S4N0E OF THE THERMOMETER.The thermometer ranged as.follows at

The Times office yesterday: 9 ?. ?., &?;12 M.. ?·2: 3 P. ÄL. 60; 6 P. M.. *tS; 9 P. M..<*; 12 M. 12. Average. IS 1-3.

WEATHER rWTCC4ST.ror.cast f^r Saturday s*>nd Sunday :

Virginia and North Carotlr**-1U»fSuturtftiy. fr>'¡. to briste easterly wind*Sunday, rain. »- ?

VOL. 10. NO. 42. RICHMOND. VAv SATURDAY. MARCH 30.. 1901 PKICE TWO CENTS

TRUE VIRGINIAHOSPITALITY

Never Was it More NoblyExhibited.

HOMES THROWN OPEN

Guests of Hotel Become \ Guests ofRichmond's Citizens.

ALL WERE WELL CARED FOR.

'Viihir-a Few Hours After the Fiâmes Had

Gained the Mastery, All of More

Than Three Hundred Strangers >*.cre

Comfortably Housed in Homes,

Hotels mid Clubs oi

the City.

Virginia, and especially lliehmoud.Mspitality was never more nobly

shown than Jast night. Those whohad been guest«» of the burnir· Jeffer¬

son Iloiel became guests of Richmond'sbest citizens. Offers poured iu from

¡rue immediate ndghborhooa of the

doomed hotel, and from distant partsof the. city, to lake iu those who b;id

i been burned out. In many instances

! these offer«· were accepted, and those: who had been startled from their beds

i were taken into refined homes, whereevery consideration was shown them-There were over ithree hundred

gueScs :it ihe Jefferson, and within a

¦ tew hours after the llames gained the

mastery, these Avere ail coinfurtabiy! housed, cither In privale residences, at

j the clubs, or oilier hotels of the city.Many others were ready aud anxiousPo rr.ro for those who had beeu thusinh'»*?pli:ibjy turned out into the nightby the direst disaster that lias befallenRichmond since the evacuation.Messrs. Yirghijus Newton and Thomas

¡ Atkinson kept open lionse, and conteeand other refreshments were liberallydispensed to the brave firemen whoworked so faihtfully so save Richmond'shandsome hotel and through whose noble

, .«.urk the aljoining jiroperty was mostlyj saved. Their houses, as well as those

oi" nil others in the neighborhood, were

j thrown open and everything possibledone for the comfort of everyone.

AVHERE THEY ARE SOW.A p*rti:iì list of the guests and where

they arci quartered follows;

j Mr. and Airs. E. D. Nason, and E. H.

Lntrop. oi Springfield, Ma*s., are at the

| home of Mr. Thos. Atkinson.j ? gentleman and his wife at Mrs.Edward Buck's,

? Centiemai: find wife at Mr. Fred rieas-; ar.«««".

Three ladies at Mr. Edward Mayer's,i- fMrs. Deshler, Miss Deshler and Miss'.James at Mr. James B. Pace's.

Mrs. Fred Meyers and daughter, of? Xew York, and Mr. ?. M. Straus, of

! Richmond, at home of Mrs. Edel. Mr.

j Straus and his wife lived at the Jefferson.in rooms furnished by themselves. Heestimates his loss at *>:,000 with $2,000 in-suranee.Mrs. Brown and daughter, of Boston,

at Mr. "Levin Joynes".Three of the maids at the Jefferson at

Mrs. Prt-ston Cocke's, three with Mrs.

! Fitzhugh Mayo, nine with Dr. George! Ross, three with Colonel E. S. Hobson,three with Mr. Edward Mayo.Captain Parker, of New York, formerly

i of United States navy, at the Common¬wealth Club..Tames II. Logan, son of General T. M.

