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| Ad shows two sections of three section Schermerhorn block. The missing third section on the north side of the block contained the store of G. J. Mager & Co. |
The
Cortland Democrat, Friday, January 8, 1897.
ANOTHER
SMOKEY FIRE.
FIRE IN THE SCHERMERHORN BUILDING.
Entire Four Floors Filled With
Smoke—Contents and Building Damaged to the Extent or Nearly $50,000. Prompt
Action of Our Fire Department and the Effective Work of the "Ball
Nozzle" Averted a More Serious Conflagration.
For the
fourth time in its history, the Schermerhorn building on Main-st. is in need of
repairs as the result of a comparatively small fire and a great volume of
smoke, and the bulk of its contents are nearly ruined. Not a corner of the
entire four floors but bears evidence of the presence of smoke as dense as to
leave a thick coating of creosote over everything.
Monday morning
about 1:30, officer Gooding was making his regular trip through the alley in
the rear of the building when he heard a crackling sound, similar to glass
continuously breaking. Upon more careful investigation a slight smell of smoke
was noticeable, but it could be traced to no definite source. He went to the
front of the store and then called assistance from the night cafe to help
locate the fire. Meantime an alarm was rung from box 333. About the same time
it was noticed by the gas light in the clothing store of Bingham Bros &
Miller that their store was full of smoke.
Water
Witch hose company carried a line of hose up the alley and have the credit of
first water. The front doors of the store of Mager & Co. were opened but as
nothing but smoke was to be seen they were closed and water turned into the cellar.
Heavy iron shutters covered the back of the building and the only way to get inside
was by forcing the rear door, which was done and a stream turned into the rear
of the store where the fire seemed to be. At the same time two policemen and
several members of the fire department removed the grating which covered the hatchway
out of which a cellar door opened. They
then proceeded to break three lights of glass and turned water into the cellar.
Smoke was
so dense it was impossible to go inside till the "ball nozzle," the
property of Orris hose company, was brought around. Then two members of the
company were enabled to walk the entire length of the cellar, the spray from
the ball nozzle driving smoke away and at the same time playing directly on the
burning joists overhead. But for the possession by Orris hose company of the
ball nozzle, it would have been impossible to have entered the building and
located the fire and in all probability the entire building would have been a
wreck. As it was the flames ate through the floor and ascended to the ceiling,
burning through it in several places. When the flames became visible the front
doors were opened and in subduing the flames in the store proper, the entire
stock of Mager & Co. on that floor was soaked with water.
It was a
very hard fire to fight and our department under the skillful directions of the
new chief L. Arnold, are entitled to great credit, especially Orris hose with their
ball nozzle. Every company should be similarly equipped.
The loss
to the firm of G. J. Mager & Co. is almost total, their goods on the ground
floor and in the cellar being so smoked, burned and water soaked as to be entirely
worthless while the stock in the carpet and cloak rooms on the second floor is
badly smoked. They have an insurance of $33,500: placed, $14,000 with companies
of Theo. Stevenson, $11,000 with G. J. Maycumber, $4,500 with Davis, Jenkins
& Hakes and $4,000 with Jas. A. Nixon This will cover their loss
Bingham
Bros & Miller the clothiers, who occupied the other two stores on the
ground floor, are also heavy losers. This being their dull season they had on
hand only about $20,000 worth of goods, but as their insurance is only $12,000
it will not cover the loss. This insurance is placed, $11,000 with Davis,
Jenkins & Hakes and $1,000 with Theo. Stevenson. They also had $300 on
fixtures. The damage on the block is fully covered by $11,000 insurance placed
with G J. Maycumber.
In the
upper floors in the law offices of Attorneys E. E. Mellon and Edwin Duffey law
libraries and papers are badly damaged and the loss is hard to estimate. John
L. Lewis lodge rooms in the third floor were also badly damaged but an adjuster
has settled with them to their entire satisfaction.
The
origin of the present fire is uncertain, but probably a pile of empty boxes in
the cellar in some way caught fire from the furnace in the cellar of G. J.
