East Oregonian : E.O., August 20, 1908, EVENING EDITION, Image 1

EVENINGEDITION ), a
EVEKEDITiOli
TO ADVERTISER.
Don't lit down in th
meadow and wa.lt for
the cow to back P
and be milked o af
ter the cow.
WEAT1IKP I' I 1 "'.IT.
Fair and cooler to
night and Friday,
VOL. 21.
PENDLETON, OREGON, TJ I II IIS DAY, AUGUST 20. 1008.
NO. 6356
si
J 1 ....-a ! i . .. woLylIX NS mf S
-.. . - , Lc
IF A BLOCK IN RUINS;
PROPERTY LOSS $50,000
Early Morning Fire Destroys First Christian Church, Wilcox
Implement Store, Hotel Barn and Did Other Damage.
Heroic Work of Pendleton's Volunteer Fire Department Raved Perhaps a
Third of (lie City from Destruction Stiff Breeze Fnnn-d the Flames
Dig Church Consumed In Half an Hour Entire Stock of Imple
ments Pentroyed line Residences nireatened Several Times, But
Good Work Saved Tlieni Golden R.uJo Hotel, Oregon Theater and
Other rrojertl5H Tlireatened Loss Falls Heaviest on Church, Which
Carrtnd But $0000 Insurance on $15,000 Property.
Tlie Loss.
R 11. Wilcox & Co., $25,000.
Chrlstlnn church, $16,000.
W. H. Jones (Implement building).
$5000.
Golden Rule Hotel, $1500.
Damage to surrounding property,
$2000.
The biggest fire that Pendleton has
seen in years occurred between 1:30
and 3 o'clock this morning and dam
age to the extent of $45,000 or $50,
000 was inflicted. Had it not been
for brave and persistent work on the
part of the fire department, aided by
' a favorable change In the wind, the
fire fiend would have gotten entire
ly beyond control and a third of the
town might have been burned.
Started in Stable.
At 1:25 this morning George Hayes,
the bus' driver for the Golden Rule
hotel, had Just returned from meet
ing train No. 5 and ho left the bus
standing In front of the hotel while
. he went Inside to eat a lunch.
As he entered the place he saw
thnt the old stable at the rear of the
hotel wns on fire and he gave the
alarm. How the fire started Is a
mystery. It apparently hegnn nt the
front end of the stable nnd presum
ably from the careless dropping of a
match or cigar by snmo one.
According to the bus driver he
struck matches to light the bus
lamps on leaving the barn, but says
he Is positive that the fire was not
started by him.
(Jenernl Alarm Sounded.
When the alarm was given the old
wooden stable was all aflame and a
general alarm was sounded. Almost
Immediately the local bells In all
parts of the town were sounded and
the different companies turned out
quickly.
Wilcox Implement Store.
Prom the Golden Rule stable the
fire spread to the Wilcox Implement
store and within a few minutes the
long corrugated Iron building was a
blazing furnace. The building ex
tended the entire length of the blork
and wns filled with farming Imple
ments. The flames spread from one
end to the other with startling ra
pidity and tho Christian church and
the Jones house, occupied by Tom
Thompson, becamo threatoned.
Christian Church De.stro.vwl.
At an early stage of the fire It
could be seen that the big wooden
church was In serious danger, for It
was directly against the Implement
building and the church building It
self was dry as pitch.
Tho church caught fire on the south
side and with the wind driving the
flames northward the wholo building
was a mass of flames within a fow
minutes. Within less than half an
hour the church had burned to the
ground.
So quickly did the church burn
that nothing whatever was saved from
tho building The church Itself, the
furniture and about $1000 worth of
books belonging to the pastor, Rev.
Meldrum, were entirely lost.
T1kiiimoii House Tluvatened.
How tho W. H. Jones house, occu
pled by Tom Thompson and family,
escaped destruction Is a mystery. Al
most from the start It was regarded
as doomed and willing helpers as
sisted the family In carrying the
household goods to places of safety.
Practically everything within the
house, Including even the carpets,
was taken out.
But Just as the danger was great
est and the house was considered a
"goner" the wind changed and the
flames and cinders were turned in a
northeasterly direction.
The change In, the wind saved the
Jones house and lessened the danger
to the Alexander and Sturgls houses
across the street., but it was deadly to
the houses"farther uj, tb lret. " -
Flno Homes RnrtangerwI. ,
The scorching flames from the
church reached nearly across the
street to the Strahon and O'Oara
homes. Time and again each of those
places caught fire, but each time the
firemen were equal to the emergency
and wived both houses. But both
homes were soaked with water and
much of the furniture was dnmaged.
Most of the household goods from the
Strahorn place were taken out and
carried up the street. The O'Gara
homo suffered a heavy loss from water.
