Omaha officials had a rather serious problem in January 1901. The city needed a pesthouse, but someone had burned it down.
The smallpox isolation building had gone up in flames on a Saturday night, and Chief of Police Mitchell was not treating the fire as an accident. He said he already had the names of several men believed to have taken leading parts in the affair, and once enough evidence was gathered, arrests for arson might follow.
Mayor Kelly wanted the matter pursued. To him, the burning was more than the destruction of one unwanted building. If the guilty parties were not punished, he feared any future pesthouse could meet the same fate at the hands of a mob.
The city’s next pesthouse, officials said, would be built of galvanized iron and guarded with greater care.
That Pesthouse Fire
OMAHA, Nebraska. — Chief of Police Mitchell is making a thorough investigation of the burning of the pesthouse on Saturday night and the result may be the making of some arrests.
In speaking of the matter yesterday, Mitchell said that he had the names of several men who played star roles in the affair and that as soon as he had gathered sufficient evidence he proposed filing complaints, charging arson.
Mayor Kelly insists that steps of this kind be taken. He says that a pesthouse is needed and that unless the guilty parties are punished a mob might burn every pesthouse erected or purchased.
The next pesthouse put up will be of galvanized iron and every precaution will be taken to protect it.
Source: Omaha Daily Bee. Omaha, Neb. January 22, 1901.
