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Show FIRE RAVAGES CHURCH SCHOOL Early Morning Fire Costly For Presbyterians; Pres-byterians; Firemen Are Hurt Salt Lake City. Damage estimated at more than $50,000 was caused early Friday morning when fire swept through Converse hall, administration building of Westminster college, on Thirteenth East street. Two. firemen were slightly injured in a fall of eight-teen eight-teen feet when a ladder, overloaded with men and hose, broke. Foreman Boshard suffered a fractured rib and Conde sprained his left ankle. Efficient work of the fire department depart-ment and cool-headed efforts of the YVe&tminster students from adjoining dormitories saved educational and business records of the college and part of the class room equipment, but the college's entire library of 14,000 volumes, including the 2500-volume ' private library of Dr. William M. Pa-den, Pa-den, synodical missionary and former pastor of the First Presbyterian church, was completely destroyed. The Paden library was regarded as one of the finest private collections in the west. The fire, which spectacularly illuminated illum-inated the early morning sky, is believed be-lieved to have been caused by spon taneous combustion. The blaze swep' upward along the main staircase leading from the main floor to the i upper floor and superstructure or Gothic Go-thic tower, which adorned the Converse Con-verse building. Firemen were able to control the flames to the two upper stories and the basement floor, con- i taining the chemistry, physics and bio- ! ligical laboratories, was undamaged other than from water. The fire was under control within an hour after the I tire equipment reached the blaze. |
