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Zurich Herald, 1916-02-11, Page 7PUMENT BUILDNCS BURNED Outbreak Came Suddenly While House of (Commons Was in Session. MOST PDCTURESQUE PUBLIC BUILDING IN AMERICA IS A SHAPELESS JUIN. -TSO WOMEN AND FOUR MEN PERISHED. A despatchfrom Ottawa says: The. Canadian Parliament Buildings are in. auris, Fite which broke out at nine o'clock oil Thursday night in the Com- mons reading room swept with tre- mendous fury down the corridors, and leaped to the. • galleries, and in the space of three', minutes had filled the whole whoa with ,an impenetrable vol - .ore of smoke.: ft was followed quickly by Harries. Two people are known to be dead. They are Maclaine Bray, wife of Dr. Bray-, of Quebec, and Madame Morin, wife of I:r. Louis Morin, of Quebec. They were guests of Madame Sevigny, wife of the speaker, and were cut oft in their apartments. Origin of the Fire a Mystery. The origin of the fire is a mystery*. It May never, be known. `There were suspicions of incendiarism, possibly by a German agent, but as policemen were on guard at both doors of the roan where the fire started and others in the room itself, it would have been difTicrilt for anyone to deliberately set the fire without being detected. A smouldering cifiar butt might have done it, though smoking in that quart- er is supposed. to be prohibited. Fil- led with thousands of loose papers, the flames leaped from stand to stand with an almost inconceivable rapidity. At the same. time the smoke rolled forth in dense clouds of suffocating volume. While an alarm was instantly rai:.ed the escape of members, of people in the galleries, and the House staff', with ;co ,mail a list of missing, is renxar amble.. The Victims. The case of Madame Morin is par- tieulau•le sad, as she had intentecl to return to her home two days ago. She bad -.put it off' from one ,time to an- eth'r, however, and finally delayed for mealier day when her departure had l.,.an fixed for this morning. While a guest of Madame Sevigny Madame Merin had hems taken ill and had that Mr. Nesbitt had sustained a sperm slime time in the.Water Street slight injury to his hand. When Hon. hospital, consequently she was not in Martin Burrell left his office and made the most rugged of health at the time his way through the burning reading the tire occurred. room his secretary, Mr. Ide, also fled It appears •Fiona what could be from the burning building. But while learned that when the fire started Mr. Burrell turned to the west and Ma:lanae Sevigny managed to escape passed through the Commons side of the building, Mr. Ide went in the op- posite direction and got out by the Senate wing. His hair was singed, but lie was uninjured. Mr. Edgar N. Rhodes, Deputy Speaker, who was in the chair, was were l e, •unit in firemen's nets and al- the last to leave and he stated that 'n eseee+•:d e,ith nothing worse than a the chamber as he left it was empty. bad fright. Both Madame Bray and Madame Morin, however, appeared to have taken the wrong turning down the corridor when they left their rooms and to have been trapped at one end of the hall. When their bodies were recovered the smoke had proved too much and life was extinct as a result of asphyxiation rather than the (ire itself. Members of the House of Commons, in the Chamber and the various Par- liamentary offices, had to fight their way to safety. People in the upper storeys of the building had narrow escapes, many having to be taken out by ladders. The flames. started in the reading room between the Commons Chamber and the library. This room is sheath- ed -in wood, very old and very dry and this, with the hundreds of newspapers, fed the fire until it was a roaring fur- nace. Hon. Martin Burrell,. Minister of Agricuture, was in his office off the reading room when he found himself confronted suddenly with a wall of flame and a curtain of black, suffocat- ing smoke. He rushed through the fire and in making his escape was bad- ly burned about the head and face. He was taken to the basement and treated by Dr. Dugal Stewart, of Lun- enburg, and other members. His face was scorched and singed and his hands cut and bleeding. • Turned Up Safely. After the escape of Hon. Martin Burrell and the appeaeance- of Dr. Michael Clark, of Red Deer, suffering from the effects of thes moke, a re- port spread that Messrs. Logie (Northumberland), E. W. Nesbitt (North Oxford). and Jas. Douglas (Strathcona) had failed to make good their escape from the burning