Show THRILLING SCENES AT CHURCH FIRE St. St Xavier's at Philadelphia Burned to the Ground f Y Et ESCAPE l oss Ut E Intimated t to He lIe III in the lie Neighbor Neighborhood hood of One Ouie Hundred I Thousand Dollars Hollm Philadelphia March 28 Am S Amid Id thrilling scenes cen s of ur excitement and heroism he he- priests risking their thell lives hives to lo rescue the tho holy sacraments and anul fire fire- ion struggling valiantly to 10 save the tho hl high h gilt gill cross over n the altar altaI with thousands of spectators cheering both holh and a score of nuns silently praying rayln rOt for their thell safety arel St. St Frauds Francis Xavier's Roman Catholic church at t and amid Green streets was tlc destroyed destroy ed cel today by one of the most eU spectacular I lar at ar of years The rho were started by hy an nil explosion lon of o gasoline In Iii a large two-story two factory on fourth tj-fourth street which 1 th the back of or time the sacristy t It Is an annex factory to the lie bigger hl r one at Twelfth nn und mid Brown streets operated by lIy Henry lien Hen 1 ry II Co Cn hat ers erti The fhe Twenty fourth street build build- building lug InS was wa destroyed a as well a as the church E Forty molt men got Sot out of oC this Just JustIn In time to escape a great g f shoot sheet of or flame name which shot idiot through It from Crom end to lo end A thousand school chool children ml missed ll being In the tho church by hy a II matter mat mat- ter of only tOO ten minutes Th They were to lo have come from St. St Francis Parish school to attend the Lenten devotions of oC the church Residences on lit the I. I east cast and amid the west westor of or the th church were Wl badly burned hurne and had to be vacated by hy their thell occupants These The persons l nt rushing about abouL saved tI themselves awl and their property timid nn and the heroic priests rescued all au of the sacred vessels and costly vestments and all allor of or the movable ornaments of the church U So far Cal a as aH material loss 1088 goos gos the damage to St. St Francis Xa was about or UI lOl Pride of time the Catholic The church cost In iii 1838 and amI nothing remains but hut tho walls valis alt and foot floor Tho loss to the factory j is about Tho church was wan till the pride o of the Catholics throughout the tue city and besides be ho- sides Ides being a a. beautiful structure was al also o a sort 1011 of or monument to tho ho late hate Father M. M 0 J. J Gleason UN Its first pastor wh j was a half brother brothel to Archbishop Ryan That venerable prelate sadly watched watch watch- cd ed tho ho of the tho flames lIames having followed Collo the ItO engines cn while on his hlll afternoon af at- constitutional None of oC the workmen could toll toil how boa tho time explosion in tho the hut factory occurred oc oc- oc- oc |