The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-12-31
STORY OF FIRES START
TOLD BY EYEWITNESS
Ballplayer HOuseman De-
scribes Awful Scene.
HELPED TO OPEN TWO EXITS
Some Spectators Killed in Crush Afta
Getting Into Alley Outside
the Theater
HELPED TO OPEN TWO EXITS

One Of the most graphic descriptions
OF the horror is that given by Frank
Houseman. a professional ball player,
who, with Charley Dexter. formerly of
the West Side baseball team, was oc-
cupying an upper box in the theater
when the fire started. Here is House
mans story:
Charley Dexter and were in the
front upper box on the right-hand side
We had just been talking about the dou-
bic row OF little boys and girls that filled
the front balcony seats. The theater
was dark for the second act. and the
stage was only partly lighted, too.
Maybe dozen of the chorus was on,
singing IN Meet You in the Moons P@e
Light when 1 noticed a little tongue
OF fame back in the flies on the other
side of the stage. 1t was up just level
with the bottom OF the drop curtain.
which was raised. and looked Just like
somebody shaking a blazing handker-
chief
Hurried to Exit.
Charley l said, it's me to the ex-
its. This may not be anything. but you
know the little dark hall we had to
come through
SO we novel along quietly before
anybody IN the audience knew anything
was wrong. We had not any more than
got TO the next Hoor, when the stage
began to get smoky. and you could hear
the crowd in the theater begin TO get
worried. just then Eddie Foy came out
to the front OF the stage, and with the
little blazing bits of scenery dropping
back of him. he kept saying:
Don't get frightened; sit still; it's
only little stage fire.
by this time the whole theater was
in an uDroar. Big chunks of blazing
scenery began to fall The girls on the
side.
Open the doors. said / to an usher.
wait until the drop curtain comes
BY this time the crowd was getting
wild and pushing against the doors. The
stage was blazing and the smoke roll
Ing out into the body of the theater.
Burst Open the Doors.
For Gods sake. open the doorsr 1
shouted
The usher did not move Well. I
grabbed the fellow and threw him as
far as ] could and burst open the door.
The minute 1t gave away the crowd
showed me with a rush and damned me
against pair Of iron doors that were
locked. l felt of the latch and found It
was like the one on my icebox at home
This is easy" l said 10 Dexter, who
had broken open another door.
I'VE caught hold of the big iron latch
and with a few wrenches pulled it
open. AT that minute a big shset Of fire
came out from the stage with a pun
that drove the crowd mad. In a flash
| saw Eddie Foy apparently buried in
flames and before / could catch my
breath the crowd caught me and almost
threw me clear across the alley leading
to State Street.
I'm that alley was the most awful
sight ever saw. The fire escapes over
the alley were packed with struggling
screaming peq1e fighting to jump TO the
ground. ThcJT were falling like rain
drops and making n pile of dead and
dying under the escapes
"One man Landed on the mass of peo-
pie and struggled to his knees when a
woman fell on his head and struck him
dead. | saw another woman clnging to
the outside OF the lower fire escape.
Jump. I yelled. It's only ten feet
AS she came down / held out my
arms to break her fall. and she struck
my shoulder.
Worked Until Exhausted.