; Logan, at Commonwealth Club.At the Lexington: Mr. Blumgard. New

York: AV. T. Smith, Philadelphia.: C. II.Mereomb. Philadelphia; George W. Tap-

! ley and wife, A. X. Mayo and wife, andA. D. Near and wife, Springfield, "Mass.;H. C Demson and wife. Xew Bedford,

i Mass.: W. M. Marks Sutton, Xew York;j ?\\ ?. Morriss. Virginia: Y. Vincent

j Jones, Xew York; AY. A. alacMahon, Xewi York: Mr. and Mrs. Samuel C. Law-: rencc. Boston: Dr. AValter L. Hull, Bos-ton: Ira AV. Foushell. Baltimore; R. L.

; «»¡edge. Baltimore; J. B. Scott. Baltimore.At Xew Ford's: Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Wil¬

son, Pittsburg; Gerhard Mennan, Newark.N. .).: W. W. Causey, 'New York; Mrs.!.. K". AVharton. Ipsilanti. Mich.; Miss Hat-vie Swift, Ipsilanti, Mich.: H. D. Merickj-.nd wife, AVashington; E. F. AVilson, NewYork; G. F. Coshland, Xew York; C. C.Otila, New York; Chas. E. Hallowell, XewYork: R. J. Reynolds. Winston, N. C; F.E. Bedwel!, Chicago: E. II.' Lathrop,Spriiiglicld. Mass.; Miss F. E. Harwood,Miss V. C. Harwood and Miss E. A. Bed-v.ell. Chicago; Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Moran.Chicago: George S. AVilson, AVashington:John AV. Douglas, AVa-ähington; ?. E.Dude. New A'ork; «T. M. Hall and wife.Providence. R. 1.; John M. Richmond.'Providern·.-. It. Ï.; E. A. Khouri. XewYork; ?\". R. Sweeney, Wash¬ington; Henry Erben. Philadelphia;J. J. McCarthy, Chicago: Mr. and Mrs.G. B. Baker, Boston; A. H. Kayton, Xew

tYork; E. Schultz, Arlington, X. A*.; Mrs.1-. S. Ellsworth. Simsbury, Conn.; H. E.Ellsworth, Simsbury. Conn.; S. AV.Dodge, Simsbury. Conn.: B. C. Toft,Xew York: !.. ]'. Stearncs and wife,Newport News; Mr. and Mrs. AndrewSquire, Cleveland: J. R. Shemmed, Bal-timore; Louis Barron. Xew A'ork: J. A.

l'avis. Baltimore; J. B. Monroe, Boston;E. Macnier. Philadelphia: E. E. Mueler,Washington: Dave L. Rice, Xew A'ork;Frank Harris, AVestehester, Pa.; S. B.AYatcrs. Xew A'ork; J. C. Short. XewYork; Mr. and Mrs. E. AValsh, Jr., St.Louis: Frank AV. Levy. Xew A'ork; Mr.and Mrs. Hale. Elizabeth, X. J.; Mr. andMrs. S. R. King. Painesvilh». O. ; J. S.

Grossbaum, England; AV. P. AVarner,wile and maid. Troy. X. A'.; E. P. Mon-tag ue. New A'ork: Mr. and Mrs. A*. C.

>'. Beldin, Boston: J. C. Jenkins. New

York; A. D. Price. Boston; H. M.Eowenthall. Rochester, N. A'..

At the Alhamba: F. M. Agostini, Xew

; A'ork; E. H. Coates, Xew A'ork.Murphy's. Ford's and Lexington had

t't turn away many who applied for

rcoms. Some of the vlsiters at 4 o'clockt*«ds morning were sleeping in chairs in

the lobby at Murphy's.SOME AVHO AVERE THERE.

Among those who were registered at

the Jefferson last night were Mr. and

; Mrs. A. L. Stull. Alderson. Pa.; Mrs. M.J. Snowden. Franklin, Pa.; P. R. Foheyand Mrs. Fohey, Cleveland: Mrs. John F.Preston and Mrs. Preston. Baltimore, and

! C. F. Preston, U. S. X'.; Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Baiter. Boston; Mr and Mrs. AVllllamV. Aull. Pittsburg. Mr. and Mrs. J. G.l.-uid. Master Jack Ladd. Fräulein Staff/Mr. J. L. Snow and Miss M. F. Snowcompose a party from Providence, R. I.H. A. Wilder. Miss E. F. AVUder. Mrs.AV. H. Davis and Master Fred Davis, ofrNVwrtan. Masts.; 'R. B. Sled«o and J. W"?, or B-ütünor«. _v. .._,,,

*

j

H

i?

