Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1904-01-02
EIoLoCAU

QS6Q ana IN a SuOTti tlIuO LuSIO was u
line of corpses fifty feet long piled two
and three high on the sidewalk in
front of the theater. It was found
necessary in order to convey the bod
es rapidly to the morgue and to the
! various undertaking establishments to
impress trucks into service and in
these, upon costly blankets furnished
by the dry goods stores in the vicin-
! ity, and covered with the same mate
rial, the dead were hauled away prac~
eically like 80 much cordwood.
The merchants in the vicinity Of the
fheater rose to the emergency in splen-
did fashion. Large dry goods stores
sent wagonload after wagonload of
blankets, rolls of linen and packages
of cotton to be used in binding up the
wounds of the injured and to cover the
dead. The drug stores furnished their
stock to anybody that asked for it in
the name of people hurt in the fire.
Doctors and trained nurses were on
the ground by the score within half
an hour after the extent of the calam-
! ity was known and every wounded per-
son who was carried from the build
ing received prompt medical aid.
THEATRICAL MEN DISCUSS
ALLEGED CAUSE OF FIRE,
Among many of the theatrical men
| employed in the other Chicago the
| aters the responsibility for the fire
| was ascribed to- the careless placing OF
electric arc light apparatus too close
| to one Of the hanging borders of the
| scenery. The electrician Of leading
| Chicago theater expressed great sur
prise on hearing that this was cnu-
sidered possible cause Of the fire.
There never would have been any
! fire. he said 'if proper care had been
exercised in handling the lights. The
! electric plant of the theater was in
| stalled, as I happen to know from per-
| sonaI observation, in accordance with
| every modern requirement for safety
| The plant was not to blame. II the
facts ! have given are correct the
/ whole blame rests on the person who
placed or was operating a light Sc
closely to the curtain"
| The failure of the expected fire pro.
lection is attributed by insurance men
| to trouble with the asbestos curtain.
The stage always is recognized as the
danger point in theater and the de-
sire is tc have it cut off from the audi.
torium as thoroughly as possible. The
insurance men declare that the cur
tain at the Iroquois never had worke
perfectly and that the mechanism had
not been repaired.
MAYOR HARRISON TALKS
OF THE CATASTROPHE.
Mayor Harrison, who first heard of
the theater disaster at Kansas City,
returned to, Chicago or the frs. train.
Regarding the cause of sshe fire the
mayor gave it as his opinion that the
Iroquois was the safest theater in Chi
cago and that if the asbestos curtain
had not failed to work the disaster
would not have occurred. He lays the
cause entirely to that one fact.
With reference to placing the blame
the mayor said that he could not
make any statement until after the
coroner has made his report.
"Some time ago." said the mayor,
,"G recommended to the council that
an investigation should be made look.
ing to the fire protection Of theaters
That is to say, to see whether the
theaters were complying with the or
dinance with respect to the sprinkler
system and other means for fire pro-
lection. That recommendation was
submitted to the judiciary committee.
who has it in hand at the present
time. The committee has not yet
made report and I can do nothing
until receive their report in the mat
ter"
To Chief Musham of the fire depart
ment the mayor has given instructions
to have placed in each theater in the
city two city firemen at the expense
of the theater to guard against any
repetition of the Iroquois disaster.
FIRE CHIEF MUSHAM
DISCUSSES DISASTER.
- Chief Musham of the FIRE depart
ment, when asked what would best
prevent repetition Of the horror, said:
81 don't know as can answer that
question until an investigation has
been made as to the cause of this fire.
"On the whole 1 suppose it would
be a good thing for the department
to have active, uniformed men pre-
pared to act stationed in every the
ater.; through every performance. : II
understand that. New York has them
and that they are paid by the man
agement Of the theaters. H..
They had man in the Iroquois
who was an ex-member of the Chicago
fire department. He was old, but he !
should have known what to do 1t |
seems to me that there is nothing in
the world, at least nothing that can
think of at the present moment, that
can save lives when a thousand per-
sons try to pass through one doorway
at one time. 1t was the rushing, the |
:crowding and the tramping that was
responsible for the majority of deaths
that have occurred. Anybody Who'll
views the dead in the morgue can tell I
that at a glance" :" -
! The cause of the tanning" of the
asbestos curtain. considered the cause
of the disaster, has been explained by
an inspector for the underwriters who |
made a tour Of the house and found
that the wire on which the queen Of
aerial ballet few out over the audi I
ence in the second act held thn ashos