The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-12-28
TRAMPLED TO DEATH.
Terrible Results Of a Theater Panic
in Baltimore,
TWBNTY-F Y-F0URKILLED, MANY HURT


Scramble for Escape from an Imaginary
Danger.
L LTnfoRE, Nd, Dec. 28.-In a senseless
panic, caused by defective gas burner
and foolish cry of fire, at the old Front
Street theater last night, twenty-four
people were killed, two fatally injured and
| ten more seriously hurt. Thus far but
thirteen of the dead have been identified
They are: Leo Cohen, aged %; Jennie
Henzle, aged IS; Jacob Rosenthal, aged
lO Morris MALICIOUS, aged 30; Louis
| AmoslSi, aged As; Louis Levenstein aged
2S Gavriael Bernstein, aged 4; Theresa
Bernstein, aged 6 Ida Friedman, aged IA /;
Sarah Rosen, aged Is; Lena Lewis, aged
~ Jacob Salzberg, aged IL; w. Wolf,
aged % The others are at the morgue
awaiting Identification
The injured at the City hospital are
Mrs Friedman, aged 25 Mrs. Goldman,
aged 40; Milda Goldwait, aged 16; Morris
| Scbaetfer aged g Jacob Goldstein, aged
| 20; unknown boy aged about 10, will die;
| unknown woman, aged about %, will die;
unknown man, aged about %; unknown
boy, aged 16, serious internal injuries. A
number Of others seriously injured were
carried home by friends.
Almost all the victims are of Polish ma
tivity and Hebrew extraction, and many
of the injured were taken to their homes
| by friends, rendering it almost impossible
| to get a complete list.
The theater which is probably the oldest
in the city, was filed from pit to dome
with people who bad assembled to listen
to Hebrew opera which has been given in
the old house twice a week for the past
] .
least 3, 900 people within the walls when
the curtain went up on the first act, while
the capacity of the house is less than 2, 500.
Ten minutes after the curtain rose one
of the attendants went up to the second
tier to light gas jet which appeared to
have been extinguished. As he applied
match the light hared up, and it was seen
that there was no tip to the burner The
jet was in plain view of the greater part of
the audience, but as the glare from it
showed against the wall some one in the
gallery shouted Fire fire firel"
In an instant there was mad scramble
for the door The vanguard Of the terror
stricken multitude reached the entrance
on Front street, pushed on by the howl
ing shrieking mob behind them There
those in the foremost rank were com
PEELED to turn to the right and to the left
to reach the double entrance way, built in
the form of storm doors Passing through
these doors they reached IA flight of steps
leading from each door downward to
landing from whence broad stairway Of
moderate height would have carried them
into the street and to safety
The steps leading from the doorways are
but about five feet high, but the landing
at their bases is narrow. Down these the
frightened people hurled themselves in the
frightful struggle to reach the open air
and escape the certain death they thought
was behind them.
AS the crowds from the two doors
reached the landing, they met. There was
a brief struggle, and then some one lost
his or her footing and fell. In a moment
the crowd, pushed with irresistible force
from the rear, crowded upon the prostrate
form and began in turn to stumble, reel
and presently to fall upon the floor under
the myriads of feet coming from behind.
In less time than it takes to tell it the
landing was packed twenty or thirty deep
with the panic stricken multitude, and
the hundreds behind them were strug-
Cling over them to reach tho street.
The tumult attracted an immense crowd
from the outside, many of whom tried to
gain entrance to the the theater, thus
adding to the confusion. A dozen police
men hurried to the scene and pushed
through the doorway to the writhing mass
on the landing Among the first to reach
there was Officer E. j. Kelly Forcing his
way in through the main doorway he
grasped pair Of arms and pulling with
all his might dragged Il woman from un-
der the surging crowd, dead from suffoca-
tion. Again he reached into the mass of
humanity and pulled out IA boy about
years old. He, too, was dead, also from
suffocation, with scarcely bruise upon his
body.
The other officers, by this time rein
forced by a dozen of their fellows, dragged
out the prostrate ones, passing them 20
those on the sidewalk. Ambulances car
ried the dead to the morgue and the most
seriously injured to the hospital
When the mass on the landing had been
cleared away the frightened mob inside
were quieted down sufficiently to enable
the police to clear the theater. Then it
was found that there had been no danger
and that not a soul would have been in
jured had the audience but remained
seated.
AS has been stated, all the dead and in
lufeu are GOllSn I1eDieNhi anu lew VI lllcLl
have friends or relatives who are able TO
speak the English language sufficiently
well to make themselves understood or
enough knowledge of the ways of this
country to know where to go TO look for
their lost ones The dead are of all ages,
from mere infants to gray haired men and
women All were killed or injured in the
terrific crush on the fatal landing, not
casualty having happened inside the house,
although the crush there was tremendous.
The old theater building, which was
opened in 1929, has been considered unsafe
for years. 1t was in this theater chat Lin
coin was nominated for his second presi-
dental term, and it was here that Stephen
"A. Douglass was nominated by the Demo
Gratis, portion of whom Withdrew and
nominated breckenridge and Lane for pres
ident and vice president.
Fifteen Wounded in Race Fight.
DUNBAR, Pa, Dec. 25.-Tho fight be-
tween Hungarian and negro employees at