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Show PIANOS ARE RUINED INAJE FIRE Other Musical Merchandise and Fixtures Are Likewise Destroyed. CABSTBNSBN & ANSON , MUSIC COMPANY BURNS Damage in an Early Morning Fire on Main Street Is. $30,000. Thirty thousand dollars' worth .of high-priced high-priced pianos, expensive fixtures, furniture furni-ture and musical merchandise, which included in-cluded nearly $5000 worth of phonograph records, llo at the bottom of the basement at 74 Main street as a result of an early Tuesday morning Are. The stock, of Koods belonged to the Carstcnsen & Anson Music company, on North Main street, of which John Dern, the well-known mining man, Is president. Tho building belonged to the Taylor-Armstromr company, nnd was nothing but a Bholl, according to the statements of the firemen, Fire Starts at Early Hour. Fire wan first discovered by one of the night patrolman on that beat, who sent In tho nlurm from No. 13. Upon reaching the rear of the building firemen discovered great volumes of smoke IsKulnp from the basement, and It was with difficulty that entrance was gained because of the naturo of tho gases that the fire caused. "vVhlh the firemen were still striving to make their way Into tho structure the main floor gave away, and with a terrible crash almost al-most the entire stock of goods piled up on the basemcat floor. Firemen Escape Unhurt. As luck would have It, no one was In thi building when the crash cainc. Some Idea of the weight that the floor sustained can bo gleanod from tho fact that a dozen or moro heavy pianos nnd an immense steel safe occupied a space not more than thirty feet square. "With the exception of tho floor In the front of the building, most of tho material was partly rotted away, and when the fire had weakened tho timbers underneath it quickly gave out. Goods Piled in Confusion. Almost if not quite as much damage was done by the floor giving away as by tho fire itself. When musical goods aro piled up at tho bottom of a building in an endless end-less maBS and water and smoke surround and cover them, It Is almost as bad as though cleaned up by flamea, Pianola Burns. A pianola, valued at $1000, was among the instruments that burned. Many of the Instruments were of the very best grades, nnd with two rows of thoso running tho whole length of tho building it Is easy to seo where tho amount of the loss Is found 'What was estimated to be largest stock of phonograph records in the West also went up In smoko or was so badly damaged dam-aged that not one In twenty records will be of value. Because of the material, tho records being made of wnx, that portion of the mcrchandleo was quickly consumed or damuged. Firemen Have Theories. . Soveral theories ar advanced bv firemen fire-men who arrived early on the scone One Is that the electric wires of tho building wre defective and that in this way sparks were communicated to Inflammable material. Still another fireman gives as hb theory that tho flro was caused bv spontaneous combustion, as a result of a largo pllo of oil-soaked rags being left In the basement. It Is known that workmen wore in tho building as lato as 1 o'clock Tuesday morning, one of their duties being be-ing the application of a coat of oil to tho new floor In tho front portion of the building. build-ing. "Were Overhauling- Building. For soveral weeks the place has been In tho hands of workmen, who gave it a thorough overhauling and made of It one of the most attractive stores in tho cltv. Expensive carpets had Just been put down, a number of oil paintings placed on the walls, several carloads of pianos and other Instruments had been received and tho firm was sparing neither trouble nor expense In boautifylng the Interior from top to bottom. "Will Continue in Business. A member of the firm stated during the dny that they had secured the old Wells Fargo Bank building. 123 and 125 Main street, and would open for business this morning. Tho safe, containing tho books nnd valuable papers, lies at tho bottom of the basement. Jammed in between charred and disfigured pianos. The amount of Insurance, In-surance, $20,000, will not cover tho loss, say the proprietory, although It will go a long ways towards doing so. Tho damage to the building will not exceed $1000, It Is said, and a policy was carried by the owners own-ers for $1000, or enough to cover two-thirds ol tho loss Chance tor New Building. While deploring the loss to the owners and occupants of the building, many havo txpresucd themselves on the project of a new structure being erected to replaco the ono damagod by fire. It Is pointed out that the- location la all that could be desired de-sired for an up-to-date building, possessing possess-ing storerooms and ofilce apartments So far no serious thought has been glvon to the project by tho owners, but It In possible, pos-sible, Juat the same, that a new building will replaco tho adobe structure at 7-1 Main stroet. |