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CEEENTEE
’ A Clean Wholesome Paper
\_for Southern Homes
NMOL. XV
TLANTA BEGINS REBUN DIN
Menfi o; é’itg} z'aile:i ;o fiMéet* This Zilo;ni;zg
Atlanta’s Resurgam
Means, as Always,
‘I Shall Rise Again’
T ODAY Atlanta is recovering from a deep and grievous
wound. Atlanta is undaunted. Though hurt, her cour
age is supreme, and she faces her trouble bravely and entirely
without despair. The Atlanta Spirit dominates her citizens. To
them the word ‘‘disaster’’ as it is used in other places is un
known. Courage, Faith and Hope walk hand in hand with them.
More than forty city blocks of this city were destroyed by
fire yesterday. Hundreds of homes, from humble cottage to rich
residences were obliterated. Thousands are homeless and desti
tute, But today the citizens of Atlanta are setting their hearts
and hands to the task of overcoming the hurt.
Relief work began before the great fire had eaten half its
way through the tract it ultimately consumed. It centered in
the Civilian Relief Committee of the Red Cross Society, and it
brought in the Chamber of Commerce Public Safety Committee.
It drew in the churches and public institutions. Those men who
most have helped to make Atlanta the greatest and most pros
perous city of the South met today to follow up this wofk, find
out what is neded to be done, and then to do it cheerfully, cour
ageously, liberally, sympathetically and from the heart.
Everything has been said by Ivan E. Allen, president of the
Chamber of Commerce. He voiced the Spirit of Atlanta as
1:a entered The Georgian’s editorial rooms last night, his clothing
soi'ed, his face grimy, from the work in the fire zone, the Red
Cross brassard on his arm hanging by a thread.
‘‘Atlanta’s motto,’’ he said, ‘‘is ‘Resurgam,’ ‘I will arise.’
And we shall arise. The men of Atlanta will find what is to be
done and do it.”’
SIDELIGHTS ON
THE GREAT FIRE.
Throngs of spectators of the great
fire spectacle found themselves cut
off from Peachtree street and other
t"irect routes to downtown Atlanta
wiren the flames spread across Ponce
Dg‘Leon avenue. ,The dynamiting of
houses was commenced on the north
side of that thoroughfare, and soldier
pickets were throwr out on wvarious
eross streets, and consequently many
of them had to walk long distances in
a roundabout way to reach their
homes.
The danger zone extended to such a
point on the east side of Ponce De-
T.eon that the only way left to reach
eachtree from the Druid Hills side
of the fire was around by Piedmont
Park. Many persons walked the cross
ties on the Southern Railway to Pled
amont, while others walked around
hrough Druid Hills and through In-
A »Fark to DeKalb avenue and De
_catur street. .
Such a thing as finding a jitney on
the Druid Hills side of the fire zone
seemed out of the question. After the
conflagration had been checked and
subsdued and the crowds began to‘
melt away, hundreds of the specta
tors, many of whom lived across
town and in the suburbs, found there
was nothing left for them to do but
to test their hiking ability, as trolley
gervice already had been suspended‘
some time previously. Those whoi
were able to find a friend with an au- |
tomobile were considered fnrtunate.‘
As many of the people had followed
the march of the flames and had stood
in the vicinity of Ponce Deleon for
hours, the prospects of a hike around
through Piedmont Park, or through
Piedmont Park, or through Druld
Hills and Inman Park, dowmntown,
wag anything but pleasant.
* - -
A constant stream of automobiles
and fc}(s congested Ponce Deleon
aven soon after the fire had spread
from the negro district to the hand
some residences to the north.
For hours the flow of traffic sweiled,
til in many instances machines
t':re rushing toward Peachtree street
three abreast. The squawk of their
hgl'\‘, a.ddp%tq the bedlam of the
Copyn%ht. 1906,
By The Georgian Co.
flames’ roar and the explosions as the
dynamiters became active.
- - -
Professional draymen took advan
tage of the extraordinary demand for
conveyances to remove furniture from
the burning area. The price was shot
up to %6 a load, but at this figure
there was frantic competition among
Louseholders whose dwellings stood
in the path of the flames.
Every store, from the humblest gro
cery to the biggest department store,
sent every available wagon and truck
to the scene to aid in the work of
rescue. For hours there was no other
thought than to hurry household goods
to places of safety.
