the top of the Sherlock building". "I was talking to Mr. Richardson when I heard the fire bell ring." said Mr. Cris sey yesterday afternoon. "I thought nothing of it at the time, and of course did npt know that the floor below us was afire. Suddenly I smellcd something burn ing, and Just as I arose from my seat I saw smoke Issuing from cracks in the floor. The next instant I heard "the crackling of the flames, and upon turning around was enveloped in smoke. a3 flames were leaping up the stairway which con nects us with the main floor of the Com mercial Club. ' "We didn't have a moment to lose, and all of us climbed out upon the roof. There we separated from Mr." Richardson. Mr. Barnett and myself ran to the west court, where we climbed down the fire escape to the sixth floor. I don't remember seeing Mr. Richardson after we had reached the roof, but thought he was following us. When we passed the eighth floor on the fire escape the heat was Intense, and we thought we would be scorched." r