chamb- er. This report, however, was sub- sequently contradicted and it was said that the members had been seen and through the corridors of the building. Madame Henri Dassault, of Quebec, also a guest; of Madame Sevigny, jumped frem a window in the second. :tory ends c s..aped uninjured. The two young children of Madame Sevigny Tho fire and smoke swept through the long corridors with amazing rapid- ity, and the members, clerks and visitors had the utmost difficulty in escaping through the dense, suffocat- ing clouds that filled the lobbies and staircases. Sir Robert Borden's Escape. GREAT MOVEMENT OF TROOPS ON THE HOLLAND FRONTIER Transfer Supposed to be Connected With the Attempted German Drive to Calais A despatch from London says; The Germans have closed the frontier between Belgium and Holland, .accord- ing to a despatch from Amsterdam, which adds that great movements of troops are in progress. The transfer of troops is supposed to be connected with the reported plan of the Ger- mans for an attempted drive to Calais. The official communiques issued by the French War Office on Friday deal with artillery actions. French artil- lery bombarded an infantry column and convoys entering Roye, and other bombardments were directed against the German positions in the Tahure sector, in Champagne; the sector of La Idarazoe, in the Argonne, and in the Norneny-Morville front in Lor- raine. The Copenhagen correspondent of the London Daily Mail telegraphs: It is rumored from Berlin that the Kais- er has been for some time on the western front, where he inspected the Belgian frontier. Two days ago he was in the neighborhood of Loos when the attack on that city was made. The Emperor is said to have taken a hand in the planning of the recent Zeppelin raids on Paris and England at conferences held by a council in Armentieres, at which Admiral von Tirpitz also was present. ALPHONSE DESJARDINS, Do- minion policeman, 289 Somerset Street east. RANDOLPH FANNING, Postoffice Department employee. .14 GERMAN ARMY SUPPLIES ARE BECOMING SCARCE. N11 Robert Borden whose in the far north-eas,t corner of the the thousands who had assembled to building, escaped without hat or coat witness the fire. The police were re -1 into the lower lobby and ultimately made his way to his principal quarters in the east block. Dr. Michael Clark, of Red Deer, one of the last members to reach the lob- by, was half choked with smoke and was very weak. He declared that, other members were still in the cham- inforced by troops who formed a cord- on about the burning building and as- sisted the firemen. Two Explosions. Many seem to take it for granted that the fire Was the work of an in- cendiary, and in the absence of con- firmation the stories of Mayor Martin, ber, but appeals to have been mis- taken in this. The fire soon enveloped the Com- mons Chamber on all sides and the Mr. Bradbury and others were eagerly listened to. Mayor Martin, of Montreal, who was one of the first to discover the fire, historic old theatre was in ruins. It says he heard an explosion, but wheth- spread over all the west wing, includs er it was caused by spontaneous com- ing the addition built on a few yea bustion or s 'den fire among the news -1 ago, in which are situated the Speak- papers he is unable to say. ers' quarters, Premier's office, press W. R. Bradbury, stock broker, was l room, members' rooms and restaurant. standing near the post -office in the In the latter the staff were just get- main chamber when he heard a crash. ting things in shape after dinner when Before going any distance he heard j the alarm of fire was given. They another explosion of some kind which j raced for the exits and so far as is knocked him off his feet. Major Ger-1 known all got away in safety. ald White. M.P., also heard two sep- 1 Madame Sevigny, wife of the Speak- Grate explozinos. er of the House, was forced to leave Ottawa Is Alert. 