* * *
In Jackson street, north of Bedford
place, four homes caught while the
main body of the fire still was a block
to the southward. Into these homes
X‘u{hed scores of persons, and, while
the roofs blazed and the sides caught,
the interiors were stripped of all fur
nishings.
* In one of them the rescuers worked
until the last possible moment. A
warning cry swelled up from hun
dreds of watchers followed a second
later by the crashing in of the roof.
The rescuers rushed out without a
moment to spare.
- . -
The negroes took the calamity in
varying moods. At Hunt street and
Merritts avenue one husky colored
woman went into hysterics because
her “auntie’s house done burned up,”
although assured that the relative
herself was safe; while another
vounger woman stood near, and, with
a disdainful toss of her head, remark
ed: “Well, es mah house burns, it
kin burn. 1 hain’t got no fortune in
it
- - -
Frantic efforts were made all over
the burning area to stay the onrush
of flames by spraying water upon the
roofs and sides of houses. These ef
forts mostly proved futile, the in
tense heat quickly drying the sur
faces once the fire had progressed
'within half a block.
i Several negro houses along the west
side of Fort street, which probably
\would have caught, were saved by
lthis means. The fire ecrossed the
street only at isolated spots.
AN AT =T -
77 % LEADING NEWSPAPER 563 \",{;fl‘-‘!fi%}}%‘ M/ OF THE SOUTHEAST =% X 7
LOSS PUT AT $3,000,000
y
T The men of Atlanta, the men-aha
‘have helped. to make Atlanta the
produest city of the South, will meet
teday at 11 o'clock at the Chamber of
Commerce Hall to take up relief work
following yesterday's disastrous fire.
They expect to find out what is to be
done,
“We shall not call for outside aid
until this meeting has voiced the sen
timent of Atlanta,” said Ivan E. Al
len, president of the Chamber of Com
merce. He did not think it likely that
Atlanta, most prosperous of cities,
would find it necessary to ask relief
from the outside world, although he
expressed appreciation of the numer
ous offers which had poured in by tel
egrams.
Relief work began before the great
fire had eaten half through the tract
it ultimately covered. It centered in
the civilian relief committee of the
Red Cross Society, whose chairman,
J. C. Logan, put his committee to
work early in the afternoon, and it
brought in the Chamber of Commerce
public safety committee, which works
in conjunction with the Red Cross.
It drew in the churches, which kept
open their buvildings, started the prep
arations of food in their basement
kitchens, and began to feed the hun
ary.
Red Cross at Auditorium.
Long before sunset Mr. Logan had
transferred the Red Cross headquar
ters from the Gould Building to the
Auditorium. With the assistance of
E. H. Goodhart and Judge Ernest C.
Kontz, food depots had been opened,
and bread and coffee were being dis
tributed. White applicants were
served at the Auditorium and negroes
at Big Bethel Church, close to the
fire district and within easy reach of
the negro homeless. Mr. Logan went
steadily ahead with the work, though
his own home had burned to the
ground.
More than 300 cots were spread in
the Auditorium, supplied by the Fifth
Regiment, which has headquarters
there, and the -three upper floors of
the Masonic Temple were used as
sleeping quarters for hundreds of ne
groes. The Southern Bell Telephone
Company hastened to install four ex
tra telephones in the Auditorium
headquarters, which can be used by
calling Ivy 1061. /It also opened a
bureau to locate the new addresses
of citizens forced to move into new
homes.
In Taft Hall, at the Auditorium, the
children of the Home for the Friend
less. found a lodging for the night.
They had been removed when the in
stitution was threatened, but the
home escaped damage and the little
inmates were to be sent back today.
Trucks and Wagons Needed.
The rellef work is just beginning
today, however. At the Red Cross
headquarters at the Auditorium are
needed trucks and wagons to move
furniture saved from the fire, cloth
ing for the destitute, among the ne
groes especially, homes where the
homeless may find at least tempora
ry shelter.
| The response to the call for relief
was as prompt yesterday as the steps
‘taken by the orgamzatwns. Chair
ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1917.
Jléarst
$ 2
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A A AA A A A AR AAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARAAA
The following telegram was re
ceived Monday night from W. R.