Mager & Co. There being no door or window open for draft, it smoked and
smouldered for several hours, filling every room in the block with smoke before
the cracking flames attracted the attention of the officer.
This is
the fourth time than block has been damaged by fire and smoke. On the night of
July 27, 1893, a fire occurred in the dressmaking rooms of Mrs. Pomeroy
in the second floor.
About it 9
A. M., March 14, 1894, a fire started near a coal box, just at the head of the
first flight of stairs, and did considerable damage and the ladies were taken from
the rear windows of the dressmaking shop by ladders. Smoke and water did much
damage.
About 6
o'clock thanksgiving night 1895, a fire started, supposedly by spontaneous
combustion in a barrel of sawdust in the cellar of the store of Bingham Bros.
& Miller and smoke and water again caused a considerable loss.
Monday
the theory that our petty burglars had been in through the windows of the
hatchway door, and that a match carelessly dropped by them was responsible for
the disaster, was given much credence. The facts are that the firemen broke out
the glass in order to get into the cellar. The marks or supposed knife
scratches were made by one of our officers the next morning, simply to satisfy
his curiosity as to how hard the putty might be.
Board of Trustees.
At the
meeting of the board of trustees Monday evening, the matter of caring for the
grounds around the soldiers' monument was presented by ex-Judge A. P. Smith and
H. M. Kellogg. They request the village to mow the lawn and keep up the
grounds. No action was taken as the village cannot care for property other than
their own, but it is probable that the G. A. R. will take measures to erect a
suitable fence around the plot and then sign the deeds over to the village.
Ex-Judge
Knox has drawn up a franchise in regard to the laying of tracks in Elm-st. by
the Traction Co. After much discussion the matter was again tabled, but will
probably be fully decided at the next full meeting of the board.
St Patrick's Festival a Success.
The
musical festival given for the benefit of St Patrick's church, Truxton, New Year's Eve., was in every way a success. The music
which was furnished by McDermott's orchestra of Cortland, was excellent. Mr. A
C. Muller held the lucky number and was the winner of a Father McGuiness portrait.
The contest for the organ between Josie Carr and Maggie McGraw, ended in favor
of Miss Carr. Miss McGraw was presented with a beautiful gold watch and chain.
Our young
pastor is to be congratulated upon the good work he is doing in the parish and
we hope we may enjoy his presence for many years.
NEIGHBORING COUNTIES.
TOMPKINS—This year's register shows 1,765
students against 1,654 last year at Cornell university.
A Speedsville man has made about a thousand
barrels of cider during the fall.
Ithaca taxpayers are called upon to pay a
tax of thirty cents per foot frontage on account of sewerage.
The church of the Epiphany, Trumansburg, has
a new memorial communion service of solid silver, in memory of the late Rev.
Mr. Finno.
Corbin, who was recently sentenced to Auburn
prison for life for the murder of his wife at Ithaca, is working in the wooden ware
department.
Geo B.
Davis, Esq., sent a Christmas dinner to Richard Barber, who occupies
a cell in Auburn prison. Mr. Davis has received several fine presents from
Barber of his handiwork. [Barber was sentenced to life imprisonment for
murdering a woman on a farm at Trumansburg. Insanity was the defense and George
Davis was his attorney—CC editor.]
There will not be as much interest in the
next town election, Tuesday, Feb. 9, from the fact that the offices of
supervisor, town clerk, and commissioner of highways, under the two year term,
do not have to be filled until next year.
There is a movement on foot to change the
location of the fair grounds at Ithaca. The Business Men's association want to
locate the grounds on South Hill, where they would be high and dry and in no danger
of being submerged, but it is thought that the proposition will meet with
opposition when brought before the meeting of the society Jan. 9. The estimated
cost of erecting buildings and making a track is from twelve to fifteen
thousand dollars.