1 her apartments by one of the windows. The first effort to stop the rush of Ottawa, Fob. 4. -Ottawa is a mill - flames was made by the House of- tary camp to -night. No less than , ficials and the Dominion police, `who 1,200 men of the 77th Regiment stand are constantly on guard in the tor- guard about the Parliament House ridors Fire hoses wer pulled from grounds Ne one is permitted to en- ter. Fire engines continue to pour water . their racks and several streams of water were played on the fames. Simultaneously the automatic sprint -;,,r, rhe still smouldering ruins. leis :. opened, but nothing that this ' • a au • Hell, where the -Duke and euiemment could do bad any effect on ;1 •. of Connaught and their All Products of Textile Industry Confiscated by Government. A despatch front London says: According to Berlin newspapers, as quoted by Renter's Amsterdam corre- spondent, a new order was put in force on February 1 under which the greater part of all products of the textile industry was confiscated. The Tageblatt says it is highly significant that on this occasion the Government does not seize raw material, but fin- ished articles. Included in the list are all materials for clothing suit- able for army or navy officials, all goods for ander garments, blankets, inclusive of horse cloths, colored lin- en goods, linings and sailcloths. Ber- lie newspapers point out that this measure discloses a scarcity of these materials, and also indicates that Germany is preparing for a war of 'long duration. I FOUR NEW PIONEER BATTALIONS TO' RECRUIT. Markets of t6e''World' 13readstnffs. Toronto, Feb, 8. -Manitoba wheat` -New crap, No, 1 Northern, $1,25%/s;: No. 2 do,, $1,23; No, 8, de., $1,20%,' In store, Fort William. Manitoba oats -No, 2 CW., 45c; No; 8, do., 42%e; extra No, 1 feed, ` 4214e; No. 1 feed, 411/4e, ix store, Fort William. American corn -No, 3 yellow, 82%; track, Toronto. Canadian corn -Feed, 76 to 77c, track, Toronto. Ontario oats -No. 3 white, 44 to 45c; Commercial, 43 to 44c, according to freights outside. Ontario wheat -No. 2 Winterper ear lot, $1.13 to $1.15; wheat slight- ly sprouted and tough, according to sample, $1.09 to $1.13; wheat sprout- ed, smutty and tough, according to sample, $1..02 to $1.07; feed wheat, 90 to 95c, according to freights out- side. Peas -No. 2, $1.80; do., according to sample, $1.25 to $1.75, according to freights outside. Barley -Malting, 64 to 66e; feed, 57 to 60; according to freights out- side. Buckwheat -78 to 79; according to freights outside. Rye -No. 1 commercial, 93 to 95c; rejected, according to sample, 83 to 85e, according to freights outside. Manitoba flour -First patents, in jute bags, $7.20; second patents, in jute bags, $6.70; strong bakers', in jute bags, $6.50, Toronto. Ontario flour -Winter, according to sample, $4.90 to $5.10, prompt ship- ment, seaboard, or Toronto freights, in bags. Millfeed.-Car lots, delivered Mont- real freights -Bran, per ton, $24;_ shorts, per ton, $25; middlings, per ton, $26; good feed flour, per bag,' $1.75. Country Produce. Butter -Fresh dairy, 27 to 30c; in- ferior, 23 to 25c; creamery prints, 32 to 34c; solids, 34 to 35e. Eggs -Storage, 28 to 29c per doz.; selects, 31 to 32c; new -laid, 33 to 35c, • case lots. Honey -Prices, in 10 to 60-1b. tins, 12 to 12%c; combs, No. 1, $3; No. 2, $2.40. Beans -$4.20 to $4.40. Poultry -Spring chickens, 17 to 18 fowls, 13 to 14c; ducks, 17 to 18e; geese, 15 to 19c; turkeys, 23 to 26c. Cheese -Large, 19c; twins, 191%e. Potatoes -Car lots of Ontarios the on -rushing fire. An automatic fire ;ci the °' "' quoted at $1.76 to $1.80, and New alarm brought the city fire brigade ! ;lwc`li, has abrcordo of "Princess !One to be Attached to Each of the Brunswicks at $1.90 to $2 per bag, and in a few minutes all Otawa's fire !drawn about it. Others are hidden be - fighting equipment was on the Mill itory stairs in the kitchens and ser- ail(' pouring tons of water into the 1 wants quarters. building. All the public buildings are strongly Montreal Sends Aid. ; guarded. Soldiers are everywhere. A specoal train brought a +:detach -•:The gold bullion under charge of the meat of the Montreal fire brigade.' Finance Department is guarded by a Many members and employee who j special force with loaded rifles. ' ! were caught in offices upstairs were anadIan Dxvxsrons. I A despatch from Ottawa says: Four new "pioneer" battalions are to be recruited in Canada, according to an announcement made by Sir Sam Hughes on Wednesday. Plans are now being worked out for the organiz- ation of these battalions. They will include a considerable number of practical railway engineers and con- struction men. Col. Robert Low of Halifax, e well-known contractor, will probably have charge of one battalion. It is the intention to at - tech at least one '`pioneer" battalion to each Canadian division at the front. assisted out of the window by the tire- { Toil of the Dead. men. Dr. Cass, of Yukon, was helped ; B. 1;. LAW, M.P. for Yarmouth. out of a window by Mr. Tho:; McNutt, . Mli1E. MORIN, Quebec. of Saltcoats. MME. HENRI BRAY, Quebec. As soon as the seriousness of the J. -13. R LAPLANTE, Assistant fire was realized fresh detachment of : Clerk of the House. Dominion police were reeked to ;he S A. DESJARDINS, plumber, 259 hill and efforts were made to hole l+uei : Weter Street. CANADA'S PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS ARE DESTROYED BY FIRE 4 ee r���..