Show SHOE FACTORY DURNED Fire of Rliysterious Origin at Robinson Plant SCORE OF PEOPLE LEFT IDLE Flames First Discovered nt 2 Oclock Yesterday Afternoon When They Had Gained Such Headway That Nothing Could Be Saved Fire Department De-partment Blade Quick Run and Ke etricted tho Couflngratioix Loss 818000 and Insurance 7500 May Not Bo rebuilt I Salt Lake suffered the loss of ono of Us leading Industrial establishments by fire yesterday afternoon Robinson Bios shoe factory ncar the corner of Fourth South and Eighth East streets with Its machinery and other contents was totally destroyed entailing n loss of S1SOOO n act throwhirr about twenty men and girls out of employment In Jiurnnce to the amount of 7500 was carried In the companies represented by Ensign Elder and J3 IT Pierce The cause of the conflagration can only he conjectured When It was llrst seen bursting through the roof the lire hud made such headway that it was impossible to enter the building The hose cart and ladder truck from engine house No 1 frere at the spot In a very brief space of lime but nil thaucould hu done wns to keep the 11 nines from spreading to surrounding buildings NO ONE IN FACTORY So far as can he learned no ono had been n In the factory sinceSaturday noon when the employees uere given u half holiday One of the explanation offered of-fered is that the lire was started from the electric wiring some residents of the I neighborhood say that they heard nn explosion before the lire was noticed and believe that a gasoline explosion is icsponsible Arthur Robinson one of the proprietors scouts the latter theory because he says all the gasoline and other explosives used In the factory were stored in a tank in a cellar away from the building In his opinion the catastrophe way due either to defective wiring1 or to arson It was nearly 2 oclock In the afternoon after-noon when the smoke ivan ilrst noticed pouring from the room Several people in the neighborhood saw it I about the I same time and all sorts of means were adopted to inform the department liny Cruroft went to Seventh East on his bIcycle and turned in an alarm from a lOX a young lady ran to the nearest telephone and wired In uhllc Mveral other telephones near by wet utilized b3 other people for the same purpose LOW PRESSURE HINDERS The company it No 1 and the steain > r from No 2 responded at once malt lug the inn In less than ten minutes A stop was made to attach the hose lo he plug on Fourth South street hut before the connection was made the firemen were Informed that there was 10 pressure to speak of on that line and drove around to Eighth East where the loose was attached to a plug on the eastside east-side of the street The firemen started ICIOS3 lots with the hose and were told by an excited citizen that it would be mposslble to get through that way so hey carried the line around the corner of the block a distance of about SOO feetThe The llamcs had in the meantime reached the open air and were mount lug to twice the height of the building Sparks were falling on the factory sla lilti to the east from which the horses md been removed and on the resl lence of James Russell a little to the north and east When the water was irst turned on the pressure was slight ltlt > the steamer had been tired up he ore leaving the station and was ready for business It was connected with he hose and a high pressmc secured The company from No 1 station had been called out and arrived promptly vlth Chief Devlne A second line of lose was put on and run through the jlock directly to the burning bulldinpr a distance of about 250 feet The stable and adjoining residence were drenched with chemicals to prevent the spread of he conflagration and the firemen then lirected their attention to the subjec ion oC the blaze in the factory ONLY RUINS LEFT Two men took the hose up the west vail in the very face of the fire but he wall looked so insecure that the ChicC ordered them down It took very ew minutes however to subdue the lames and when Councilman Arthur toblnson who had been called out of he Tabernacle reached the scone the ire vjis almost extinguished and the factory n 1 smoking luin Jiis brothers and partners John and Charles Robin sari were also among the arrivals but could save nothing At its height the Ji7e was so hot that it molted the glass In the windows which ran clown Ikft water Two emergency men of the water dc mrtment reached the locality at 230 ind called attention to the presence of a plug on the west side ot Eighth Sa st which was connected with a welveinch Instead of a fourInch pipe like that on the east side and was the vidlh of the ftrcct nearer the burning factory but he Hromen who had overlooked over-looked this plug did not make the change It would have been a waste of line anyway as all that could be done vns to prevent the fire from spreading and this had already been accomplished accom-plished MAY NOT REBUILD It Is admitted that the pressure on oiiilli South street Is very slight ns he line Is connected with the loner ysleni and at this point I a almost ny high as the source of supply but the Eighth Sast main is supplied directly from the middle system and carries a pressure of about ninety pounds This VIK raised by the steamer tc nearly 200 pounds before the second hose was put on and maintained lcrvnrd at liii pounds After the fire Arthur Robinson said hue did not know what he I firm would do toward rebuilding They own a pint of ground 1131 foot square The build lug contained a stock of unfinished shoes leather and other material I but lie greatest loss is lo the machinery Jhe bullying Itself was an old brick structure oC no great value The Inml icsS of UK company has grown from a small beginning into an extensive vholGKilo trade which has been the dl ieeE and indirect moans oC giving em loyment to scores oC people A consolidation con-solidation effected with the Roniney Shoe company was dissolved ois the first of I he year which relieves the latter company from any portion of the loss |