The Groton Bridge & Manufacturing Co.
recently purchased, at a sale in New York city, a large hoisting engine at a
bargain. It has had but a few months' use and was built for bridge erection. It
runs on track and can be taken out upon the work and aids materially in getting
up heavy work. It weighs eight tons. It is now in the yards and will soon be
shipped to Little Rock. Ark., where it will be used in the erection of the big
contract.—Groton Journal.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
It is doubtless unnecessary
for the DEMOCRAT to state that there is no foundation of fact whatsoever, for
the fairy tale spun in the Syracuse Sunday Herald, as to the proposed
change in the ownership of this paper or its policy. As the editorial columns
may give expression to views that might be embarrassing to Hon. S. S. Knox, we
will state that he has contributed nothing to them. We believe this statement
is due Judge Knox.
HERE AND THERE.
H. B. Hubbard has re-stocked since the holidays.
See his advertisement.
Our shoe stores now close at 1
o'clock, except Monday and Saturday evenings.
Mrs. Virginia C. Jones was
yesterday nominated by President Cleveland as post mistress of Cortland.
The annual banquet of Emerald
Hose company will be held at the Cortland House next Tuesday evening.
The postponed receivers' sale
of the plant of the H. M. Whitney Co. will be held to-morrow morning at 11 o'clock.
The Loyal Circle of Kings
Daughters will meet with Mrs. S. Rindge, 31 North Main-st., Friday, January 8,
at 2:30 P.M.
Hiram Banks has disposed of
his barber shop in Homer and is now doing business in the second floor of the
Beaudry building.
Mr. I. Jay Frost of the firm of
Frost Bros. grocers at No. 10 Elm-st., has sold his interest to Mr. Clayton
Hutchings, formerly of Virgil. The new firm is Frost & Hutchings.
Messrs. Kellogg & Curtis,
the dry goods dealers, quote very low prices for their annual inventory sale
which begins to-day and lasts twenty days only. See their advertisement on this
page.
The last form of the
Supervisor's journal went to the bindery Monday. The finished books will all be
delivered to the respective supervisors before next Friday which is the contract date.
Through the courtesy of Vesta
Lodge, Cortland encampment, John L. Lewis Lodge and the Rebekah branch are
using Vesta rooms till their own can be refinished from the effects of Monday's
fire.
While no papers have yet been
filed, it is understood that Mr. W. H. Newton has completed arrangements for
the purchase of the Miles Hyde property on Tompkins-st. Papers will probably be
drawn next week.
Prof. Gold Eagle, the cowboy
paper king, will give exhibitions in the window of druggist W. J. Perkins
to-day and tomorrow. His hours are from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P. M. and Saturday
morning from 11 to 12 o'clock.
"A Railroad Ticket"
pleased a large audience at the opera house last evening. The specialties by Marie Stuart and Louis Wesley are alone worth the
admission price and they are backed by a company of 21 people all first class.
Car No. 8, which the Traction
Co. have been fitting up to take the place of old No. 7, will be on the line
next week. It is slightly larger and is vestibuled and the painting and
upholstering are all new. Double motors have been put on.
The cars and engines on the E.
C. & N. division of the Lehigh Valley R. R. are being equipped with the
Westinghouse air brakes. Under the old management the Eames vacuum brake was
used. This, while good enough in itself, was so little used by the other roads
that E. C. & N. rolling stock was confined to its own tracks and special
trains from other roads could not be safely hauled without a borrowed engine.
It was completely out of touch with the balance of the L. V. system and the
change was one of the first things decided upon when the E. C. & N. was purchased.
— Cazenovia Republican.
Mr. G. H. Trapp of McLean is a success as a
guesser. F. D. Smith promised a Red Cross range to the person making the nearest guess to the plurality
the winning candidate would have in the last presidential election. The exact
figures are 630,745 for McKinley and that was Trapp's guess. He got the range
and deserves a whole bakery.
Mr. Burton L. Gallagher and
Miss Orra A. Weld were married last evening at 8 o'clock at the home of the
bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Weld by the Rev. A. Chapman. The house was prettily decorated and the ceremony
witnessed by only a few immediate relatives and friends.
Everyone does not know that
any citizen can make an arrest The law reads that a private person may arrest
another for a crime committed within his presence. If it is a minor offence of
which a citizen interferes with another and he calls to a policeman to make an
arrest, the officer may refuse, if he likes, if he was not present at the time,
saying that he did not see the deed committed. But if the citizen says: "I
arrest this man," the officer is then obliged to take him, the prisoner,
to the station.—Exchange.
