Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-01-07
MANAGERS Of
THEATRE HELD
Many Attaches of Ruined lro-
quois Opera House Are
In Jail.
ALL THEATERS ARE CLOSED
Mayor Issues an Order Closing All
PiaYhouses in Chicago Until They
They Shall Have Fully Complied
With the Law.

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Identified dead ........... -. .561
Unidentified dead ............... q
Chicago, Jan. saturday night
every theater in the city of Chicago
was closed. Not one OF them. win be
open to the public until their managers
have complied In the fullest manner
with every section of the ordinances
regulating playhouses.
The order compelling the theaters
to close was issued by Mayor Harrison
after conference with Corporation
Counsel TOlman, who assured the
mayor that ample legal ground existed
for his action. Seventeen theaters and
museums were closed Friday night,
and the sweeping order OF the mayor
shut the doors OF sixteen more. These
last are the leading theateIs in the
business section of the city and are
the Studebaker, Grand Opera house,
McVicker's, La Sale, Garrick, Illiaois,
Powers, Bush temple, Calumet, Cleve-
land, Great Northern. Haymarket
Hopkins, Peoples institute, Trocadero
and Columbus. aft.
controlled by Messrs. Powers and Da-
Wis, the managers Of the Ill falcd lro-
quois.
The seventeen places of amuss men.
which were shut Friday night were
closed for the one reason that they
were not provided with an abestos
curtain. The further action taken to.
day Is in consequence of violations
OF other sections of the ordinance
regulating theaters. "....
There was a hasty rush of theatre
cal managers to the Office of Mayor
harrison in the effort to secure the
withdrawal, or at least. a postpone
ment, of the order, but their reception
was Of an exceedingly frosty nature.
They were informed by the mayor
that the inspectors had reported In
the case OF every one OF them VIOLA
tons OF the law, and he was deternin.
ed that it should not be said here
after that the city had neglected any
thing which could prevent repetition
of the horror Of last Wednesday after
noon.
viii J. Davis and Harry Powers,
and Building Commissioner Williams,
are under arrest, charged with man.
slaughter. They have been released
on $4,000 bonds and their hearing
Is set for January II. The warrants
for their arrest were sworn out by
Arthur F. Hull, who lost his wife and
three children in the fire. Mr.. Hull
explained that his action was not in
spired by any motive Of vengeance,
out simply to make it certain that the
owners Of the theaters should not
escape any chance Of punishment that
was rightfuly theirs, while stage
hands and electricians and other en-
ployes were compelled to suffer.
Chicago. Jan. 2.-Seven employees
OF the Iroquois theater have been ar
rested on orders issued by Chief OF
Police ONeil. The charge against all
is at present that Of being accessory
to manslaughter. They will be held
pending the verdict OF the coroner's
jurg. The men arrested are: William
Carton, stage manager; Edward Cum
mings, stage carpenter; Frank jan
drow, R. NJ. Cummings. e. Engles,
Thomas Mcqueen and S. ]. Mazoni.
The last five are stage hands and
scene Shutters. After Delng taken In
custody by the police, four men told
Chief ONeil that they had been re-
quested by people connected with the
theater to leave the city. When asked
who advised them to do this they at
first refused to say, but later admitted
that the advice was given by Assistant
Stage Manager Plunkett.
They said they were about to fol.
low Plunkett's advice and all of them
had packed their trunks and would
have been out of the city tomorrow
had not the police arrested them.
Shortly after midnight detectives ar
rested William Plunkett, assistant
stage manager Of the theater, and four
members Of the Moonlight chorus"
The chorus is made up of eight men
and eight women and was about to
appear on the stage when the fire
started.
The prisoners were taken to Harri-
son street station and locked up.
Plunkett was charged with manslaugh-
ter and the members of the chorus
with violation OF part of the munic.
lpal code of Chicago, providing for the
holding of witnesses from the coron-
sr's jury