Hearst, who is in Chicago:
“The Georgian, Atlanta:
“Is there anything can be done
by the papers for Atlanta” Please
rush definite information on ex
tent of fire and guestion of as
e A R
sistance. W. E‘.‘“EARS T
The following telegram was
. sent in reply:
“Mayor and public safety com
mittee deeply appreciative of Mr.
Hearst's prompt and thoughtful
interest, but believe Atlanta, with
her wonderful Atlanta spirit, is
able to cope with situation.
“THE GEORGIAN CO.”
2 Hospitals Opened
Two emergency hospitals have been
established on Ponce Del.eon avenue
by Major Holton, of the First Georgia
Hospital Corps, who sent his com
mand into active service in response
to an appeal by Mayor Candler.
One of the hospitals is at Durant
Place and the other at Kennesaw ave
nue. By this arrangement, a relief
station is placed on each side of the
devastated tract., Those who be
came ill from exposure or nervous
stress are being cared for at the sta
tions without cost. Ambulances are
connected with each hospital.
man Logan had called a meeting of
his civilian relief committee for 4
o'clock and the members were assem
bling in his office when the fire had
reached its height. Its work for re
iief was announced in The Georgian
early in the afternoon, and within ten
minutes after the extras were on the
street offers of aid, checks and lists
of rooms to the homeless were reach
ing the paper.
The men of Atlanta were quick to
abandon ‘their business and enlist in
the relief work. Mayor Candler went
to the scene of the fire and gave such
orders as appeared necessary. (Unable
to reach him, when it became neces
sary to ask aid of the military, Ivan
E. Allen, president of the Chamber of
Commerce, called up Fort McPherson,
and the officer in charge ordered half
the Seventeenth Regiment and Offi
cers’ Reserve Corps into Atlanta to
ald the civil authorities, holding the
other half in reserve for later duty.
The trolley company, though disor
ganized by the fire’s eating through
trolley wires and congesting traffic,
quickly sent special cars to bring in
the troops, and the soldiers not only
took active part in dynamiting build
ings and handling hose, but in guard
ing the fire zone and protecting the
public from injury. The Fifth Regi
ment, first troops on the scene, were
among the meost valiant of the volun
teer aids.
How Soldiers Helped.
“The soldiers at Fort McPherson
proved good neighbors,” said Mr, Al
len. *“We can never thank them and
the men of our own Fifth Regiment
enough.”
Early in the afternoon a near-panic
arose in Grady Hospital, the patients
fearing the fire would reach that in
stitution. Bert Adams and Earl
Cone went out into Peachtree street
‘and coinmandecred every automobile
whieh passed and sent them to the
hospital. In a few minutes more than
La hundred cars were parked there,
‘ready to bear away the patients in
case of danger, This guelled the pan
ic at once, and the fire never ap
| proached the hospital. A similar fear
at Sgi.a.loseph‘s Infirmary was met by
the me methods.
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»Preparations to pay flre losses im
mediately were begun early Tuesday.
In fact, before the flames were guelled
‘.\londn_\' night fire insurance agenciesg
in Atlanta had summond every avail
able adjuster, whether in Atlanta or
on the road, to undertake at once an
estimate of the damage.
Tentative estimates of from $2,000,-
000 to $3,000,000 were placed on the
losses by individual insurance men,
They stated, however, that their fig
]\.r(-s were based on a general survey
of conditions, and were liable to revi
sion after closer investigation.
“Estimates of more than $2,000,000
seem hardly conservative,” said Chris
Kauschenterg, an insurance agent.
“Few of the burned structures were
industrial plants and few business
houses and a great number of dwell
ings must have been burned if the to
tal loss is more than that amount.
It must be taken into consideration
that a great proportiocn of the burned
buildings were small cottages and the
flimsy homes of negroes.”
Mayor Asa G. Candler gave hn,"
opinion athat $3,000,000 as an esti
mate of the losses is conservative, and
that the figure may even go bevond
that. i
“Apparently between 2,000 and 3,600
homes were lost,” he said. “At that
number it will be seen that $3,000,000
is a low estimate, considering the!
value of household goods destroyed|
with the buildings.” ‘
Properity owners who lost v»\'m‘_\—!
thing will be paid without delay, u‘-“
cording Lo insurance men, Their !n.\'.\'a-s‘
are easy to fix, and it is likely that
checks will be paid before 'l'uv»stlu_\‘
evening to those who saved nmhing.‘
If there i delay in any case, it was |
assured, it will come only where a
partial loss occurred, or where the
householder made a salvage of some
of his goods, thus complicating the
I:ldjustmont. ‘
.
