The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-01-03

Exits of Building Were Entirely Inade-
ouate-Terror-Stricken Multitude In an
Awful Mass on Stair Landing.
BALTIMORE, Dec 2S.-In a senseless
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 injured and 10 more
seriously hurt.
The United Oriental opera and dra-
matte company of Boston, under the man.
agement of A. Schongold and Abram
Tansman were billed to present the He
brew opera alexander" and the theater
was filed with q motley throng. About
5000 persons were in the house when the
orchestra began playing the Introductory.
Ten minutes after the curtain rose, one
of the attendants went up to the second
tier to light a gas-iet which appeared to
have been extinguished. AS he turned
the cock and applied match, the light
dared up, and it was seen that there was
no tip to the burner. The jet was well
down toward the stage, on the left side OF
the house, in plain view of the greater
part of the audience, but as the glare
from 1t showed against the wall, someone
In an instant there was mad scramble
for the door, in which the whole audience
took part. The vanguard of the terror
stricken IL sitfOIde reached the entrance
ON Front stt~ss, pushed on by the bowling,
shrieking n 81, behind them. Those in the
foremost rank %ere compelled to turn to
the right ana to the left to reach the double
entrance way. built in tho form of storm
doors
Passing through these DOORS they
reached flight of steps, leading from
each door, downward to a landing from
whence a broad stairway of moderate
height would have carried them into the
street, and to safety. The steps leading
to the doorway are about five feet high,
but the landing at their base is narrow
Down these the frightened people hurled
themselves in the frightful struggle to
reach the open air and to escape the Ger.
tain death they thought was behind them.
AS the crowds from the two do ors-one on
the right, 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
A Scene of Terror.
In q moment the crowd, pushed with
Irresistible force from the rear, crowded
upon the PROSTATE form and began, in [
turn, to stumble, reel and presently to
fall prone upon the floor under the myr-
lads of feet coming like herd of fright
ened buffalo from behind. In less time |
than it takes to tell it, the landing was
packed 20 OF 80 deep with the panic
stricken multitude, and the hundreds be-
hind them were struggling 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 police |
men, also attracted by the shrieks of the |
frightened crowd, hurried to the scene,
and, using their clubs on those outside,
rushed through the doorway to the with
ing mass on the landing.
The officers dragged out the PROSTATE
ones, passing them to those on the side |
walk. Ambulances carried the dead to
the morgue and the wounded to the city
hospital, wherever practicable, but in
many cases the more slightly injured, and
in a few cases those who were badly hurt,
We're taken to their homes by friends.
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, when it was
found that there had been no danger, and
not a soul would have been injured had
the audience but remained seated.
Nine bodies were taken to the morgue,
all of them dead from suffocation. OF
those taken to the city hospital, 10 are
dead. Two more will die, and 10 are des-
perately hurt 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 a
casualty having happened inside the
house, although the crush there was ire
mendous.
The Front Street theater is an old tum-
ble-dOwn affair, on the west side of Front
street. between Gay and Low streets. 1t
has not been used for theatrical purposes
for several years, but has recently been
the scene of many glove contests under
the auspices of the Eureka Athletic club
The means of egress were confined to the
two narrow doorways opening upon the
stairways leading down to the narrow
landing upon which last nights tragedy
occurred, and the house has long been
considered too unsafe to be put to public
use.
Audience Alone to Blame.
BALTIMORE. Dec. 30.-An inquest over
the victims of the Front Street theater
disaster was held yesterday and the cor
blame except the people in the audience,
who lost their heads and brought on the
panic.
Hsyerhilrs Shoe Shipments.
HAVERHILI Mass Dec % - The ro-