The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-05
CLOSES HALLS ALSO
CHICAGO TAKING NO CHANCES ON
ANOTHER DISASTER.
MUST MEET ORDINANCES
OR --ONE OF THE BUILDINGS CAN
BE USED FOR MEETINGS.

Building Commissioner Williams
Was InfieXible-He Insisted Upon
the Halls Being in Accordance
With All Requirements-The
Managers Not Allowed to Omen.
More Facts About the Fire Are
Learned.
Chicago, Jan, 4.-As a result of the
Iroquois Theater fire and panic, in
which 5S4 persons lost their lives,
Building Commissioner Williams to-
night issued an order closing public
halls, dance halls and all similar places
of assembly until an inspection has
shown that they are complying with all
provisions of the building ordinances.
All the theaters have already been
closed. This leaves Chicago churches
and lodge halls alone open for public
gatherings.
AS there are upwards Of 400 halls in
| Chicago, ranging in size from those
that will accommodate so persons to
those with a seating capacity of 500,
this order will affect probably as many
persons as the theater closing order.
Protests were numerous, but the build
! ing commissioner was inf1exible. He
said:
MANY of these halls are worse than
i any theater in Chicago. Some of them
; are put up with no restrictions such
i as govern theaters, and many of them
are fire traps of the worst kind"
Two years ago a general inspection
of halls was made, before the begin
ming of Building Commissioner Will
liams' administration. Notwithstand-
! ing this, the commissioner declares that
| he will take no chances, and that every
| hall must satisfy the requirements.
Deputy Building Commissioner Stan
| hope made another inspection of the
! Iroquois ruins to-day to prepare for
| the questions which will be asked by
the coroner and jurors when the in
quest begins.
Denied the Managers.
Mayor Harrison and seven aldermen,
who have been appointed members of
the City Council Committee to con-
troll legislation in relation to theaters,
! met this afternoon with theater man
ayers, every playhouse except the
Great Northern being represented. The
managers asked if they could not open
/ their houses and sell seats on the
! lower floor only, but the Mayor and
aldermen refused this request. 1t was
declared that all places must remain
closed until the ordinance require
ments have been fully met.
This afternoon attorneys for the fire
department secured from five witnesses
corroboration of the charges that
/ Ia. 49,
! tion Company had destroyed the stage
skylights on the day after the disas-
! ter. Fire Inspector Fulkerson said:
'It was the intention that these
! slxylights should open automatically to
! allow the escape of heat and smoke
and create a draft which would
draw them upwards, instead of al
! lowing them to pass over the audi
| ence. But from the information I
have I am positive that the opening
of the skylights was impossible be-
cause beneath each section of the
lights had been placed pieces of scant-
ling which remained there until re-
moved by employees of the Fuller Com
pany on Thursday afternoon"
Sold to Standing Room.
1t has been said by Powers & Davis,
| managers of the Iroquois Theater,
that the house was not filed on
!
the fire. This assertion was contra
dicted this afternoon by Manager Ed
win Fl. Price of the "Bluebeard" COM
pany.
''I should say" said Mr.. Price, "that
between ninety and one hundred tick
cts were sold after the theater was
| filled. The days receipts amounted
to something more than $1,700"
Little result followed the examina-
| tion of seven men of the double oc-
tette, which was on the stage when,
the fire broke out.
We kept on singing and dancing
and did not even know that there was
a fire until sparks fell on the stage
and two girls of the double octette
tainted said William Sleek. 1T is
the rule of the stage that we are fined
| if we turn our faces for an instant
from the audience. All I know is
that we stuck to our work until we
had to run for our lives"
Sleck's story was corroborated by
| the other six men.
The police to-day arrested George
M. Dusenberry, chief usher of the
theater on n charge of manslaughter.
| Dusenberry declares that he tried to
hold back the rush of spectators and
helped to save thirty women from the
| iammed front exits. He is held TO
| furnish evidence on the statements
! made by many people in the theater
! tnat the nSnefs CLOSED the doors, ana
that they at first refused to allow peo-
pie to pass out Benjamin Solomon.
boy who rented opera glasses in the
| upper balcony. to-day declared that
all the ushers and attaches closed the
doors and shouted to the spectators to
remain seated, as there was no danger.
scrub Woman Had Keys.
Coroner Traeger is looking for the
chief scrub woman of the theater who
it is said, c2rried all the keys to the
doors and exits of the balconies. She
| viii be arrested when found.
| In addition to the managers Of the
theater, VIII ]. Davis and Harry j.
! Powers, every employe OF the theater