Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-01-04
THEATER PANIC.
Awful Scenes In a Baltimore Play
House.
Result OF n False Alarm of Fire-Twenty-
four Persons Crushed to Death and
Many Others Injured-BuiId-
ing Packed Full.

BALTIMORE, Md, Dee. 2s-In a sense
less panic caused by defective gas
burner and foolish cry of fire, at the
old Front Street theater, last night,
"a people were killed, two fatally in
jured and ten more seriously hurt. Up
to one o'clock this morning, but four
of the dead had been identified.
Almost all the victims are of Polish ma
tivity and Hebraic extraction, and
many of the injured were taken to
their homes by friends, rendering it
almost impossible to get a complete
list at this time.
The theater, which is probably the
oldest in the city, was filed from pit
to dome with people who had assem-
Ebled to listen to Hebrew opera, which
has been given in the old house twice
"A week for the past month. The ticket
office receipts show that over 2,7OO
tickets had been sold when, at eight
o'clock, the sale of seats was stopped
because there were no more left Gen
Aeral admission tickets were sold, how
ever, after this, and it was supposed
that there were at least 5000 people
within the walls when the curtain
went up on the first act. AS the ca.
spacity of the house is less than 2, 500,
the density of the crowd may be imag.
ined
Ten minutes after the curtain rose,
eone of the attendants went up to the
second tier to light gas jet which APP
peared to been extinguished. AS he
turned the cock and applied match it
wa&seen that there was no tip to the
burner. The jet was well down to-
ward the stage on the left side of the
house, 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!
Firey'
In an instant there was a mad
scramble for the door, in which the
whole audience took part. The van
guard of the terror-stricken multitude
reached the entrance on Front street,
pushed on by the bowling, shrieking
mob behind them. There those in the
foremost rank were compelled to turn
to the right and to the left to reach
the double entrance way, built in the
form of a storm door. Passing through
these doors, they reached fight of
steps, leading from each door, down
ward to a landing, from whence a
broad stairway of moderate height
would have carried them into the
street and to safety. The steps lead
ing from the doorways are but about
five feet high, but the landing at their
base is narrow. Down these the
frightened people hustled themselves
in the frightful struggle to reach the
open air, and to escape the certain
death they thought was behind them.
AS the crowds from the two doors,
one on the right, and the other on the
left, reached the landing, they met.
There was a brief struggle, and then
some one lost his or her footing and
fell. In moment the crowd, pushed
with irresistible force from the rear,
crowded upon the PROSTATE form, and
began, in turn, to STUN BILE, reel, and
presently to fall prone upon the floor
under the myriads of feet coming like
herd of frightened buffalo from be-
hind.
In less time than it takes to tell it,
the landing was packed 90 or so deep
with the panic-stricken multitude, and
the hundreds behind them were strug-
Cling over them to reach the street.
The tumult attracted an immense
crowd from the outside, many of
whom tried to gain entrance to the
theater, thus adding to the confusion.
A dozen policemen, also attracted by
the shrieks of the frightened crowd,
hurried to the scene, and, using their
clubs on those on the outside, pushed
through the door and to the writhing
mass on the landing. When the mass
on the landing had been cleared, the
frightened mob on the inside were
quieted down sufficiently to enable the
police to clear the theater. Then it
was found that there had been no dan
ger and that not a soul would have
been injured had the audience but re-
manned seated