»
Stokers at Pumping
i '» Rit!
Plant ‘Do Their Bit
Stokers at the two pumping sta
tions worked as heroically as the men
actually fighting the flames, Fifty
men were kept busy at the Hemphill
and River stations in front of the
great furnaces.
The stations pumped 2.000,000 gal
lons of water an- hour sor eleven
hours. This work was under the di
rection of W. M. Rapp, superintend
ent of construction; J. A, Stamps,
chief engineer of the Hemphill sta
tion, and C. B. Gramling, chief engi
neer of the River station.
Boil Drinking Water
g e
.
Is Warning Issued
Warning was given to the people
of Atlanta Tuesday to boil all of their
drinking water, as a result of the big
conflagration. The waterworks was
put to a severe strain by the fire, and
consequently the water was rendered
muddy.
Emplovees at both waterworks sta
tions worked hard Tuesday to restore
the water to normal condition, and it
was believed the situation would be
relieved shortlv
2 h 1
‘Where an %1
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rowbpigrire
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Came toEnd
§ L e LY
The region bounded by Ponce De-[
Leon avenue, North Boulevard, St.
Charles avenue and Lakeview avenue
was the scene of the final and suc
cessful stand of the allied fire fighting
forces, and it was in this zone that
the first effective blows were deliv
ered against the onrushing wave of
flames.
The fire had driven back the fire
idfapartment and volunteers north on
North Boulevard and North Jackson,
and when they were backed across
Ponce Del.eon it looked as if the de
struction was to sweep on over even
’this broad street.
| It was just as the houses on the
‘south side of Ponce Del.eon avenue
had taken fire that reinforcements
were brought up. Five companies of
officers’ reserve corps arrived in
ranks of four, each armed with a gal
vanized iron bucket., The Decatur
and East Point fire apparatus came
up, the latter machine manned by
militiamen. f
Too much credit cannot be given
the young officers for the part they
played in stemming the fire's ad
vance. Obeying sharp commands,
they scattered along t. Charles ave
nue from North Boulevard and
squads of four were assigned to the
roof of each house. Companies 3 and
4 were in this district—lso men #all
told. They used garden hose to wet
the roofs and as the sparks fell and
roofs took fire, they stamped out the
budding blazes.
Companies 1, 6 and 9 were along
Lakeview avenue and threw lines
around Ponce Deleon, opposite the
hottest part of the action. In the
danger from sparks and flying debris
from dynamited houses, they stuck‘
at their posts until late at night, and‘
a row of unburned houses stands
this morning as evidence of their es—i
fective work. j
The young officers were still on the
job late last night without having
had food and with only muddy water
to drink. It was their first taste of
action and they seemed to thrivc-{
on it.
The dynamiting squad under Ma- |
Jor Winston did some equally impor
tan work on the west side of North
Boulevard beyond Ponce DeLeon. As
sisted by experts from the DuPont
Powder Company and members of the
officers’ reserve corps, ta least six
houses were blown up leaving a gap
that was not jumped by the flames,
At several points on North Boule
vard, the sparks jumped over the
lines of roof fighters and attacked
houses two blocks from Ponce De
Leon. Nos. 673 and 687 North Boule
vard were burned as late as 8:30
o'clock last night, but the fire de
partment was able to concentrate its
full hose power on these two blazes
and prevent their spread.
. .
Georgian Will Help
. .
You Find Friends
Persons whose homes were dr'—’
stroyed and who wish their friends
to know their present address are in-‘
vited to cail The Georgian and furnish;
this information for publication. 1
The Georglan will .print all such
data, free of charge. Just call the
City Editor, Main 100
. Along North avenue, east of Bed
ford place, open spaces were piled
|?:s_:;‘n with valuables, and sentries with
loaded rifles and fixed bavonets walk
ed euard all night
EXTRA
N _TRAINS, 6 CENTS,
3 CENTS i”)AY NO MORE.
)
The great fire is out, except for a few smouldering
blazes in the debris; the city is safe, and already home-own
ers are giving orders for rebuilding and insurance adjusters
are preparing to write checks. There is no loss of life and
‘ but a few injuries, and Atlanta today is undaunted and un
dismayed.
