Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-02

The ban on the Illinois was removed
ager VIII Davis happened to be in the
city hall at the time the order was sent
| out, and requested Commissioner Williams
which, on the building departments books,
was entered as "burlap. covered with fire.
proof paint"
Facts Brought Out.
These facts have SO far been brought out
In the investigation:
Stage Manager Carlton was not on the
stage. but In front of the house.
Edward Cummings. electrician In charge
of mechanism for controlling asbestos cur
tain. was not on the stage. but in a neigh
boring hardware store.
There was no automatic sprinkling plant.
as the law requires.
The asbestos curtain was not f1reproof
The doors OF the exits on the first balcony
were closed and could not be opened.
Irons shutters outside these doors were
closed.
Green electricians were operating some of
the lights.
The exits in the balcony lead to blind
halls instead of to lighted stairs.
No fire-alarm box was in the theater.
The fire escapes did not have ladders at
tached.
The two large skylights over the stage
were locked.
The exits did not bear the required signs
Seating Capacity Exceeded.
The seating capacity Of the specifications
had been exceeded and the seats were not
located in the theater according to the
plans approved by the building department.
No front aisle between the front seats and
tho boxes and the ground floor exits in the
theater.
The asbestos curtain was not hung in con-
formity to the specifications.
The employees took alarm and fled.
There was no one at the front entrance to
open the doors. and only five of the ten
doors were open.
The police were unable to discover from
the contradictory stories whose duty it was
to lower the asbestos curtain, while each
of the stage hands disclamed the response
bility of guiding the base bar of the curtain
while being lowered.
The questions asked by the public were
found through the various Investigations
now under way.
Curtain Was a Cheap One.
at was an asbestos curtain" said the
head of firm of dealers in that COM
modify. but not Of the best quality. 1t
was cheap"
Fire Chief Musham in a bitter mood
said: "It was the cheapest curtain they
could buy"
Were these stage exits thrown open be-
fore the efforts to lower the asbestos cur
tain We're made?
This Is one Of the questions those in
custody will be asked to answer under
oath on next Thursday morning, when
Coroner Traeger begins the inquest over
the victims The players and the stage
hands were closest to the fire, but all
escaped.
The coroner's jury in It's inspection of
the theater found that the paint on the
interior of the iron shutters of the exits
from the first balcony was not scorched.
while the interior Of the ornamental wood
doors was burned to crisp. To the minds
of the jurors this showed that the fire
reached the doors and that they were
closed
Had the wooden doors been open, the
jurors argued. they would have been
burned on the outside, as that would
flames. The interior sides would have
been pressed against the theater wall and
protected.
The doors of the exits on the third bal
cony were burned in that fashion. One
hundred persons died at the choked mouth
OF one of them.
Had an automatic sprinkler been 1ocat-
ed. as the ordinance requires, mot less
than twenty feet above the highest part
of the STAGE 1t would have extingushed
the blaze in the first minute after it's start.
Theater Had No Sprinkler.
There was no sprinkler In the recent
report of the high pressure commission
equipped with automatic sprinklers the risk
of disaster was reduced to the point of
elimination. In particular reference to the
aters the commission-which made its re-
port to the city council-laid special en-
phasis on the need of automatic sprinklers
In the basement under the stage, over the
stage. in shafts, ducts and chutes of all
kinds, In storage rooms and closets and
stairsways and dressing rooms
The. Iroquois Theater had no sprinkler
in any of the vulnerable spots. not even
under the great sky1ight, which served as
the central chimney for the blast.
Once the fire had started-even then there
was a law-provided method of sending
abroad a cry of danger.
There was no fire connection between
the theater and the flre-alarm system of
the city.
The first alarm was turned in over the
telephone from cigar store. The second
came from box on Dearborn street be-
tween Lake street and South Water street.
nearly two blocks from the theater. Each
fraction of a second in the arrival of res
cuers added it's toll Of lives to the aggre-
gate of the disaster.
Twenty Men Arraigned.
Twenty men arrested in connection with
the Iroquois Theater tragedy were arraign-
ed before Justice Caverly in the Harrison
street police court today on a charge of
manslaughter. Five of the defendants were
iueHlDerS OIL the CnOruS or Mr. Blue
beard company and were defended by At
torney Thomas Hogan
No testimony was given in court, and Ii
was Immediately agreed that a contlnu-
ance be granted. Most of the time was de-
voted to an effort by the attorney to have
the bonds of his clients reduced from the
$4,000 In which they had been held In the
end the bonds in each case were reduced
to 81 900, and the cases placed on the cali
endar for hearing January II.
Attorney Hogan told the magistrate that
his clients had nothing to do with the man.
agement. construction or handling of the
scenery.
Continued to Sing During Panic.
He said they continued singing even after
the audience became panic stricken in a
vain effort to allay the fear Of the fright
ened audience.
Those who will be arraigned before JUS
tice Caverly January IL are: Edward @. J.
Wines Victor Bozart. Samuel Bell Will
lam Slack. John ]. Russell and E. T. Mora.
The other defendants will have a hear
ing before Justice Caverly Monday. They
are: w. ID. Kerr. William McMullen, VIII
ham Plunkett. Max Mazzoniyitch A. Ber-
nard. Edward Engle. William Mcqueen,
William Olsen. F. Poland. VIM. Carlton, ].
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