BLODGETT'S MILLS.
Miss Louise Burt is the latest
victim of the mumps.
Miss Emma Hollenbeck and
friend were at C. S. Freer's Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Joel Luce has moved from
Melvin Stowell's farm to the John Down home.
There will be a wood-bee for
Mr. Joel Luce in George [Stafford's] woods Tuesday.
A New England supper will be
given at the Methodist church Friday evening, Jan. l5.
Mr. Estus Hall and family of
Hunt Corners were guests of his mother, Mrs. Lucy Hall, last week.
Mr. Fred Hollenbeck and family
of Harford Mills were guests of his mother, Mrs. Julia Hollenbeck, Thursday and
Friday.
About thirty of the young
people from the Baptist church enjoyed a sleighride to the home of Miss Mary
Spencer last Tuesday evening. Refreshments were served and a very pleasant
evening spent.
The officers of the M. E
Sunday-school are:
Supt.—Mrs. Sephe Leech.
Asst. Supt.—C. A. Clements.
Sec. and Treas.—Leon Stafford,
Librarian—Raymond Hodges.
Artist—Frank Holdridge.
VIRGIL.
Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Rounds
entertained company New Year's.
Mr. and Mrs. George Hicks
visited Henry Hicks and wife in Homer last week.
Mr. Frank Chrisman of Homer
was in town the first of the week calling on friends.
Dr. Emery was called to Snyder
Hill Tuesday afternoon to attend a Miller boy with a broken leg, received while
working in the woods.
Rev. Dr. Franklin and wife,
having received a fur robe and a chair on Christmas, desire to express their
heartfelt thanks to the donors.
The recognition service to
install the new cabinet was conducted by Rev. Dr. Franklin Sunday evening after
the meeting of the Epworth league.
Last Tuesday evening the young
friends of Earl Rounds gave him a surprise. There were about fifty present and
rumor has it that they had a good time.
New Years eve a few of the
friends of Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Price thought they might feel lonely, so they
dropped in to help them watch the old year out and the New Year in. They all
had a good time, as they always do when they go to Mr. Price's.
Last Tuesday as Harmon Sheerar
and his brother Martin were in the woods and on a side hill, they were trying
to load one on a bob sled and it got the advantage of them. The log threw
Harmon across the front end of the bob and rolled over him, injuring him quite
badly. Dr. Emery was called and made an examination and found the injury was
mostly in the right leg but no bones broken.
At the semiannual election of
officers of the Epworth League Cabinet, Monday evening, Dec. 28, 1896, the
following were elected:
Pres—James Campbell
1st Vice-Pres.—Henry Hollenbeck.
2d Vice-Pres.—Eugene Ball.
3d Vice-Pres.—Orrin Pond.
4th Vice-Pres.—Iva Ballou.
Sec.—Mrs. B. Franklin.
Treas.—Mr. Chas. Johnson.
Mrs. Eunice M. Perkins, wife
of Ebenizer Perkins, died at her home early Monday morning, Jan 4, 1897, aged
62 years, 7 months and 8 days. Funeral at Baptist church Wednesday at 3 P. M. Rev.
S. H. Haskell of Truxton, a former pastor, by her request, will officiate. The
interment will be in Auburn. For many years she has been in poor health and for
a few weeks has been a great sufferer from a cancer of the stomach. Her two
daughters, Mrs. A. H. Wheeler of Auburn and Mrs. W. S. Burgess of Marathon have
been with her several weeks, untiring in their efforts to make her comfortable.
Her sister, Mrs. C. H. Doud, of Harrison Valley, Pa., came on Saturday, and Tuesday Mr. C. H. Doud came and they
will remain till after the funeral. She was one of those christian characters
occasionally met with on life's journey. Patient through long suffering, there
was something in her life that made warm friendship. She was an active member
of the Baptist church and Sunday school and also a W. C. T. U. worker, when she
was able. Her husband and daughters have the sympathy of all who knew her.
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