The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-12-22
The Barclay street Fire-Are sucn
Calnmities Inevftables

fresh calamities, and tragedies of the most
appalling nature follow one another as II
they were parts Of a fearful sequence
measured out for US i'll the DEGREES
of a Nemesis, not to be turned
aside or cut short by human care
or provision. If we exclude from the
category OF shocking visitations OF winch
orr people are the victims all but those due
to fire and its consequences, or even, TO
narrow the case, to a rapidly in the march
of great confagrations that defies and con-
POUNDS the attempt at escape, we snail
clearly comprehend tho terrible prominence
in our lives Of an evil that should nave no
existence whatever in n community OF
civilized people In Brooklyn Mt the
theatre, in st. Louis at the united
States Hotel, Mt several churches hero
and elsewhere, in home for aged
INDECENT persons in Brooklyn and IN another
place of the same character in Canada, at
Hales piano factory, and now at this
Barclay street confectioners, we have SO
many exhibitions that whether people stay
Mt their homes or travel; whether they
amuse themselves at the theatre or worship
in the churches; whether they have taken
miserable refuge in charitable INSTITUTIONS
or are earning their bread in great industrial
establishments, they are never at any place or
in any circumstances free from the peril OF
a terrible end by fire or snffocation, or oy
the awful necessity of desperate leap Tor
life from a four story window to the pave
ment. And the impression OF one such
catastrophe scarcely grows faint in the mind
of public whose Indifference to the in
structions of experience can take any con-
ceivable event as nine days wonder ere it
is again deepened by an occurrence OF the
same nature, with new details.
But it is, perhaps not rational to suppose
it could be otherwise. five should assume
that an event like the fire at Hale's factory
could have the effect to warn every head OF
a factory in four story house Of the need
of such a reorganization OF his establish
ment as to render impossible IN his own
place the occurrence of tragedy like that:
or if we should suppose that the lanentable
destruction of the Brooklyn Theatre
would stimulate all authorities charged
with caring for the safety OF peoples
lives to an examination and reconstruction
of all places within their jurisdiction where
that horror might by any possibility be re-
peated, we should simply live in FOOLS
paradise of vain theories as to the nature Of
all public officers and the majority of manu-
tacturers Our common notion that the
horrible impression of one great calamity
should tend to prevent others rests upon
the assumption that men apply to
their own cases the experiences Of
other men, and practically correct
their shortcomings thereby, while, in
fact men act thus in only very slight
degree even where it is possible, and in this
application such line of conduct is impos-
BILE, because it would involve bankruptcy
and IN Immediate cessation of operations in
half the factories in the United States, or
even perhaps in still larger proportion of
the number In the case before us an explo-
sion blew away in an instant>all the floors
Of large house, and blew the
whole front of the house into the street SO
suddenly that persons merely passing by
were crushed in the ruins. At Hale's, a
house crammed with wood almost as dry
and light as tinder--that was, in fact, a
matchbox on q grand scale-was caught up
in one sheet of flame SO swiftly that the
stairs or other means of descent became,
almost Immediately, useless to the inmates.
At the United States Hotel it was
nearly the same case, with the
serious difference against the people
that the trouble came in the night,
when all were asleep, and when, conse-
quently, escape became impossible even
before the danger was known. In the
Brooklyn Theatre panic added to the hor-
ror, and people persisted by sufiocation
within ten steps Of all the sharp air Of a
winters night, though their own excitement
and terror made that sharp air as inaccessi-
BILE as the Arctic regions.
Now, how can contrivance secure people
against the varied dangers whose elements
appear in the cases of these four catastro-
Plies How can explosions be rendered
impossible in factories where steam and gas
or kerosene are used, and where a store
house of chemicals is perhaps necessary
part of the material? Safety from such
q danger is only to be insured by police
supervision that cannot be exercised in this
country by caution in dealing with
dangerous substances that is not in
the character Of the people, and by
an enforcement Of penalties for violations Of
hot hno -
But ii oil requirements are complied with
and all care is taken explosions will still
occur, as is evidenced by the experience
of many distinguished chemists. And if
occasional explosions are almost necessary
element of factory life how can we provide
against the well-nigh immediate collapse of
the walls and floors This would need
structure like fort, and our ma
tional fault is to build houses scarcely