Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-01-14
THE
|ROQU0|S HORROR
Further Evidence of Criminal Negli-
gence Brought Out at Inquest.
ANOTHER DEATH ADDED TO LIST
James NJ. Strong Testifies How HIS
MOther and Wife Were Caught
I'm Death Trap and Burned to
Death Before His Eyes.

Chicago, Jan. by the death Mon
day afternoon of Herman Bein, the
number of dead in the %Iroquois theatef
FIRE is brought up to 571.
1t was expected that the city cou
Gil Monday night would definitely de-
termine the exact nature of the altera-
lions which will be demanded in all
Chicago playhouses before they are al
lowed to open their doors to the public
The amended building ordinance
covering playhouses recommended by
the council was so long and the press
ure of other business so great that II
was decided to make The matter the
subject for a special meeting OF the
council, which will be held next Thurs
day evening.
Wife and Mother Burned.
James M. Strong the first witness Of
the afternoon, testified that he, with
his mother and wife, bought standing
room tickets to the performance
were in the first balcony. When the
fire started he left the balcony, fol
lowed by his wife and mother, ano
went to a door which proved to be an
exit, but was locked. He threw himself
against the door, but could not force
it open, and then reached up and broke
the transom with his first. Being I'M
able to open the door, he pulled him
self up through the transom, dropping
upon the outside Of the door, where ne
found a nan with a lot of tools, pre-
sumably a carpenter. The two men
tried to break down the door from the
outside, but could not, and then Strong
pulled himself UP into the transom a
second time, intending, if possible, to
pull his mother and wife out in the
same manner as he had escaped. While
he was half way through the transom
flames filled all that part of the the
alter, his mother and wife were burned
in front of his eyes and he was SC
badly scorched that for several days
his life was despared OF.
1t is upon Strong's testimony that
that states attorney will largely rely
If an attempt is made to secure 1ndlct-
ments in connection with the fire. He
said that not only his own family, but
hundreds of other people could have
got through this door and been saved
had it not been locked. When he
looked through the transom a second
time, he declared, the entire passage
was damned with people.
Did All He Could to Save People.
George NJ. Dusenberry, head usher
of the theater, was the next witness
He testified that he made a round OF
the theater just prior to the commence
ment of the fire and found rs people
standing. A few more were standing
in the aisles, and these he requested
to move back, as the aisles must be
kept clear. He was down in the foyer
when the panic started, and immediate
ly, he said, threw open two doors fol
the front exits and then ran into thu
auditorium to assist some women whit
! had been knocked down. He did all HI
could to save people and was, accord
ing to his statement, the last person
to leave the main floor of the theater
with Chain and Paddock.
! When questioned as to the fire pro
! lection in the house, Mr.. Dusenberr,
: declared that a number OF fire eXt1n
guishers were placed in different part
of the theater, and zeal the front doc
there was a hose, apparently about b
feet long. He had never received an,
j instructions as to what should be don
g =. 80 Gro apG ha6 nnuar iCc1p
any to the ushers under him. He ties
d titled that there were three doors lead
ing from the second balcony into tn
lobby, and that one of these was LOCKED
he having fastened it with askey.
s was not possible, he said, for anybod
to open that door without the secon
/ balconies folding metal gates, M /
n the passage leading to the second ba
cony. Both were locked with a chat
and paddock. 1t was his duty to loo
these gates at the commencement
. a performance and to unfasten them
the close of the second act.
All Exits Were Locked.
10 Mr.. Mr.. Dusenberry testified that a
these exits except those on the mort
side of the house were unlocked, b
&c admitted that there were fully a hal
dozen attaches of the theater who hi
~ keys to the doors. He was asked
Coroner Traeger if it was not possib
for some other employees to lock Il
door and then forget to unlock thel
y, He refused to answer at first, but fina
IT. ly admitted that it might be possibl
ch but not at all probable.
BY mutual agreement, the cases
which Will ]. Davis, Harry Powers al
Building Commissioner Williams a
d, charged with manslaughter in come
ton with the Iroquois theater fire, W
K be continued this morning until ia