THE GREAT SYDNEY FIRE.

Lake County Press, Issue 974, 8 August 1901, Page 7

THE GREAT SYDNEY FIRE.

MR HORDERN'S GENEROSITY. Mr Sam Hordern is as undaunted as ever. In business as in athletics he is a thorough sportsman. “ It’s a hard knock,” he said to a representative of the Sydney ‘ News,’ “ but I’m going on again for the sake of my peop’.e. I’ve got the best lost of work people any man ever had. They could not be more loyal. It’s my duty for their sakes to go on again, and I shall do so. A little while, perhaps, and it will be all right ; but it will take a little time. Why, I’ve had men with me for twenty-five andthirtv years.” Mr Hordern feels the blow all the more because he, with his brother, built the business up to what it was. When his father handed him and his brother over tiie business there, were only seven hands employed, and the daily takings never exceeded £57. Now the firm has 4,000 employes, and their daily takings generally exceed £5,000. “ From all over Australia all over the world, you may say—l have received messages of sympathy" What has pleased me most is that many of the people I have entertained in Sydney—visitors from other parts of Australia, I mean—have sent their sympathy. I have been offered every assistance from my competitors. They have offered me whatever stock I want at cost price, and the use of the part of their premises that they are not using. What was the. greatest blow was the death of those poor men. I greatly deplore that. It is the worst of ail. One of my men tells me that he told Clegg to come down, but he said he wanted to go on to the roof to see it all. Poor fellow, he could not get down again. It is very sad indeed.” But what pleased Mr Hordern is the loyalty and devotion of his employes. “No man ever had better people to work for him. Why, even my cook, Charlie Gibson, ran up to the dining room at the top of the building in George street to rescue the canaries I had given them for their dining room. He got down all right; but it’s the same all through. They’d do anything and go anywhere. I hope to have them all employed again.” Up to the present Mr Hordern continues to pay full wages to the whole of his employes. ilr Hordern has announced that he will allow the widow of Dashwood, the engineer, the only married employe who lost his life, £2 per week for five years, and to teach each of her five children a branch of his business and find employment for them, if they desire to remain with the firm afterwards. The operations of the firemen on July 10 were confined chiefly to clearing away the huge mass of debris which blocked the way to the strong room. After some time the strong room was reached, and was found to be practically uninjured. There was about two inches of water on the floor, and the safes were slightly buckled, and had to be broken open. But the contents of the strong room—money, boxes, jewellery, and deeds—were recovered. The cash totalled over £5.000, while the worth of the jewellery, being the more valuable portion of the jewellery stock, was over £4OO. In the Parker street block a large number of unopened cases of stoves and soft goods were to-day found to be uninjured either by tire or water, and were handed over to the insurance authorities. The fires of the past few days exactly wipe out the gross fire premiums for the whole year of the forty-two insurance companies doing business in New South Wales. Therefore, - all the ordinary losses and expenses for the twelve months will have to be borne by these companies, thus involving them in a loss on the year’s workings of about £350,000, even if no further exceptionally heavy fires should occur. The Premier stated that it is intended to introduce a new Fire Brigades Bill, with the object of rendering the brigades more efficient. He considers it absolutely necessary that an efficient body of men, numerous enough to cope with any fires which may arise, and with most up-to-date appliances, -hould be provided for the city and suburbs. A number of laborers while engaged on Juiv 16 removing debris froln the ruins of Hordern’s fire made a gruesome discovery in :he south-eastern corner of the basement. A quantity of fatty substance was found loafing on the surface of the water at the rottom of a hole, and on the water being Irained off a few bones with flesh adhering o them met the eye. The remains lay imneidately between two doorways leadng from the basement of the lower building nto a dark passage under the footway, these doorways were strongly grated. The ower portion of one of the bars was broken, ind two others were bent, as though sememe had tried to make a gap large enough or a man to get through. Alongside the tones was a large sledge-hammer, which had ipparently been used to break the bar. It s conjectured that Dashwood, the engineer, inding it too late to escape by the stairway, lecided to break through one of the gratings n order to gain admittance to the passage, jut had been overpowered by the smoke and ire. A blackened Waterbury watch has teen found in the ruins, and identified as laving belonged to John Nicholl, a packer, me of the missing employes.