Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-24

To the general public Senator McMillan's rie.
for stringent building regulations " i'll not seen
unreasonable. Nor ia il. The thousands o.
smusement-seekersx who nightly crowd the thea
tiers and halls are entitled to more than III.
mere performances; they should have every
safeguard that common sense and ordinary
humanity suggest. and the last and least Of the
considerations ought TO be that of expense. II
has been argued that attendance upon amuse-
ments Of any kind is voluntary, and that if the
audiences are content to trust themselves in
structures known TO be dangerous no other
persons have anv business to be critical Such
selfish reasoning a. that can only be answered
by the logic Of the law and il is the Law which
Senator Mcmillan has invoked. Marrow exits,
winding stsirways and combustible construction
belong 70 in age gone bv. They should have
no place in the history of today and certainly
not in such a city as this. IL they exist,
and every rational being knows they do,
the authorities in whose hands rests much of
The public safety should undoubtedly see to it
that, without delay, everything practicable and
proper be done TO ameliorste the destructive
conditions. But it is urged that these conditions
had their being with the consent and approval
of those in whom power to approve was vested
and that TO compel structural changes would be
inequitable, would entail upon the owners Of
this condemned property unlooked-for and
burcensome expense. Let those who so argue
review some Of the more recent calamities in
which human life was sacrificed TO inhuman
greed; let them put few thousand dollars in
one scale and the life of one honest man or
woman in the other and persuade themselves
If they can. that Gods creature is the less
valuable. The hardship consequent upon re-
construction is not worthy momentary con-
rideration when compared with the sorrow and
suffering which would follow panic in place
OF smusement from which exit would only
be possible by tortuous and narrow stair
WAYS or by neck and hmb-breaking falls
from upper-story windows. Washington has
been spared such horrors as have made thou
sands mourn in other cities, but there is no
promise Of eternal immunity. faring gas
Jet, an unexpected fame or the cry of fool
may bring death into hundreds of homes and
then will burst forth tornado OF righteous in
dignstion such as no man could withstand or
control Then every precaution which is pos
sble today would be taken and ont of the sac
rifice great good would come. But at what an
awful cost
There are many. church edifices in this city
tina, are far from beng perfect; in fact some of
them are worse, in point of construction, than
any theater or hall in the District. Such of
these churches as are also practically places of
amusement, being rented for lecture and con-
cert purposes, require additional and special
attention.
Senator Mcmillan can rest assured that his
anxiety for the safety of the public is shared by
every thoughtful and disinterested person. The
Senator has in many ways made plain his desire
60 DO much for the good of the national capital
and his efforts have been appreciated and spme
Of them will not soon be forgotten. He will
place the residents of Washington under new
obligations if he succeeds in his crusade on
dangerous buildings.