The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1876-12-16
The Brooklyn Calamity.

From the ". !. Times, lM thst
1t is difficult to discuss calmly the rghtful dis
aster which happened in Brooklyn ON Tuesday
night. No such awful sacrifice of human life has
ever been known in this country -shipwreck and
the casualties Of war alone being excepted. 1t is
likely that the loss of life with which we became
| familiar during the rebellion, has hardened us
somewhat to the horrors of slaughter by rail, fire,
wreck and explosion. When the Richmond The
atre was burned in 1911, and sixty-one persons
perished, the matter of such momentous in
terest that special religious services in reference to
the event were held in various parts of the Union,
monument was erected to fix forever in the mem
ory of man that pathetic tragedy. The destruc-
ton of the PembertOn Mills at Lawrence, Mass, in
volved the slaughter Of one hundred and twen-
| ty persons. This sent thrill of horror through
out the country. Later in the burning of the
French Catholic Church at HOlyoke, Mass, about
the same number were killed or burned as in the
Lawrence disaster. None Of these events, to be
sure compared with the awful tragedy in the
Church of Santiago de Chill, South America, in
| 1868, when over two thousand people perished.
| But that was in foreign country, and in the
midst of our own civil strife, and it made COM
paratively feetng impression on the minds of the
people of the United States. Now we are brought
face to face with a calamity in one of our princi-
pal cities, by which more than three hundred per-
sons have suffered terrible death. The sacrifice
of their lives seems so causeless and ineXcusable,
it is no wonder that feeling of Indignation fash
es through the cloud that hangs the two cities
| of Brooklyn and New York. 1t is natural that
men should ask, Why should these have been con-
demned to so horrible fate?
The fire in the Brooklyn Theatre caught from
an imperfectly guarded light behind the scenes.
The loss of life which ensued was caused by the
| inadequacy of the means of exit. 1t may be ad-
ded that there is a possibility that the flames
might have been stopped if there had been pals
/ of water, fire -eXtinguishers, or other means at
hand. According to the testimony of the master
machinst of the theatre, there were no such means
of checking fire.. There is sure to be settenpt
to show that the lights behind the scenes were Sc
curely protected. If they had been, there would
have been no fire. Improves nothing that only care
lessness, rather than malicious design, that the
public demand to be protected FROM By some
means infammable piece of scenery was placed
against gas-ight in the rear of the stage. From
| the fame so kinded spread the confagration
which laid the Brooklyn Theatre in ashes. As for
the means of exit, it is urged that they were am
ple Compared with most of the theatres in this
city, it is likely that the exits of the Brooklyn
building were wide and numerous. This is cer-
| tainly true of the lower part of the building,
which seems to have heen emptied without seri-
Gus disaster The loss Of life, however, was in the
upper part of the theatre. There were about two
hundred and fifty people on the first floor; three
hundred and fifty on the second, and four hundred
on the third or gallery floor. The Treasurer OF
the theatre testiies that the gallery stairs were
sunusuaHy wide,' and that nothing but panic
could have prevented the safe escape OF the peo-
pie in the upper part of the house. Panic in an
| audience, in case of an alarm of fire. is inevta-
Bile. Whether the gallery stairs fell, in this in
| stance, or whether they were choked by terror
stricken crowd, may never be known. 1t is clear
that insufficient provision for the escape of the
people in the upper part of the house was the
cause of their destruction. just it is clear that
inadequate protection against accident penInd the
scenes oecasioned the kindling of the fire. 1t is
panic in one case, and carelessness in the other,
that must be provided for where human life is at
stake.
The architects and propretors of places of pub
/ lie resort will complain that such commodiOus
means of exit as those which the lesson Of this
calamity seems to demand, are well-nigh imprac-
ticable To give SO much room to stair-cases and
outer openings, would take away too much from
the seating capacity of the house. They have
built on this economical plan. In this city, sew
era theatres empty all their sitngs into one main
artery. Where the building is in the middle of a
block il is like an inhammable box lined with tin
/ der. and with one narrow opening to safety, There
are few theatres in this country which do not near
IN answer 10 this description. 1t is disgrace Il
civilization that buildings of this sort should be
permitted to open their doors to thepublic. Eth
er the laws relating to the safety Of public build
ings arc not dAuphatic enough or they not en-
forced II il high time that this matter were rig
idly inquired into and theatrical death
or compelled 10 adopt means to prevent a recur
renee Of frightful disasters. When managers eaT
honestly advertise that their theatres absolute
~ safe, they may hope for return of public con
fdence. For the present. many of the places o
amusement in this city will remain under pOpu
lar ban of suspicion