?

FROM DEFECTIVE INSULATION

This Thought to Have Been Cause ofthe Fire.

GOOD HEADWAY WHEN SEEN

Firemen Fought Heroically But AgainstGreaï Odds.

HOMES WERE OPENED WIDE

Citizens Most Hospitable to the Burned'Out Visitors. THE JEFFERSON HOTEL.

MADE MIRACULOUS ESCAPES.

A Marvel that All the Guests Got Outof the House Alive

FEW WERE SLIGHTLY HURT

One Man's Leg. Broken, But None ofthe Others Seriously Injured

THE STATUE CARRIED OUT.

But the Head Was Broken Off in Sav¬ing the Sculpture.

THE MOST DISASTROUS FIRE RICHMOND HAS EXPERIENCED SINGE THE EVACUATION.Snioke-grinied walls au«J smouldering

ruins« are all that remain this morning*of the magnificent Jefferson Hotel.Tlie splendid hostelry, at once the

glory of latiterday Richmond 2nd thepride of lier people, "was destroyed byfire last night-The great building was crowded

wi'bh guests, but there was no loss oflife. Several persons were injured:several hairbreadth escapes were re¬

ported.The larger portion of the furniture

was destroyed. The magnificent fur¬nishings of the grand salon were got¬ten out; practically all the baggage ofguests was saved. The guests 1 hem-selves found shelter in other hotels;the doors of homes of citizens were

opened wide to receive them, and largenumbers are stopping now in privatehomes.

CAUSE OF THE FIEE.Defective insulation of an electric

light wire is thought ¡to have causedthe fire. It originated in . closet, ap¬parently, on the fourth floor, at thesont hen stern corner of the building. Itwas 11:15¡o'clock when the first alarmwas turned in. The fire had apparent-ly been extinguished, when the interiorof tlie Roof Garden, at ihe fifth story,was found to be in a blaze. Then theentire department was quickly on thescene-Walter could not eopa with lie flames.A smart wind from out the northwest-fanned ithe fire to indescribable fury.Powerful streams from eight engineswere played upon the fire for hours.The flames kept leaping higher and

higher; their fury increased until therewas little left to feed upon.CAUSED GREAT EXCITEMENT."The Jefferson is burning," was the

news that spread rapidly. It was notlong before an immense crowd of allages and sexes gathered from every

Quarter of the city. Tlie citizens were'tireless in their efforts to help save tillpossible from the flames. They car¬

ried out baggage until the front yardsof residents for blocks away were

crowded with luggage of every char¬acter. The furniture of houses adja¬cent to the hotel was also taken out.Every resident for blocks around was

soon awake and on the scene. Expres¬sions of regret, as deep as though a

personal loss were sustained, were

heard from all lips. Richmond, in herlong history, has not had burned a

building whos'e destruction causedstich genuine sorrow.certainly notsince the burning of the old SpotswoudHotel, Christmas morning. 3ST0.

SCENES AT THE FLKE.Tlie scenes at the lire were stirring

beyond description. Magnificence a:»*"'beauty were conjoined in a degree thatawed tliose who beheld the awful spec¬tacle. The flames leaped a hundredfeet above the roof.Itigli above tne

lofty towers, and swirling heavenwardstood out. against the darkness, writ¬

ing destruction upon 'the bosom of the

night. The streets for many square'»,vere as light as at noonday. The roar¬

ing aud crackling; the crash of falling'timbers and Avails; the always thrillinïsound of working engines, helped to

make the scene one which will be re-

membered.AN ENPLOSION.

