Birmingham state herald., 1897-05-06
TIE VEIL IF DEATH DRAWN Round the Blackened and Char
 red Remains OF VICTIMS OF THE FLAMES List of the Dead In the Paris Horror Has Be-
 come Appalling. CHARGES OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE. MADE In Failing to Have the Building Properly Inspected-Sadness Has Taken the
 Place of Mirth and Somber --rs=.t Feeling Pervades.
CHARGES OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE MADI

T AEB, May 0.0A SOuIbIe AetIiuS pSl-
 vades every class of society. Newspapers
 without exception deplore the disaster
 at the Grand Bazaar de Charlie in so-
 Der and simple term befitting so appall-
 ing an event. The catastrophe will al-
 ways be remembered as one of the most
 fearful thae ever befell an European
 city. Nothing comparable in loss of life
 has ever occurred here except the fire
 which destroyed the Opera Comlque in
 1887. Sfngularly enough, that d1sas.er
 hap pened in the same month of the year
 and eighty persons were burned 10 death,
 while forty-five were officially registered
 as missing
 In aristocratic circles the numoerless
 dinner parties and other functions Of a
 gaily opening season have been apah-
 doned.
 1t is now estimated that there were in
 the neighborhood Of 1,200 people in the
 building whsn the fire was discovered.
 About one-half escaped unhurt. some
 estimates place the number Of dead at
 143, o hers at a still higher figure.
 The amounn of adminfStrat tive negll-
 gence surrounding the catastrophe Is all
 most inconceivable. The structure was
 so combustible that many of the Vlc-
 tins, If no: most of them, must have
 been burned alive without suffocation.
 No sort of inspection seems to have been
 made in adva nee by the municipal offi-
 cials or the prefect of police.
 Mrs Gilmclr, of New York, had
 marrow escape. She had consented to act
 as a sales lady al '.he stall of Mime. Beau-
 regard. She left the hotel where she
 was stopping about 1:30, accompanying
 the Viscomtess Savilly. The sale was go-
 ing well, when suddenly her maid cried:
 Madame, sauves vous. Voila le feu." ctMadame, save yourself. There's fire.')
 Mrs. Gilmour, with wonderful presence
 of mind, rushed toward the main en-
 trance, butt seeing the danger of being trampled to death, she ran back to the
 rear of the building, where she saw window opened in the wall, through which she soon reached the street. Mgr. Cfari, the papal nuncio, who had attended to pronounce his blessing upon the bazaar, says he was talking to the Duchess D'Alencon at ten minutes to o'clock. He adds:
 'Around me was a group of blind chill dren. Several of these must have per ished. My heart is bleeding to think of all those poor crea lures. 1t is too hor rible to speak of. My nerves are in terrible state"
 ,-Dr. Nachsfl, who has directed the ann busance work, says that ,i1e number of bodies found gives very inadequate
 idea of the number of victims, as dozens of them were burned completely to aSIeS- rlIe hISCOmIe U A1nleS lUeNtlIlSu his Wifet:f body by piece of her cloth which she. wore next her skin as a mem- Der of, 'the Third Order of S.. Francis. M. Jean Rafaelli, ihe pair.er, says: My daughter had the mark of a heel stamped into her back; she was trampled entrance, Her mother tried to pull her from the blazing fire, but she said: ,.''a It is useless, save youreslf, as I shall die in any case
 ,"Her mother replied:
 Fe' I shall not leave you. I will take you or stay and die with lyou.' Both escaped, though severely in- jured."
 The Abbe Marbot says that Comtesse Villeneuve returned to search for her | two daughters. Failing to find them, | she -peGished herself.
 M. 7Lepine, the prefect of police, who is severely censured for lack of proper su- peryision elf ths prepaIa tions and ar engagements, says in excuse that the pat
 TOTS and patronesses of the bazaar were ! rgactiCrfsts, and he feared if he med | died with their programme that they | would say he was trying to suppress Ronan Catholic enterprise.
 M Faure has rlleeived telegrams of | ccndolence from Queen Victoria, the | Emperor Nicholas, the Emperor Will | liam, King Hurnbert and other sower- |, eigns, all couched in terms of the deep est sympathy
 l. The body of the Duchess D'AlenSon has been identified.
 | The secretary of the prefecture, ac- | colrpa nied by the duke and a footman | belonging to the household of the duke, | examined the rows of bodies. The two servants stopped before a backened and mutilated corpse. They declared it was | the remains of their mistress and sent | for the mistress of the duchess. The lat | ter. after examining the corpse for half an hour,A declared it was the duchess. l. :. The mother of the 3-year-old child, | Alfred David, one of the victims, arrived during the day for the purpose of taking | the body away with her. It was decided ljhowever, that it was inadvisab ble to show her t[he ghastly remains of her son. When | this news was communicate ted to the un- lifortunate mother, in a paroxyism of sgrief she tried to force her way into the moTtuary hall exclaiming: q will see my child It was found necessary to llforcibly remove the poor woman whose lease is one of the most distressing. It appears that Mime. David lost her hus- band a month ago and her only other chil1 died fortnight ago.
 The unidentified bc5tes as we'll as the tjewels recovered from the debris were | lralotographed by the Bertillon method II Eand the funeral service of the victims
 jhas been def.ided on for Notre Dame. Pierre Richard will probably officiate. | At toffigTnts session of the cabinet 1t Twas decided to ask the chamber of dep
 Nties for a special credit in aid of the sreedy families. The minister of justice scommunfcated to his colleagues the first result off the inquiry into the cause of the fire. < The Investigating magistrate, M. Bertholuy sasdi there was great care lessnelss and -imprudence in the principal ! arrangements of the bazaar. l Former c nsul G neral s. F. Morse said | to the representative of the Associated | Press this aftErnnpn:
 | "It was singularly fortunate that there | was only one American victim. This fwas indeed remarkable because just now | there is an unusual large number of | Anne rioa ns in the city. They are gener- l ous supporters of such fetes as the grand .hazaar and IaoreoYer 1t gave them a.