The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-01
1y ours The Dsad sud Dynf o Ihe Loqoo Theatre Dis aster The Dessh L1t s P.ssd st 564 Ssfen Empoyes Of The Play FIoass oa Ordsrs Issued by The Chief of PoRex, 1h< Chsies st Present Being Ac
 cessoey to MansIase Bidding OrSnances
 Not CornrHsd Will n Tkn Entasty.

tradicted by scores q pssspns in the audience, who dociafe that they raw the fire creeping along the edGe of the curtain for several minutes before the explosion took place These statemeuls are sub- stantiated by the stories of q anumber of persons who left thsir seats after seeing the blaze and were well on their wey to the street when overtaken by the fright ensd rush of those they had left behind them.
 Mise Anna woodward, who occupied . seat in the second balcony. gave strong evidence on this point. She said:
 &'.I was in the second balcony and plain ly,s saw the fire. am a large woman. weighing l80 pounds. and I made up my mind that If there was going to be . panic 1t would be wise for me to beat 1t to the street. I left my seat In ths bai- cony, went down the stairs to the first balcony. and from there started to pass out the very door in which SO many per sons were killed a few moments later. The door was closed and man standing on the outside refused to open it, so that II could pass out. Whether he waB an ampIoye of the theater or not. I do not know, but he had evidently determined that no one ahQnld leave the theater and l in doiB6 So etarted | panic.
 l Prevented an Exit.
 VT awss leaving quietly up to this time, fbut when iie refused to allow me to pass Tout peaceably. determined to get out Iif had to make all sorts of noise | went along the balcony about ten feet ! to eIass partition and smashed tt with l the point of my umbrella. I went out 1 and down stairs. When was about half .waH t<jwns | heard the. roar of the crcwd A N f& me after me. and hurried with tuiE fhe speed had. They overlook me. however. knocked me down but for the 1 fact that was close to the door. ] think my chance of life would have been ai- most nothing. As 1t was think must
 have walked the last ten feet of my pas sage to the exit on the bodies of those who had fallen. z
 .ss: nss asss ss sis a: sss ss M lenssx<s frsun sn aF6 stsskths tlie edge of the drop curtain. but the actual fact, however, will not be known until after the conclusion of the ccroner's in- quest. sNl l Although the Iroquois theater was un- doubtedly the safest theater in Chicago. l 1t became evident to-day that the city | building department had not strictly en-
 forced one or two sections of the huiid- ! ing ordinances.
 | l was in the theater only few moments before the catastrophe. and went away
 saying that everything was in good con dition.
 He reported this fact this morning tv Deputy Building Commissioner Stan- hope. The deputy commissioner carry this morning went to the theater to make an inspection. Upon his return to the city hall. he said:
 I Av.N xxrAr strictly within the law. l will not go | into details until I have completed my report"
 | No Sprinklers There. | Section 1855 of the local building ordi- nances provides that in buildings of the class to which the theater belongs. there shall be @ system or automatic sprink- | lers. l There were no sprinklers in the thea | ter, and when MT. Stanhope's attention | was called to this, he said: There was no sprinklers in the theater, but the pro- vision about the irofi doors made 1t un- necessary for the thester to have them. ] Section 189 of the ordinance provides that theatres be equipped with Ire alarms connected with the city fire alarm system. 1 Mr. Stanhope said: ''The Iroquois had | fire alarm connections. 1 did not see the box, but that Is my information. | City Electrician Hyland said: The ITO
 quois had no fire alarm connection w1h
 the city alarm system. No application IS | on file for any such connection" | The alarm of fire. in fact. was turned | in from a box over half a block distant from the :leatre.
 | The law provides also that there shsil | be a ventilating shaft at the rear or the stage which will conduct flames and
 smoke away from the auditorium in just | such emergencies as arose yesterday.
 The Iroquois Theatre possessed no such | ventilating shaft
 From the action of a committee of | prominent architects of Chicago at a | meeting tonight. may result recommen' | dation to Mayor Harrison to close every | theatre in the city until its exits and | construction have been examined This
 idea was suggested to President Beau
 mont of the Chicago Architects Asso-
 citation today by W. A. Pridemore, an architect who lost some relatives in the
 fire. President Beaumont refused to per | sonally make the recommendation tc Mayor Harrison, but called an informal meeting of the association, at which it
 was decided that a larger gathering oi the members would be held tomorrow and action at that time would be decided
 upon.
 No Use to Close Playhousss. | SN~
 no more reason for closing all the thea
 tres than for stopping all railway trainl
 after a disastrous wreck. There Is nc
 necessity of getting hysterical about this
 matter. although this horrible disaster
 has taken place in probably the safest | theatre in Chicago"
 The Mayor tonight in this connection
 sent the following letter to all theatrical | proprietors in the city: November 2nd. this year. transmit I ted to the City Council a report on the
 theatres of Chicago, calling the atten-
 ti0hA of the Council to the failure of all
 the Theatres to comply fully with the
 terms of the building ordinances relatis C 1 to places of amusement. The Council | sent the communication to the Committees on Judiciary for consideration and pend ing a report from that committee. direct ed the Commissioner of Buildings to sus- pend enforcement of the ordinance.
 '"The city ordinance. among other things, requires each theatre to employ fireman to be approved by the chiei of the fire department to look after the fire protection of the house. am a6-
 vised by the chief that several theatres lhaye reeusad 10 comply with this provision