Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-05-13

Paris, May 6.-The newspapers with
Que exception described the disaster OF
the grand baZar de charlie in sober.
simple terms befitting so appalling an
event. The catastrophe will always
be remembered as one o. the most fear
full that ever befeu q European city
Nothing comparable in the loss of life
has ever occurred here except the fire
which destroyed the opera Comique in
1887. Singularly enough that disaster
happened the same mon h of the year.
and 80 persons were burned to death,
while 45 were officially registered as
missing.
In the aristocratic circles numberIess
dinner parties and other functions
gayly opening the season have BEEN
suddenly abandoned 1t is now esti-
mated that 1900 persons were in the
building when the fire was discovered,
about one-half of whom escaped I'M
hurt. Some estimates place the num-
Der of deaths at 143, Others at a still
higher figure. The amount of admin
istratiVe negligence surrounding the
catastrophe is almost inconceiyable
The structure was so cOmbustible that
many victims if not most of them
must have been burned alive without
suffoca.lon. No sort of inspection
seems to have been made in advance
by the authorities or by the perfect of
police. DR.. Nachtel who directed the
ambulance work says that the number
of bodies found gives a very inadequate
idea of the number of victims, as
dozens were burned completely to
ashes. President Faure has received
kilograms of coincidence from Queen
Victoria, Emperor Nicholas, Emperor
William, King Humbert and other
sovereigns all couched in terms of the
deepest sympathy.
AS little by little the facts of this la
calamity become known, it becomes
more and more awful AS far as
learned at present there were more than
125 lives lost in the fire and panic, ard
it is probable that there will prove to be
100 more. The dead were members of
the most fashionable society of Paris
and were in the midst of a scene of
charitable gaiety when their awful fate
ing. Many mansions have been
turned into temporary hospitals and are
filled with writhing and groaning SUI
ferers. Over 1870 patients are being
cared for as far as known and many
have been taken into private homes.
The unidentified bodies as we'll as the
jewels recovered from the debris have
been photographed by the Bertillon
method. The funeral service for the
victims has been fixed for the Cathe-
dral NotIe Dame. President Faure
will attend, and Pere Richard will
probably Wfficiate The cabinet has
decided to ask the chamber of deputies
for special credit to aid needy families.
Investigation shows that there was
great carelessness and imprudence in
the principal arrangements for the
haZar.
Former United States Consul-Gen-
eral Morse said: ct was singularly
fortunate that there was only one
American victim. This indeed, was
remarkable, because just now there is
an unusually large number of Amer
leans in Paris. They are generous sup
porters of such fetes ana, moreover,
it gives them favorable opportunity
of getting into close quarters with the
aristocracy and the many celebrities
of Paris" Mrs. Porges was the only
American victim. She was Miss Weis-
WELLER.
The police announce that "a corpses
have peen positively identified, There
are 10 bodies still unidentified, among
which must be those of Confess De
Lupe and Nine Nitot's second daugh
ter, both of whom are missing.