��,�,fi e�.��`l.F��Ta ~ � tea"«ti-%'• H M T 4 t M. "`•" 'ink' oi504 .. fro ` i , here Tilephotograph was trlken on an opening day the.,re were many '.�'I�a front of the dine islock of buildings is h,.xe seen, e � .>` is seen, the �tarver o the library, where the fti raged roost savagely, �Qol:Tci going in for that fr>zlction. To the left of the picture � . , � , i :The r1 corner and to circular, librarybuilding, �catr c> ratr'tl�,,lt✓� to the Speaker's xavate apartments is est a,1`titxnel the oortlor, on the left o:f the picture lead between that CAM EROONS on track. Baled Hay and Straw. Local merchants are now buying on track, Toronto, at the following prices: -Baled hay, new, No. 1, ton, $18 to $18.50; do., No. '2, ton, $14 to' $14.50; baled straw, ton, $6.50 to $7. Montreal Markets. Montreal, Feb. 8. -Corn, American No. 2 yellow, 85 to 86c. Oats, No. 2 local white, 511e; No. 3 local white, 50c; No. 4 local white, 49c. Barley, Man. feed, 62 to 63e; malting, 70 to 72c. Buckwheat, No. 2. 80 to 82e. Flour, Man. Spring wheat patents, CAMPAIGN ENDED. firsts, $7.30; seconds, $6.80; strong bakers', $6.60; Winter patents, choice, Last of the Germans Driven Across $6.70 straight rollers, $6 to $6.10; the Frontier to Spanish Guinea. A despatch from Madrid says: Franco -British troops operating in do., bags, $2.85 to $2.95. Rolled oats, barrel, $5.25; bags, 90 lbs., $2.50. Bran, $24. Shorts, $26. Mid- dlings, $28 to $30. Mouillie, $31 to Cameroons the German Colony hi $33. Hay, No. 2, per ton, car lots, Western Africa, have driven 14,000 $20 to $20.50. Cheese, finest west- erns, 18'14. to 181, c finest easterns, 18 to 1814c. Butter, choicest cream- ery, .34 to 35c; seconds, 32y/ to 33c. Eggs, fresh, 35c; selected, 29 to 30c; No. 1 stock, 27c; N o. 2 stock, 24 to man troops had been disarmed and 25c. Potatoes, per- bag, car lots, interned as soon as they crossed the $1.85 to $1.90. border. Only 900 . of the German •- - troops were regulars. The other were Live Stock Markets. colonials recruited from among the I Toronto, Feb. 8. --Butchers' cattle, African tribes in the colony. choice, $7.50 to $7.'75; do., good, $7.10 to $7.35; cio., medium, $G.15 to NEW RUSSIAN PRE14IIElt $6.75; do common, $5 to $5.65; POLICY. ` butchers' bulls, choice, $6.50 to $0.90; DEFINES HIS do., gond bulls, $5.75 to $6.10; do., A despatch from London says: rough bulls, $4.50 to $5; butchers' i M. Sturreer, the r,etx Premier of Rus- cows, choice, $6.10 to $6.50; do., good $5.75 to $G; do. medium, $5.25 1 the NovoeGVren va,i ofiiPetrograd as to .$ 5.60; do., common, $4.25 to $5; ainterview in cquoted by Reuter's correspondent` feeders, good, $6.25 to $6.75; stock - there that hi,, policy would be in- ers, 700 to 900 lb's., ',6.10 to $6.75; spired above all else with the one canners and cutters, $3.25 to $4.50; idea of bringing the war to a success- milkers, choice, each, $75 to $100; do., ful issue. He said no proposals for common and medium, each, $35 to a Separate peace would provide a sol- $60; springers, $50 to $100; light utiort of the problems which con- ewes, $7 hto $8.50; sheep, heavy, front. the nations as a result of the $5.25 to Ftt, do., bucks, $3.,50 to world -!vide et nflagr;ition, and added: $4.50; yearling lambs, $7 to $7.75; "Those who speak of financial or Iambs, cwt., $10 to $13; calves, media nonionic. exhaustion of Russia appear um to choice, $6.75 to $10.75; do., common, $4 to $4.50; hog;, fed and watered, $3.0; do., f.o.b., $9.65. Montreal, Feb 8.-13uLi1eert' steers, $5.50 to $7.50; canning bulls, $4,25 to $5.50; cows, $4.50 to $6; Banning cows, $3.25 to $4; milkers,. $60 . to $80. Sheep. 5 to 7c Bound; lambs, 3 German troops across the frontier to Spanish Guinea, probably ending the Entente campaign for this important German territory. Word was receiv- edni Madrid on Sunday that the Ger- i ludicrous: to tnc, for the ;Russian pea - pie cannot he exhausted or con-. tli.i'r't:ti," 1'oc Will Tax All Bachelors. ;5; despatch from Copenhagen says: 'Ch;; i;:•rt:xain (tomer mnent -proposes to to 01/2c. Hogs, $9, la tv .f0, C0; lex ,tit 1:<tclietors, according to de- cows, $7 50 to $7.75.. C elvas 8 to :,patch.: re:• ivied here. 91.fc pound.