Show ONE BUILDING IN FLAMES All But the Walls Burn Born to the Ground Before Thousands of Spectators BIG FIRE LIGHTS THE VALLEY While While the Students Are Applauding the Performance of the Dramatic Club at the Theatre the tIle Physical Building Is Burn Burning Loss Burning Loss ng-Loss Loss Nearly Covered by Insurance While the Salt Lake Theatre full of students professors regents alumni and U. U of U. U friends was ringing with applause applause ap ap- ap laughter and college yells at the brilliant performance of the University Dramatic Club the handsome new physical cal building of the lJ University was being heing consumed by fire in silent solitude Filled with the Christmas holiday spirit on the evening of the last school day in inthe inthe inthe the old year and smiling with pleasant satisfaction from the happy success of the dramatic performance the big audience emerged from the play house play only only to be met on the Theatre steps by the heart- heart stricken sight of the physical building in a amass amass amass mass of flames And one party was struck with the memory of having noticed a light in the qualitative chemistry room nearly four hours before as they were leaving home for the Theatre ALL RUSH TO THE FIRE Professors left their wives and students left their sisters and sweethearts in order to reach the scene scene with no delay In an R instant cars were packed from platform to trolly and never did it seem such an anage anage I age for the electric cars to travel thirteen blocks I HEROIC WORK OF STUDENTS AND PRO PRO- PROFESSORS An n hour later several thousand dollars wo worth th of books apparatus furnishings and football outfits had been snatched from om the flames by the heroic work of students and professors Arts and science students normal and preparatory students professors and instructors joined with the engineering students to save what could be saved from the burning home of the engineers As they felt their way through smoke and falling cinders cinders' in water vater to their and snatching articles of value from the devouring flames men I and women alike looked on half breathless lest falling timbers and tumbling walls might ring out a message of death A THRONG OF SAD SPECTATORS There must have been nearly a thousand thousand thousand thou thou- sand people on the scene special cars going going going go go- ing to and from the fire until long after midnight President Kingsbury a number number number num num- ber of the Regents many of the professors professors professors pro pro- and several hundred of the students students students stu stu- dents all felt alike that a home was being destroyed an and sad were the hearts to see this misfortune at it t a time when all was just blooming out so fair on on the sight of the new home A MAGNIFICENT l SIGHT The big burning building was nevertheless nevertheless nevertheless never never- a magnificent sight that inspired as well as made gloomy and was observed observed observed ob ob- served by hy people all over the city and valley as well as by those on the scene o oft of f t the fire Few had seen before such a tremendous volume of smoke and flame oJ shooting skyward and licking the clouds in in the wild passion of its sport SOLDIERS' SOLDIERS BUCKET BRIGADE The The whole regiment from Fort Foit Douglas Doug Doug- las were permitted by the commanding officer in charge to come down to the fire and the soldiers entered with commendable commend commend- able spirit into the formation of a b bucket brigade using buckets which they brought down with them WALLS SA SAVED GOOD SAVED GOOD INSURANCE In spite of the late discovery of the fire and the long run of the fire department Chief Devine and his men in saving the walls of the building and some flooring from special in injury jury and andin in fighting the flames they displayed at times a courageousness courageousness cour- cour ageo that almost seemed reckless reckless- ness The loss was greatly overestimated by bythe bythe bythe the daily papers With the twenty thousand thousand thousand thou thou- sand insurance on the building and ten thousand on the apparatus it itis it-is is estimated now that the loss will practically be covered covered covered cov cov- ered by the insurance CAUSE AND DISCOVERY OF THE TIlE FIRE The fire was discovered by a couple of f students between nine and ten o'clock who quickly sent in the alarm The fire department arrived at ten minutes after ten when the building was pretty well under flame The fire probably started in the qualitative qualitative qualitative chemistry room early in the evening evening evening even even- ing either from a bunson burner left r lighted or from a bit of phosphorus car car- lessly dropped during the day or from a apiece apiece pi piece ce of charcoal left with a spark in it Perhaps the most likely supposition is that the oL of- the gas jet evaporating oven was left burning BUILDING TO BE REBUILT AT ONCE J 1 This all happened Friday Dec 2 20 ao The next day the regents held a special l meeting and appointed special committees committees commit commit- tees Work was begun at once on the clearing ing of the burnt wreckage Bids for for rebuilding will be called for as as as' soon as as as' Architect Dallas pallas can make his specifications specifications specifications and the building will be new and complete again for the opening of school n next x traIl fall ij p TEMPORARY In the the- meantime the engineering and science wo work of the physical building will go on uninterrupted The drawing class classes class class- es went on on as usual last week on the second floor loor of the new shop building just completed Class recitations and seminary y work continued uninterrupted in all subjects sub sub- sub of f instruction in the library and normal buildings This week the new assay room is completed By next week the shops for wood and iron will be in working order in the new shop building and by Monday next next the basement rooms of the new museum building now in course of construction will be fitted up temporarily for both recitation and laboratory laboratory lab lab- oratory work in ch chemistry physics and 1 mineralogy when work in these subjects I will be in full blast j New chemical and physical physic l apparatus has been arriving daily for some time time timeA and within a week or so these laboratories laboratories' will be better equipped than ever before PRACTICALLY NO INTERRUPTION Thus the work will go on with ony only slight interruption in laboratory work which can be readily made up There was some talk among the discouraged discouraged discouraged dis dis- engineers of several of them leaving for other mining schools but all has subsided now that the restitution of the loss has been so immediate Indeed I in spite of the fire the Utah State School of of Mines fines still boasts of being the greatest in in the west both in equipment in natural advantages and in severity of entrance re re- |