When the wind changed the Fur
nish, Thompson and Vincent places
on Water street were menaced. Sev
eral times the fine residence of W,
J. Furnish was in great danger, hut
small streams of water were kept
playing on the house and It was sav
ed. Burning shingles and monster cin
ders from the burning church were
carried over the house and several
fires were started In the grass on the
north side of the river.
For a half hour burning cinders
from the church were a serious men
ace to that entire portion of town and
also to the north side residences In
the wake of the wind. Had It not
been for good precautionary work on
the part of Individual householders
several dwellings would surely have
burned.
Narrow Escape for Hotel.
All during the fire the Golden Rule
hotel was In grave danger and it Is
almost a miracle how the hostelry
escaped destruction. Nearly all the
windows on tho north side of the
building were broken by the heat or
by hose streams and the burning
cinders blew directly Into the bed
rooms.
Six or eight times fires were dis
covered In different rooms, but they
never got beyond control. AH the
FI FICIIE EXHAUSTED WATER SUPPLY
The nine streams of water that
were turned on the big fire this
morning exhausted the supply of wa
ter thou on hand and once more dem
onstrated tbajt the present water sys
tem is nut adequate.
Had the flames spread as they
threatened to do for a time and
would have done but for the hard
work of the firemen, the shortage of
water would have been severely felt.
Had a really "big" fire occurred the
firemen would have been rendered
powerless by lack of water.
After tho fire this morning Mayor
Murphy reported that the reservoir
was empty and the' water people
were asked to do everything possible
to renew the surplus supply. The
sprinkler wagons were not operated
during the forenoon and the electric
pumping plant at the water works
was operated to the limit.
guests In the hotel were gotten out
quickly and they assisted Landlord
Popejoy protect the building and con
tents.
Several streams from the fire hy
drants were played on the building
and these, together with streams on
the second and third floors of the
hotel saved the duy for the Golden
Rule.
Theucer Was Afire.
At a later stage in the fire flames
broke out In the corrugated property
room of the Oregon theater and for
a half hour the playhouse as well as
the entire business block was in peril.
As It was, the big Six dry goods store,
owned by Mr. Cobb, was damaged by
water and minor losses were suffered
by the other business establishments
In that block. The Hohbach bakery
was somewhat Injured by water, as a
line of hose was taken through the
building In order to fight the fire In
the rear.
I'lrcincii Fought Well.
Among those who saw the fire last
night there Is universal praise for
the gallant work of the firemen. To
Fire Chief John Vaughan and the
men in the eight companies compris
ing the department, medals of honor
are due for the way In which they
did their work.
All during the fire they fought
hard and without fear to check the
flames and they won out. Had it not
been for their good work all the ad
joining residences, the business block
between Cottonwood and Johnson
streets and possibly a third of the
town would have been destroyed.
At the outset of the fire it was dif
ficult work for the department. The
flames were spreading so raphfly and
the streams of water were needed at
so many points that it was hard work
to handle the situation. But no
blunders were made and in less time
than it takes to tell It nine streams of
water were brought into action.
In spite of the burning heat and
other disadvantages under which they
labored, the firemen held persistently
to the Job until they took the life out
of the burning pile and left It noth
ing but a blackened ruin.
Shortly utter the fire started Dr. F.
W. Vincent, manager for the North
western Gas & Electric company, be
ing unable to get the substation byj
phono, ran to the station and had
the electric current shut off from
that portion of the city. By this pre
caution danger from live electric
wires was done away with.
Loss Nearly $.-.0,000.
Naturally the heaviest losers by the
fire are the Wilcox Implement com
pany and the Christian church peo
pie, the 'most severe loss being suf
fered by the church. The Wilcox
Implement stock was valued at ap
proximately $25,000 and upon the
stock insurance to the amount of $15,
was carried.
The church with Its contents was
valued at $1 5,000 and It was insured
for but ?B000, thus making the loss
heavy. Inside the church at the
time of The fire was a valuable li
brary which Pastor Meldrum liad
Just rectttved from Australia.
The Implement store building was
owned by W. H. Jones, now of Se
attle, and Its value Is estimated at
$5000. It Is said to have been entire
ly without Insurance, Mr. Jones re
gardlng the structure as fireproof.
Of the rrlvate homes In that seC'
tlon the O'Gara and Strahorn places
were the worth damaged. The toes
to those places will probably reach
$1000 or more, but It is covered by in
surance. The Jones house, occupied
by the Thompson family, was dam
aged but little.
I
DIE IN FllES
Burning of Farm Home Near
Palouse City Snuffed Out
Half a Dozen Lives,
PAREXTS AWAY, CHILDREN
IilRXEI) IX TIIK HOUSE.
