The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-01


garding the fire and return a single YER
dict for all the victims, Coroner Traeger
to-day promptly empaneled a jury. Ma
tional Republican Committeeman Graeme
Stewart, member of the firm of William NJ.
Hoyt & Co., wholesale grocers, was told
by the coroner that the death of Mr.. Hoyt's
daughter, Mrs. f. Morton Fox, and her
three children would be taken as a basis
for the investigation. IF any persons are
responsible for this fire." said Coroner
Traeger, they Will be prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law. The investiga-
ton of the fire. will be thorough. We will
leave no stone unturned in our efforts to
fix the responsibility"
The coroner's jury is as follows: l.. II.
Meyer, secretary of the Kennedy Furniture
Company: DIR. Peter Byrnes. salesman for
Lyon & Healy; Waiter Clingman, sales
man for the Tobey Furniture Company;
Joseph A. Cummings, manager of Brown
ing, King & Co.; George w. Atkins, credit
man for Marshall Field & Co.; John w.
Fine, salesman for a. II. Revell & Co.
Continued sight of dead bodies lying mud
died on the floors and tables or the various
city morgues proved too much this after
noon for some Of the jurors impaneled py
Coroner Traeger. Several members or Tue
jury ODlCCltu u Dt1nS IOI(Cd " ~ 49,
bodies and one juror, Joseph a. Cummings,
practically collapsed at Rolston's morgue,
where the jury was forced TO step over the
dead bodies in their tour of inspection.
Testimony of Witnesses
Examined by the Coroner
Coroner Traeeer tonight conducted an
informal inquiry into the cause of the fire.
His first witness was William c. Sellers,
the fireman employed at the theater. Sell
ers did not know just how the fire began.
but said he saw it shortly after it broke
out. He threw ~extinguishers on the blaze,
but without effect. He tried to pull down
the drop curtain or to tear loose that p0r-
ton of il which was blazing, but without
success. The fire then spread with such
great rapidity that ne was unable to do
more. Other witnesses were examined,
and after they had been heard,
Assistant States Attorney A. A. Heer.
who was present, said: 1T seems
agreed that the asbestos curtain was
dropped, but that it went only to within
ten or fifteen feet of the stage floor. Peo-
pie on the stage opened the door leading
from the stage into the street on the west
side of the theater, and this created a
strong draft. The draft blew the curtain
out toward the audience. This held the
curtain so tightly that all attempts TO
lower it further were fruitleSS. Attempts
were made by numerous persons to pull the
curtain down by hand, but without sue
cess. From all the m we have
been able to gather thus far 1t seems to
me as though the fault in creating the
draft which threw the audience into a panic
by forcing the flames out over their heads
was due far more 10 the action of the the
atricai people in opening the door at the
rear of the theater than by the audience
opening the doors in front. The manage
ment of the theater, L believe, claims that
it was the action of the audience that made
the draft, which was the primary cause OF
the disaster. L may be wrong, but from
the evidence now at hand L think it will be
shown that it was the action of the stage
hands or manager of the company, instead
of anything done by the audience in its at
tempt TO escape"
Jury lnspeCts the Ruins
of the IrOquoiS Theater
This evening the coroner jury, which had
spent the day in visiting the various
morgues, were taken by Coroner Traeger to
the theater. The jury first went to the
stage and Deputy Coroner Buckley pointed
out the spot where the fire was discovered.
The seats in the first ten rows on the first
floor were burned, but back of that the or
chestra chairs were in good condition. In
one corner Oh the stage was Il pie OF DFaSS
spears and armOr used in the production of
MI. Bluebeard." All that was visible of
the $50 pieces of scenery used in the extrav-
aganZa was small piles of ashes where the
scenery had dropped and burned on the
stage. The steel frames of the arc lights,
one of which is said to nave caused the
catastrophe. were piled in confusion near
the front of the stage.
The jury questioned Coroner Traeger re-
garding the asbestos curtain that had be-
come fastened when an attempt was made
to lower it. II do not understand why this
asbestos curtain was put in unless il could
be used under all conditions in case of a
fire." said Juror Cummings. The members
of the jury while engaged in inspecting
the stage frequently remarked that the
protection against fire seemed to them
to nave been inadequate. The jury then
climbed the stairway leading to the first
balcony. Here the plush covering of the
seats was found to be burned on every seat
from wall to wall and from the front row
of the balcony to the last. An inspection
was made of the exits leading to the fire
escapes at the north end of the building.
These doors are much too small; they
should a been three times as large
said Juror Finn.
The iron doors were closed and locked