The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-03

seems to be the only curtain that af-
fords absolute protection against fire.
in view of the fact that the sroquo:s
was destroyed, / have determined SO
far as possible, TO see that the other
playhouses are similarly provided"
Charged With Manslaughter,
Will J. Davis and Harry Powers, pro
prietoTs of the IroGuois theatre. and
Building Commissioner Williams are
under arrest charged with manslaugh-
( ter. They have been released on SO, 600
bonds. and their hearing IS set for Jan.
L. The warrants Cor their arrest were
sworn out by Arthur z. Hull. who lost
his wife and three children in the fire.
Nj. Hull explained that his action was
not inspired by any motive of ven
geance, but simply TO make it certain
that the owners OF the theatre should
not escape any chance of punishment
that was rightfully theirs while stage
hands and electricians and other en-
plOyes were compelled to suffer. It is
a noteworthy fact that Building Com
missioner Williams, who is now charged
with manslaughteT in connection with
the greatest fire horror the country has
ever experienced. owes his appointment
TO a tragedy Of a similar nature but
o. much less extent which occurred two
years ago.
Mr.. williams predecessor vacated his
Office after the burning of the st.
Luke'S Sanitarium at Twentieth street
and Wabash avenue. This was the in
stitutiOn in which a score of men suf-
feTing from deliriUm tremens We're
burned to death while strapped to their
beds. Mr. Williams was selected with
the idea that he was the proper man TO
see that no such catastrophe could
again happen.
Secret Of the Fire.
Fire Inspector Afunroe Fulkersen to-
night announced that he had finally
discovered the secret Of the fire. Thu
asbestos curtain upon which the safet7
OF the audience depended, was, accord
ing to Mr.. Fulkersonr blocked in its
descent by a reflector carelessly left
open by a stage hand. While one end
o. the curtain got within five feet Of
the stage the other was suspended
twenty feet above it, and beneath it
swept the food of flame that carried
death to so many hundreds
The first step toward a definite con-
clusion as to the cause of the fire was
made when William McMullen, opera
tor of the spot" light, threw the blame
upon another electric light near by.
The task was completed when Mr..
F'ulkersOn followed up a clue furnished
by John A MazzOni a stage hand, and
discovered the deadly reflector, still
open, in the ruins of the theatre.
Wire Not to Blame.
The wire used in the aerial ballet.
mentioned as possible cause Of The
curtains failure to reach the stage.
was proven 10 have been out of the
way of the curtain as it descended.
On each side of the prOscenium arch
at the theatre was a metallic reflector,
concaVe in form. twenty feet long and
studded throughout its entire length
with incandescent lights. Normally
these lights fitted into inches in the
masonry, but when in use were swung
out in order that the lights might be
thrown upon the performers upon The
stage. Their greatest width when
open was fourteen inches. When both
redectoTs were in place the fire cur
tain han no impediment in its course.
but with either swung outward the
descending curtain could not get he
low the re0ectOr's top. Carelessnese Of
some empioye. whose identity 1t will be
the effort Of the police to ascertain to-
morrow, resulted in the combination
of the open reflector and falling cur
tain, which cost approximately 600
lives.
Mazzoni who was employed as
scene shifteT. was one of the first Of
The stage hands to be placed under ar
rest. After his release this afternoon
on bonds Of 5000 he disclosed the
truth of the misplaced reflector TO Fire
Inspector FuIkersOn.