Two E!d-r Girth Tried Dospwttely
to Drag Sleeping Tot From the
names Hut Were Forced to Aban
don Them Four Little Children of
One Family and Two of Another
.Met Horrible Death Mother at
Show, Fathers With Threshing
Crews.
Spokane, Aug. 2!). As the result
of a fire In the home of H. W.
Schultz, two miles west of Palouse,
last night, six children are dead and
two are dying. Four of the dead are
Fchultz's children, two those of W.
W, Fix, Schultz's brother-in-law.
Fix and Schultz, whose families
live together, were away with thresh
ing crews, and the mothers were at
P.ilouse to see a show when the fire
started.
When all the children were asleep
at 11 o'clock, the oldest Schultz girl
was awakened by smoke and fire.
She aroused thjf little tots, who were
too sleepy to realize the danger; she
and the next 'oldest sister grabbed
the four Fix children and two
Schultz children and attempted to
rescue them, but finally were forced
to abandon the attempt to save their
own lives.
They dropped the sleepy tots and
ran through --flames, their clothes
burning.
The quartet of Fix children and
two Schultz children were burned to
death before help arrived. The oldest
Schultz girl and her sister who at
tempted the rescue are dying.
It Is believed the fire started in the
kitchen pipe. When tho mothers re
turned they were horrified to fina
the home in ashes.
HAVE JAPS INSULTE.'
AMERICA? - iG.
g
San Francisco, Au 0.
United States Attorney Devlin
Is today preparing to act against
the proprietors of Japanese tea
gardens for desecrating the
American flag by distributing
handkerchiefs representing It
with the words, "Japan tea"
printed thereon.
The Japanese-Korean Exclu
sion league called attention to
the matter asking that the pro
prietors be punished under the
federal law.
"This repeated contempt and
disrespect shown the flag by
the Japanese is In accord with
Nipponese diplomacy," said
Devlin.
oil tie sums
GED HUXTER ILVD
THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Los Angeles. Aug. 20. After hang
ing by his fingers to the walls of a
precipice for hours, Louis Lehman,
aged 50, Is on the verge of nervous
prostration today. His hands are
bruised and swollen and his finger
nails are off.
He crawled down the ledge on the
face of a sheer wall In Wheat canyon
in an attempt to recover a wild dove
he had shot. The ledge crumbled and
the aged hunter was hurled 25 feet
down, the cliff but managed to get his
tees on a small led.ee and held him
self by digging his fingers into the
crumbled sandstone. Campers rescu- I wilcox, head of the firm, began wlr
Fire Losses Have Not Discour
aged Pendleton's Optimistic
Property Owners.
WILCOX COMPANY AL
READY FOR BUSINESS.
Temporary Office Opened on the
Scene of Last Night's Fire TW
Autos and Roll Top Desk Comprise
Uie Company's Entire Stock Today
Christian Church Will Be Re
built, Pertiaps of Stone All Are
Optimistic.
Though $50,000 worth of local
property went up In smoke last night
the fire sufferers have not been caat
down by the weight of their loss, but
Instead are already making plans for
the future.
At an early hour this morning the
Wilcox company opened up head
quarters in the old brick paint shop
on the west side of Cottonwood
street opposite the burned store. At
the time of the fire the company had
two automobiles stored In the old
shop and these together with a roll
top desk that was saved constitute
the firm's stock In trade at present.
But the fire had hardly been ex-
I tingulshed this morning before R. H.
ed him.
CHILD'S BODY
INTfl BIC SIPHON
III I U UIU U I I IIW I
SI CKED THROUGH 600
FOOT pipe at cmco.
BUY RAISINS NOW.
GOVERNOR JOHNSON
ACCEPTS NOMINATION
Minneapolis, Aug. 20. Governor
Johnson today decided to accept the
nomination for reelection by the
state convention. He had declared
he would not accept. He will Issue
a statement later.
IrleN of Dried. Grno Will Soon Re.
pin to Sour.
Fresno, Cal., Aug. 20. Better buy
your raisins now. Pickers here .ay
that the price will soon begin to soar
and that the dried grapes will soon be
beyond the reach of all but wcll-to-d
people. Several advances in prlc
nave aireany neen made, and more
are to follow, according to the fruit
brokers.
Tho extreme hot weather, which
has carried an estimated damage to
the crop of from 25 to 30 per cent, 1
given as the reason for the shortage
and the consequent high price. Est!
mates place tho 1S0S crop at not more
than 50,000 tons. LaSt year's crop
was about 80,000 tons.
lrg for goods to fill orders they had
on hand. According to Mr. Wilcox,
he will re-establish his business at
the old stand If W. H. Jones will
erect another building for his use.
Mr. Wilcox places his actual loss at
between $10,000 and $15,000. At the
time of the fire he had a stock that
I would Invoice between $25,000 and
'$30,000, covered bv $16,000 Insur-
t
ance.