Soon after i lie lire started a terrificexplosion, caused by the ignition of thegas reservoir, startled and horrifiedthe spectators. The results were notfatal. The fearsome roaring andcrackling; the crash of falling iron,and timbers and walls; the rhythmicalbeat, of the working engines; the criesof the ti remen; the ceaseless murmur¬

ing of the great throng that hemmedin on every side tlie scene' of themighty catastrophe, added features toa spectacle which will never be forgot¬ten bv those who witnessed it.

MADE RAPID PROGRESS.Once well started the flames lent run-

ning with a speed almost incredible.The thousands who thronged the va¬

cant lot on Main Street, to the south¬west of tin' burning structure, had a

view-point superior «to all others. Whenthey first began to gather there, a wav¬

ering glare in the Roof Garden andpuffs «if smoke from the roof were allthat told them the splendid structurewas in danger o'f destruction. Thenthere was a brighter glare: volumes offlame and inky smoke burst, throughthe roof: the mighty roaring nearlydrowned the 'throbbing of the engines;Then, in a. mòmment, there was a

glare at several of the Main-Streetwindows, at. tiie southeast corner ofthe fourth floor. The throng then be¬came interested in watching the flamesappear at one window after another.earing its way. foot by foot, until therewas a blinding "ilare, and all knew thefire had reached the large assembly-room. It was not long then until thespectators saw the flames enwrap theentire building south of the great tow¬ers, and down to the second floor. Thenthey waited, and when the gray lightof dawn stole up from the east, theysaw but sullen smoke and blackenedruins.The firemen realized from the first

their utter inadequacy to cope with alire of such magnitude. They foughtwith unwavering energy, under theshadow of lofty walls that threatenedto totter and fall, from the «lizzy heightof the rofe'f of the nn burning portion ofthe hotel, from tiie tops of adjoiningresidences, from every point fromwhich it seemed possible to throw astream upon the seething, leapinrr.llames.But the strength of man was

as naught against the fury ofthe devouring element, and in an hourfrom tlie time the tire started, the menfighting it knew, and the thousands'watching if knew,'the great buildingwas doomed.The property loss was enormous^ The

spectators saw practically destroyedin a few hours a mighty structure, thebuilding of which had taken nearly amillion and a. half dollars and yearsof labor. The insurance upon tlie prop¬erty was about $,"70.000. The cele¬brated A'alentine statue of ThomasJefferson, in the Palm Court, wassaved, but the head was broken off.Manager Fry lost everything. His

wife and servant carried out their twolittle children wrapped in blankets.The Pace flats, adjacent to the Jeffer- ?

sou on the Main-Street, siile. Avere

gutted. The furniture was removed:the building was fully insured. The jresidence cf Colonel Archer A· ¡son.next to the hotel on the 1 ..tnkliii-Street side, was damaged to a slight jextent.

It may be the origin ot the fire willnever be conclusively known. It was jsaid 'this morning Hiat an electricianwas at work on the wiring ofjhe build-ing yesterday. Several short-« ircuitedwires may have caused fires in manyplaces in the building at one time-RECALLS OTHER BIG FIRES.The tire which destroyed the Jeffer¬

son will be remembered as one of thethree great fires of Richmond. Thefirst was the burning of the RichmondTheatre, in ISTI; the second was theburning of the old Sp vtswood Hotel,on Christmas morning, 1S70~ Eachwas attended by great, loss of lite.There were no lives lost iu the Jeffer¬son Hotel tire: the propertyloss wasfar greater than any the city has everknown, save that accompanying theevacuation bv the Confederates, inISO·".

It seemed that the sjiectators real¬ized they were witnessing an eventwhich would be forever remembered.About every fire there is a strange fas¬cination: little wonder that many ofthose who witnessed the progress ofthe mighty conflagration of this morn¬ing could not bring themselves awayuntil the dawn convinced them that,the scenes of the night were not thepoctures of a dream.

