Paper Blaze and Fire-Engines Furnish Evening's Diversion for 700 Students in Yard; False Alarm From Matthews the Cause

Seven fire-engines and several hundred undergraduates responded to an alarm sent in last night at 10.10 o'clock from Box 51 when some one saw flames and sparks issuing from a chimney in Matthews Hall. But the bathrobe clad curiosity seekers returned disappointed to their beds; the ringing of the fire apparatus, the raucous, joyous cheering of the students, the laboring of the heavy engines as they sank into the mud, were all for nothing.

The supposed configuration was a mere chimney blaze originating in the fire place of Room 56, on the top floor of Matthews, occupied by W. M. Powell '26 and H. B. Seares 2E.S. Not giving the matter much thought, they had allowed the fireplace to become filled with paper. Evidently some one throw a match or cigarette into the mass of rubbish, which quickly flared up and ignited soot in the chimney. Neither Powell nor Seares could be found when the excitement subsided.

"Their heart is all right, and they mean well, but their judgment is not very good" was Fire Chief Albert Tait's cryptic comment when asked his opinion of the undergraduates' activities.