The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-02
THEATRES !. ARE q eSEDl Mayer HarrisQ Of Chica- go Issal ordsr' WINDY cyH MOURNING INC Burying Dead of the. Iroquois Holocaust. z. Crowds Still Throng the Morgues
 Wherein Yet Lie Unidentified ! Bodies--Funsral Process
 ions Crowd the Streets.

ions Crowd the Streets.
 Chicago. Jan. 1.-Mayor Harrison to- day took steps to provide as far as pos sibie against a repetition of Wednes- days horror at the Iroquois theater As d result of an, investigation made at his own order and lasting only few hours, nineteen theaters and museums were ordered closed, some or them being among. the leading and most popular playhouses in Chicago. E. The action of the Mayor. was based on the single violation of the ordinances which are intended to protect the pa irons of theaters from just sucn an oc- currence as that which cost so many lives on Wednesday,. This was that every one of these places had failed to
 supply an asbestos s'curtain.s The thea tera ordered closed are:
 Towards. sam T. Jack s, Marlow's, New American. Olympic. Academy of Music, Alhambra. Avenue. Bijou, Chica- go Opera House. Columbus, rThirty-hrst Street, Criterion, Eiegenbaum's. s. Milwau-
 kee Avenue; Carrick Gin Milwaukee ave- nue) and Clicl<man's: ''' 'Nt
 
 Museum and the Clark street museum
 were compelled to close their doors. ..' High Glass Houses. The Chicago opera house and the Olym- pic theaters are high class vaudeville houses They give a matinee every day ! in the week and 1t. iS seldom that seats can, be obtained for; any performance at the time of opening Tn addition to this
 they have been accustomed to selling | large numbers of tickets for standing
 room, and as a general thing more 'peo- pie are within these places of amuse- | ment at an average. performance than can. be found at any ether playhouse In l Chicago. Nf
 The Garrick ,theater, which was order
 ed closed. is a small playhouse in Mil waulxee~ avenue and should not be 6ooli- founded with the larger theater Of the same name situated In Randolph, one
 block west of the sIroquois. | The inspection ordered by the Mayor to- day was carried out by Building Com missioner Williams and Chief of Police O'NeiH The scope of the Investigation included no other feature than the as- bestos curtain. The Mayor instructed | Commissioner Williams to report to him | prouiptIy atsthe. conclusion of the inves- | tfgation, declaringJ that 1t was his inten- | tion that nos theater should be allowed to open its doors in Chicago hereafter un-
 less 1t was provided with an asbestos curtain of standard quality that would
 work at all times and under all condi- | tione. eh c.
 Real Cause of Disaster.
 'It may not be possible said Mayor HaruriS0n, ito prevent loss of life when
 audiences rush for the doorways. but l
 have determined to see that every pre- caution is taken to prevent such occur rences as will alarm the people and start | them on a rush for the exits It Is all | very well to say that the great loss or life in the IroquoIs Theatre was due to the
 fact that the people lost their heads and | crowded into the d. 1rways and aisles like maniacs. but the lact remains. and it cannot be denied. that there would have
 been no panic If the apparatus in this | theatre which, judged by all ordinary
 standards, was the best equipped play l house in the city. had been properly in | working order. There Is no getting be- | yond that fact. From all the evidence
 now in hand. 1t is clear that if the as-
 bestos curtain in this theatre had been
 tn the condition 1t should have been there
 should have been no loss of life, compar-
 atively speaking"
 The report of Building Commissioner 1 Williams showed that the Academy of
 Music with seating capacity of 2,O0O had
 curtain of burlap. The Alhambra, with | a capacity of 2,300; the Avenue, 600; the | Bijou. 1.300; the. Clark Street Museum.
 270; the Criterion. ], 400; Fiegenabum's, 4OO;
 Towards, 900; Marlow, 1900; New Ameri'
 can. 1,400; all had curtains of linen. The
 curtain in the Chicago Opera House was
 of burlap. covered with flre-proof paint.
 In the Columbus Theatre and in Sam T
 Jacks. it was of canvas.
 l There were other RlarinR defects" said | Building Commissioner Williams, which
 were noticed in some of the houses, but we were not paying attention to them
 today although I. noted them and the theatrical managers will be compelled to
 remedy them as soon as possible
 4 Day of, Mourning. Chicago never witnessed such a day of
 mourning as that which ushered in the
 new year. In every portion of the city
 almost, 1t seemed as though there was funerals going or undertaken wagons ar-
 irving with dead. taking themt to their
 homes for the last time. While the fun
 eral processions were moving through the
 snow covered streets to various cemeter-
 les. the throngs about the various
 morgues seemed almost as large as ever. The scenes there were the same as ] those of Wednesday night and of Thurs
 day and Thursday night. Many men ap- l peared at the door of Ralston's and Jor- dams morgues this afternoon who had i been on their feet for forty-eight hours
 constantly searching for those they had lost.
 The greater number of unidentified dead
 are in these two places and men who had viewed the ghastly rows of. corps before
 and had. on upavailtng search to every other morgue in Chicago. went back once | more to Ralston's and Jordan's. almost in
 despair, but hoping against hope that they
 might have overlooked their dead in the great number that had crowded the tables and floors on Thursday morning. In
 some cases they were successful. Nearly
 all the bodies which admit of careful iden-
 tification have been carried away and of
 those which remain the majority are in | such a condition that only the most lni-
 mute and careful inspection will be able
 to reveal their identity to those who knew them best. ;. fF, ssE{ ,4 Few Carriages for Funerals. It was impossible for relatives to secure
 all the carriages they wished to convey
 friends and relatives to cemeteries today.
 In many cases 1t was not possible for all members of the immediate family Co ride