-._»_

Franklin Street Front Saved.The fire was under control at 1

o'clock this morning. The Franklin-Street side of the hotel was muchdamaged, but was not destroyed.Probably three-fourths of the oncebeautiful building is in ruins.Tlu* hotel and furnishings cost about

$1,750,00,0. The insurance, placedthrough Mr. Williamson Talley. wasabout $G?40.000. on a schedule coveringthe entire building, machinery and fix¬tures· In addition to this there is spe¬cific insurance of $10,000 on the ma¬

chinery of the various plants in the

basement. The total insurance will |amount to nearly $G0Q,00O.

WAS HARD FIRE TO FIGHT.Firemen Worked Hard. But Under Difficulties.

Siory of the Fire.The Jefferson Hotel tire was a most

difficult one to tight and the firemen were

handicapped from the start. Thoyfoug'nt, however, with wonderful effec¬tiveness, and from the surroundinghousetops streams from all sides werepoured in on the seething furnace below.The rear of th« hotel, fronting on theMain-Street side, however, it was seen

from almost the very beginning was

doomed, but every effort and every trickknown to fire-rigliters of long experiencewas brought into use. All failed andonly the Franklin-Street front and thepower house were saved. How all theguests escaped is a mystery.The tirst intimation that the hotel was

on fire, from all that can be learned,came from one of the waiters namedQuarles. There was at first an attemptmade by those in the hotel to extinguishthe blaze, but finding their efforts futilea special alarm was sent in. EngineCompany Xo. 7 responded, but soon a

general alarm was struck and the entiredepartment was called out.The men were none too soon. Before

they arrived flames had broken throughthe windows of the top floor and roofgarden, as well from the roof or* theroof garden. Streams were at onceturned on from Alain. Jefferson, andAdams Street sides of the building, butfor a long while these many streamssee-med to have no effect whatever. Ifanything the fire demon seemed to growonly more determined and bent on com-

pletinj*; his pitiless work.DESPERATE PLAN OF RESCUE.Then it was that a desperate piati of

rescue and to tight the llames from theinside of the burning building was de¬termined upon. Brave men followed dar¬ing leaders and made their way to theupper stories of the hotel. Captains Wiseand Hundley were among the first to

gain access to the burning structure, andCaptains Wise and Hundley were themost seriously injured of this brave

(Continued on Second Page.)

FRANKLIN STREET VIEW OF THE JEFFERSON ON A GALA.NIGHT*

ONE OF FINESTIN THE COUNTRY

| Jefferson Hotel Pride toAll Kichmonders.

! OPENED SIX! EARS AGOt Was Erected by tha Ute Major

Lewis Ginter*

DESCRIPTION OFTHE'STRUCTUBE

Luxurious Smokers" Room, Ma-jeificcrrt Oir»fice. Splendid Dinning Ro«*ms, Etc·

¿ant Parlors and Splendid Kur«··¡shed Bed Chambers.The

Galleries an Attraction.

Costly «Roof Garden.

The Jefferson Hotel was opened t»

guests otr the 1st of November. 1895. Itwas built upon the site of the propertyowned by the estate of «ten. Joseph. K.Anderson. It extended the entire lengthof Jefferson Street from Main to Frank¬lin.The people of Richmond had Ions been

clamoring for a hotel ot' the first-classand it remained for Major Lewis GInte»to give it to them.The architects ».vere Messrs. Carrer·

and Hastings, of Xew Vork, and the con¬

struction ot" the building was under thopersonal supervision of Mr. P. B. Pol-hemu», of New York.

