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Show SOWEES SAFE,:! AKMMNB ' ; :EIKE-TWISlEi), lAMMM: THE mm, $50,C33 IN IT ' " esses-sea. ss-sssss-ss- sssbssi sss-e-ssj sssss-smssssssssssssssssssss-ssssssssssssssss-i s a. a Bolts Melted in McGurrin Vault, and Workmen Are Unable to Open It; Clearing Debris From . Burned Atlas Block. ; The work of several gangs of laborers labor-ers was centralized on the task of removing re-moving a number of safes from the ruins of the Atlas block today. , Gangs of men were busy with picks and shovels uncovering those safes that were partly exposed to view, and in making preparations for their removal from the ruins. . .The big vault of McGurrin & Co. was bolted to the wall so securely that when ,the floors gave way and fell to the base- ' ment, it hung suspended with no support sup-port for Its base. The bolts holding it were. cut and it fell with a crash onto a heap of bricks. Vault Hauled to Street. Blocks and tackle were then brought into use and after several hours of hard word . the heavy vault was placed on skids and hauled to the street by a team hitched to the tackle. The vault was removed to a nearby office, where It was opened and its contents con-tents found intact The safe of M. B. Bowles of the Utah ' Nursery company, whose offices were on the. third floor, directly above the McGurrin Mc-Gurrin company's offices, fell through the intervening floors and struck on a corner of the McGurrin vault. Fire Door Is Warped. The outer or Are door-of this safe was badly warped by the terrific heat to which it was subjected. . , .The safe is, however, a four-flange affair af-fair of heavy construction and Mr. Sowles has no rear as to the condition of the 150,000 in notes, stocks and bonds which .it contains. . i The safe of J. B. Thompson, which was in the annex of the Atlai building. was removed to the sidewalks , and opened-this morning.'. The safe had been covered by the falling brick from the walls and'was not damaged beyond the destruction of a coat of paint with which it was decorated. It opened readily read-ily and its contents were found to be in good condition. A large number of letter files of the McGurrin company were unearthed this morning and beyond having the edges singed, were found to be in a readable condition. Judge Botkin's Pine Stick. Judge Theodoslus Botkin was so fortunate for-tunate as to find a gold-headed ebony walking stick which was presented to him Christmas, 1890. by the Bar association asso-ciation of the Thirty-second district of Kansas. The stick was scorched and the gold bent and twisted, but Judge Botkin would not part with the souvenir, sou-venir, now of double value, for a large sum of money. Hole in Fire Wall. x While working on the walls of the Atlas block late yesterday afternoon a discovery was made which makes it remarkable that the D. F. Walker building, adjoining the Atlas block on the ast, was not also destroyed by the fire. J An aperture a foot wide was found In the wall of the Oxford saloon, leading Into the basement of the Atlas block. There had been at one time a window between-the two basements. This window win-dow had been walled up. with the exception ex-ception of an aperture two feet wide by one foot high. This hole was absolutely unprotected and would have afforded easy Ingress to the Walker block had the Are originated in the basement and worked upward. The existence of this opening was unknown to the fire department de-partment and to the insurance men. as it was concealed by floor Joints on one side and by a liquor cabinet on the other. Walls Are Inspected. The Atlas block walls were carefully inspected yesterday, with a view of tearing them down. A party wall is used at the front, and as there were a few signs of weakness in the Walker wall, no steps to tear down the one ruined by fire will be taken until the other is reinforced. A few losses have been adjusted. M. J. Kennedy has received $500 for his losses and G. H. Robinson will today, receive $500 on a "floating" policy, which covered some engineer apparatus. appara-tus. The managers of the Underwriters' board at San Francisco appointed D. A. Spencer to adjust losses for all companies com-panies except those which have special adjusters here. Some Losses Adjusted. William Mans, who will represent the Royal and Queen, arrived yesterday afternoon. af-ternoon. B. O. Selsbach of the Aachen and Munich and Hanover companies has been here since the fire. H. B. Windsor has been chosen by the West-' Chester. Williamsburg City and Franklin Frank-lin companies. L. B. Edwards, Western manager for the St. Paul. American, American Central Cen-tral and the Mercantile of Boston, is also here. R. B. Whlttemore, representing the Phoenix of Brooklyn. Is shaking hands with himself because a policy In his company on the Central block lapsed three days before the fire. |