Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-12-28
IBLEGRAPHIC.
4 THEATER PANIC.
g,,ulllns in III: Death Of Twenty
four People.
OTHERS SERIOUSLY INJURED.
n yas All Caused by Defective Gas
Burner and a Foolish Cry
Of Fire.

md a foolish cry Of fire at tho old
F,ont street theater tonight, twenty.
,on, people wore killed, two fatally
,,lured and ten more seriously nurl.
upto2 O'Clock this Saturday morn
Inc thirteen OF tho dead have been
Identified. Tho others are at the
u,o,rue awaiting Identification.
Almost all the victims sre Of Polish
nativity and Hebraic extraction.
Many Of tho injured were taken to
,n,lr homes by friends, rendering II
almost impossible to get a complete llst
At this time. -,
oldsst In tho city, was fllled from pit to
dome with people who had assembled
N iisien TO Hebrew opera, which had
besn given In tue old opera houtS twice
! week for tho past month. The ticket
rilee receipts show that over 300
ilessls had been sold wheD,at O'Clock,
,be ,ala OF seats was stopped because
mar was no more left. General nd
mission tickets were sold, however,
srsf th!s, and II Ia supposed that
ibsrs were ut least 5000 people within
ibe Walla " hon the curtain went up on
In nf,t act. A. tho capacity OF the
house IL less than $500, the density Of
ibe crowd may bp imagined.
Ten minutes after tho curtain rose,
one Of tho attendants went M 10 thu
second tier to light gas Jet which APP
reared TO have been extingulshed. A.
hi turned the cock and applied
match the light Jared NJ, anu IL was
1esn there was no tip 10 the burnor
the lot was we'll down toward the
,iago on the loft hand side Of the
house, In plain view Of the greater
nsft Of the audience, but NJ tue glare
nom Il showed against the wall, a0no
one IN the gallery shouted flfo.
Ia an instant there was \ wild
scramble for the door. In which the
whole audience took part. The van.
quArd OF tue tettoT-s,ficken multi itudo
naehsd the entrance on Front street,
and pushed on by the bowling, shrioh-
in, mob behind them. There these Ia
the foremost rank were compelled 10
turn 10 the right and 10 the left TO reach
Tue double sntrance-way, built In the
form Of a storm door. Passing through
these doors they reached a flight Of
ttsps, leading from each door down
wAfd TO a landing, from whence n
broad stairway OF moderate height
would have carried them into the street
aud 60 safety. These steps leading from
the doorway are but i've feet high, but
the landing at their base IL narrow.
Down these the frightened people hus-
tied themselves In the irlghliul
struggle 10 reach open air, and 10 ct
cape the certain death behind them.
AZ the crowd reached the landing,ono !
10 the right ana one TO the left, they |
met. There WAhA brief struggle, and |
then some one lost his or her footing |
aud fell. In q moment tho crowd, |
pushed with Irresistible force from tho |
rear, crowded upon tho PROSTATE form
and began, In turn, TO stumble and
reel, and pfssonlly fall prone upon the
Il ior, under the myrlAds OF feet com
log down like herd OF bufaloes from
behind. Ia lees time than II takes to
toll II, the landing was packed twenty
" Thirty deep with the panic-strlckeu
multitude and the hundreds behind
them were struggling over them 10
reach the street.
The lumult attracted an Immense
'fowd from the Outside, many OF whom
.iitd 10 gain entrance to the iheAtor,
.hus adding TO the confusion.
A dozen policemen also attracted by
NE shrioks Of the frightened crowd,
hurried 10 the scene, pushed through
he door anu TO tho wrlthiDg mass on
he landing.
Among me fret 10 reach them was
Jllcef Il. ]. Kelly. Forcing his way
n through the main door ho grasped
pair Of arms, and pulling with all HE
night, dragged a woman from under
ho sufging crowd. A glaHce at her
see showed that she was past all
human sid, dead from sufiooatioD.
Again he reached Into tho mass OF
humanity and pulled out boy about 7
'eafs Olu. He, too, was dead, also
rom tuiiooAtion, with scarce a btuise
N his body. Tho other officers, by
hls time reinforced by dozen OF their
GLOW ofllcers, dragged out tho pros
rate ores, passing them 10 those on the
Ambulances carried the dead to tbs
lofguo and the wounded 10 the city
ospltal, wherever practicable. In
'any oatos tho slightly injured,
nd Ina few cases those who were
Ally hurt, were taken TO their homes
iIlends.
When tho mas on tho landing had
cen cleared, the frightened mob inside
,eTe quioIeu down tuflloisntly TO sn-
Ole the police TO clear tue theAteT.
hen II was found that there had been
70 danger aud not soul would have
zen Injured had tho audience re-
aimed Ia their seats.
The thealer was frat opened to the
lollo In 1899, but hins years later was
lfned, aud the present structure took
4 place. Jenny LIND, MAcToady,
CushmAn aud many other
oIablsa performed there, and In 1864
was the scene OF the Republican
ltlonnl convention which rsnominat.
Abraham Lincoln for the piesi-
ency aud Andrew johnson for the
.oond place on the ticket. The con-
ehilon nj which thu Democrats
minated stephen a. Douglas, after
iloufnlng from Charleston, Il. O., In
'oJ' Was also held In the old building,
az during lite session a panic was
Afled by tho giving Awsy OF the floor
mon had been built over the pulpit.
uckily, however, no one was serious
injured. Soon alter this a portion Of
10 delegates Withdrew from the
'ohl street theater, ami, repairing TO
- Maryland Institute, nominated
nm q. breckenridge hnd Joseph
ane ior President ami vice president
The United States.