A MAGNIKICENT BUILDING.The building was one of the hand¬

somest and best equipped for its purposein the United States.Entering from Main Street, the visitor

found himself in the smokers' room,which was a veritable El Dorado to alllovers of the fragrant week. This com¬

partment was about fifty feet square andv.as handsomely furnished. The settees.1< unges, and chairs were luxurious.The office room had ample space and

gorgeously furnished. There hundred»of persons gathered at night to listeiito the music of the band, which was sta¬tioned in one of the galleries. Lovelywomett, in brilliant costumas, lookeddown from the galleries upon the crowdbelow.The billiard and pool-room was one

of the most magnificently furnished Inthe country.The Turkish anil Russian bathe were

fitted up without the slightest regard *o-expense, and they «fere more perfectlyequipped than any other baths in thacountry.The Franklin-Street court combined

beautiful architectural effects with syl¬van delights. An arcade, some 15 feet *nwidth, surrounded the court. Both we·.·*of Pompeian design, presenting a brìi-liant effect, with the rich and variedcolors most admirably blended. Th«»arcade was supported by twenty-fourcolumns, and was paved with Nub Argent àmarble. Four small fountains were alt-fuated at the sides of the court, which/was tastefully laid out wtth turf anigravel-paths, palms, ferns and sapling,*.In the centre of the court, and facing toeFranklin-Street entrance. stood thestatue of Thomas Jefferson. It was a tri¬umph ot* art, and stood as a perfectly

*

true conception an«l embodiment of tuffauthor of the nation's Declaration ofIndependence.

THE JEFFERSON STATUE.Following is a description of the statue

written a few years ago:From a careful study of the best por¬

traits obtainable, and with the rare privi¬lege ot being able to invest the modelwith a suit of clothing that belonged to-and was worn by Mr. Jefferson. Sculp¬tor Valentine has succeeded in producinga statue that is instinct with physicaland Intellectual vigor. Mr. Jefferson,who was ö feet 2 1-2 Inches tall, ia repre¬sented in a statue of little more thanlife-size. The figure is elegant and Im¬pressive, and the posture easy and grace¬ful. The left foot Is slightly advanc«sd, andmost of the weight of the .'igure rests onthe right foot. The left hand rests ona Doric column, and the lines of this»column are broken by ? graceful con¬tact of the folds of the great coat, which,falls naturally against it. The right handholds the paper that was so mighty inthe destiny of this great republic, andhears the faithful reproduction of the en¬dorsement on Its back as follows:

"The «Driginal Draft of theDeclaration of Independence,

Passed by theContinental Congress

of theUnited States of America,

4th Of July. 1776."The drapery, which was modelled from.

Jefferson's costume, gives a delightfullypicturesque effect to the figure, and con¬sists of a long great coat, with orna¬mental «.»ape. covering a dress-coat. Ionswaletcoat. knee-breeches, top-boots, and? stock necktie, with lace l'-ufîtes. ThereIs an entire absence of stiffness and con¬

ventionality about the iigure,· and theease and simplicity of its pose accentuatothe beauty of it.The position of the head is slightly

bent, giving a Thoughtful air to thefigure, and the race is pleasant, whilebearing the lines of intellect, force, andpower which so distinguish it. The figureIn Its entirety gives a grand and nooieconception of the great statesman.The statue is chiselled from the purest

Carrara marble, and is absolutely flaw¬less.

LADIES' CAFE.A visitor to the hotel, soon after it was

opened, wrote this of the ladies* cafe andother features of the building:"Lounsing-chairs are placed round th<»

arcade, which, it may readily be Imagined,presents a soothing and dellghtsiul placeto spend an idle hour In. To the riebtof the court is the ladies' cafe, whichis oí the same design a» the court, andde-corated in the same colors. The room

measure« 42X» feet. -*11»* J-» beautifullyfurnished with mahogany chain, uphol¬stered In leather, and «dainty mahoganytables, while a large picture. entitl«wt.The Sheik." which was pointed by G.Clairin last year, and wa3 hung In th·Parte salon exhibition last year, adorn*the walls. The picture, which repr-asent* ,

the Sheik upon an eminence Tevtewln* Mbhordes of cavalrymen, is full of life, char¬acter, and color, and is «extremely beau¬tiful."In addition to the ladi»' cafe, th· «M-* :

cade contains two parlors for th· re«?*»·»tion and ente.natnment of visito« bythegueetj of the hotel» These parlo«.

(Continued e«*, »eurta. «Pas*a.>