' Will Rebuild Church.
j Up to this time the Christian
church people have not worked out
any definite plans for the future, but
they are unanimous In saying their
church will be rebuilt. The location
Commission 'Will Return.
London, Aug. 10. The Aldrlch
Vreeland financial commission, com
posed of United States senators nnd
representatives, announced today that
it had obtained sufficient data regard
ing the monetary system of foreign
countries and would return to Amer
ica without rurther investigation. It
was the original plan to tour all the
European capitals.
Debs at Portland September 12.
Chicago, Aug. 20. According to
the western Itinerary of the socialist
special bearing Eugene H. Debs, the
presidential candidate, on a speak
ing tour, the train will reach Port
land September 12, Seattle Septem
ber 17, and Spokane September 18.
Baseball Scores.
Portland 7, Oakland 0.
Los Angeles 6, San Francisco 0.
FOREST FIRES RAGE AT
VANCOUVER'S BORDERS
Vancouver, B. C, Aug. 20.
A heavy pal of smoke caused
by approaching forest fires Is
overhanging the city today. The
air Is oppressive and the fires
are the worst In 10 years and
dangerously near tho city llm-
Its. All efforts to extinguish
them have failed so far. A
large force is fighting Mho
flames. It Is consuming hun
dreds of thousands of dollars
worth of valuable timber. The
worst fire is In the Squamlsh
valley, between the Island and
point Grey in Capltano valley.
Scven-Yenr-OM Floyd Klteh Ketehum
Ventured Too Near Swirling Eddy
of Hydraulic Siphon and Was
Drawn Through Pipe Line Into Su
gar Factory Strangest Drowning j niay be changed if they can dispose
on Record Child Died Two Hours , of their present property and secure
After Being Rescued. i a desirable location. When the new
i church is built It will be of stone.
i
Chlco. Cal.. Aug. 20. After being , The old church was painted but a few
sucked by a swirling eddy into the I months ago at an expense of $500.
mouth of a 600-foot hydraulic syphon j ' Will Extend Fire Limits.
at Hamilton City, Floyd Ketehum. ', m0Ve is now on foot to have the
aged 7. Is dead, the victim of one of burned district Included within the
the strangest drownings on record. ; fire limits and action to that effect
The boy wns swimming and ventur- wn very likely be taken at the next
ed too near the mouth of the big 1 meeting of the council. Mayor Mur
tube carrying water to the sugar beet rhy, Fire Chief Vaughan and several
factory. He was sucked through 600 members of the council are known
feet to the mill, where he was eject- to favor extending the fire limits,
cd. He died two hours later. Consolation From Abroad.
This morning the sufferers from
Harrlman at Crater Lake. the fire have received many messages
Medford, Aug. 20. E. H. Harri- i of sympathy from outside parties,
man. Governor Chamberlain and J. ' During the forenoon the Wilcox
P. O'Brien, superintendent of the , company received many messages of
Southern Pacific In Oregon, arrived j condolence from manufacturers'
at Crater Lake this morning, and agents with whom they have been
spent the day In viewing its wonders. ' dealing. One from Wilson & Math-
They were met by a delegation of ews, representatives of the Oliver
Medford citizens.
Son Born at Spokane.
Born at Spokane, Wash., on Au
gust 18, to Mr. and Mrs. Earl Snyder,
son. The mother was formerly
Miss Dixie Todd and was a student
at the Pendleon high school.
3ver notice how narrow minded
most people are who argue with you? the Indians voted in a modern way.
Plow company, said: "We mourn
your loss, but congratulate you on
saving your nerve."
White Man's Ballot for Klnmnths.
Klamath Falls, Ore., Aug. 20.
The Australian ballot will be employ
ed by the Indians of the Klamath
reservation in an election to choose
12 new chiefs. It is the first time
BIB flEEDS OF UMATILLA COUNTY
So far as the East Oregonlan has
been able to learn, the crop of wheat
llsed by Samuel Banister near Wes
ton, Is the banner yield of Umatilla
ounty this year, although other fine
yields on small tracts have been re
ported. Mr. Banister harvested ;t4 acres on
his farm near Weston which yielded
40 bushels per acre and his entire
140 acres yielded 40 bushels per
acre. The wheat harvested by Mr.
Eanlsto,r was of the red chaff variety
and was sold for 81b cents per bush-
el, making the grower a handsome In.
come from ' his crop. His crop
amounted to $6451.
Another good yield Is reported by
F. A. Sikes of Milton, who harvested
5' acre-- of red chaff near Milton,
which yielded 3t bushels acre,
and which was sobi nt SO cents per
bushel by Mr. Sikes.
Other excellent yields have been
reported but these two seem to stand
at the head of the list. The East Or
egonlan cordially invites farmers hav.
Ing good yields to report them and
proper credit will be given.