The whole fire zone, stretching from the heart of Dark
town, in Decatur street, northeast to Ponce de Leon avenue
and a bit beyond, was like a great cemetery Tuesday, its
towering chimneys the monuments to destroyed homes.
Its streets were strewn with debris, hung with menacing
electric wires. The trolley tracks were crossed with lines of
hose and masses of shattered glass and timbers and the trol
ley wires were down.
Two thousand or more men of the Officers’ Reserve from Fort
McPherson were on duty in the zone, guarding the household prop
erty left on the curbs, stopping curious wanderers from intruding
into dangerous places. They had been on duty all night, with a
breakfast of bread and coffee from the Red Cross trucks.
In all the big area covered by the fire, hardly a building was
left standing. Three of the greatest churches of Atlanta, with the
largest congregations, were gomne, only their walls standing amid
the ruins of stained glass. They were the Grace Methodist, the
Westminster Presbyterian and the Jackson Hill Baptist, all near
Boulevard and Highland, where they formed a famous ‘‘church
center.’”’
Morris Brown College, the ne--
gro institution on North Boule
vard, and the North Boulevard
School, next door, has escaped
annharmed, the morning tour of
The Georgian’s press car reveal
ed. The Red Seal Shoe Faectory,
of the J. K. Orr Company, south
of Edgewood avenue, had also
escaped, though it was surround
ad by the blaze last night. The
T'rio and Troy laundries appear
ed undamaged. |
The business houses near the fire
zone appeared to have been built un
der a lucky star, for the fire leaped
over many of them and left them un
touched. The fire left the houses and
stores on Edgewood avenue safe,
jumping from the block on the south
clear across the street, over the busi
ness blocks and into the shacks' which
covered the middle of the blocks. One
row of negro cabins from Bell street
east for half a block was burned, but
the blaze stopped at the Radlator
shop. On the south side of Edgewood
the old Norris factory, not in use, was
burped, but here were few other losses
on Edgewood itself. The department‘
stores farther out were unharmed.
The tall building of the negro Odd
Fellows nearer Peachtree and close
to the fire zone was unharmed.
- The most costly damage, of course,
was found in Ponce Del.eon avenue,
}from Jackson street east, where
handsome' and expensive residences
were burned or dvnamifed in advance
NO. 250.
of the fire. Big apartment houses,
stores, all were gone. 3
Ball Park Escapes.
The baseball grandstand and other
equipment escaped, the wind veering
in the nick of time, but one the op
posite side of Ponce DeLeon the
slams crawled through the woods,
burned the remains of the old amuse
ment park, and crept up to the brick
Ford factory, where they stopped.
This was the northeastern boundary
of the fire.
No damage was done on the north
side of Ponce Deleon east of North
Boulevard. The block in St. Charles,
a block north of Ponce DeLeon and
running up to the baseball park, was
not hurt. But the fire crept up to
St. Charles on Boulevard, and St.
Charles lost several houses between
Boulevard and Jackson street.
The general boundaries of the fire
as revealed by a tour of The Geor
gian’s press car early Tuesday were:
! The Devastated Area.
North side of Decatur street, from
Fort to Yonge. Out Fort street and
Bedford place to Merritts avenue, east
to Hunt street, north to North ave
nue, east to Jackson street, out Jack
son, north to PonceiDel.eon avenue.
The north side ox Jpnce DeLeon
avenue was undamage @up to Jack
son street, but several es there
were burned. The Ploc north on
FPonce DeLeon and bounded by North
Boulevard, Bt. Charles and the base
ball park nearly escaped, except on
the Ponce DeLleon frontage, which
was destroyed. St. Charles residents
were moving back into their homes.
The eastern boundary, starting at
Ponce Del.eon, was the Ford automo
bile plant, which escaped, and Ran
dolph street south te Highland ave
nue. From there the jboundary was
North Boulevard, wit /hnmes on both
side burned. Boulgfard ~was the
boundary back to urn avenue, Tha
old show gro ® formed an open
‘space here ¥ protected some prop
ierty, and )m Auburn to Edgewood,
Yonge t was the boundary,
