Show HALF A MILLION LOSS I AXOTHEK DISASTER FOLLOWS TIE ST LOUIS COXVEXTIOX Merchant Terminal Elevator Burned sit ait Early Hour This I Morning i ST LOUIS July 13At 230 oclock this morning fire was discovered in the boiler room of the Merchants I Terminal elevator located at Second and Biddle streets An alarm was Immediately I I im-mediately turned in which was soon i followed by a general alarm and although 1 al-though the fire departments responded promptly the large building was completely com-pletely enveloped in flames upon their arrival The building being an old and dry one the flames eat their way to j the top as quickly as if it had been i so much paper The whole north portion I por-tion of the city was illuminated for many blocks and such heat that the work of the firemen was very difficult The heat being almost unbearable About thirty minutes after the fire broke out a 200 foot smokestack fell narrowly missing a number of firemen below Twenty minutes after this the I west wall was found to be tottering which necessitated the removal of the te fire engines working on that side the wall collapsing shortly afterwards John F Ryan president of the company com-pany did not arrive on the scene until some time after the fire started and when seen estimated that the loss would be at least 500000 The elevator eleva-tor contained many thousands of bushels bush-els of grain the exact amount not being be-ing known At this hourI oclockthe fire is under control |