The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-01
cHIcAeo.s GREAT DISASTER.

TOWARD THE CITY OF Chicago,
! boxed with a SORROW too deep for
words, VIII flow the sympathy Of the
world. in all the nations history there
Is no story more pitifu than that which
has been written into the closing days
Of 1903 in Chicago. on sHch a tragedy
as was enacted IN the IrOquois theatre
the nation can only look with speech
less horror. The descriptions of the
disaster, graphic though they are, can
convey but a meager idea OF the inn
penetrable sOmbreness Of a catastrophe
mat has brought mourning and woe
and grief unspeakable upon Chicago
ana upon the country.
At one moment a great audience,
composed almost entirely Of women
ans children. was gazing with wonder
upon tiny tongue Of flame that licked
az the frail scenery on the stage The
next moment those women and chill
dren were fighting madly Cor their lives
And then, before some of them real
lied fully what was happening. nearly
600 dead bodies were piled in indt-
scribably horrible confusion at the ex-
Its and around the auditorium. Thus
JOY was turned to mourning. laughter to
tears happiness to sorrow, in the city
OF Chicago Wednesday afternoon.
For most Of US 1t is difficult to view
sudden death in any form without a
isnudder. But there are tragedies tha4
may be given but passing mention be-
cause they occur at times when lives
are naturally endangered, such as in
railroad wrecks, miEe explosions, bridge
eatastrophes and the like. Here, how
ever, the thought of death was farthest
from the minds of the victims and Of
those who viii shortly follow their
hedies to the grave. They were out for
an afternoon of light enjoyment in "a
theatre which had been pronounced the
safest and most modern IN the land.
n little more than month ago the
doors of the playhouse were thrown
open 10 the public. The building was
sold TO be fireprOOf, the exits were so
numerous that it seemed impossible not
70 dismiss an audience in safety no
matter what the circumstances at
tending the dismissal might be. And
yet in spite Of every preeaution that
human Ingenuity could devise, in spite
of every care. taken for tie protection
o. the public. nearly 600 hives were de-
stroyed in this theatre in less time than
is required in giving an outline of the
story.
An asbestos curtain could not be low
cred; the fire escapes outside the build
ing were not entirely completed; a man
81 the rear Of the house set up a cry
OF fire If the curtain could have
been run down properly. If the fire es-
capes had been finished, If the man
had not cried fire An, these agoniz-
ms ifs One cause may. perhaps be
said to be more responsible for the dis
ester than arother and that is the fail
IRE of the asbestos curtain And that
Is one of the things that human in
genuity could not foresee. The curtain
% ght run easily I'm its grooves a huns
dred times and fail on the fatal hun
dyed and first. it is always at the time
fraught with the direst possibilities that
sesh things do happen
The lesson in this great tragedy is one
tha1 theatre managers and newspapers
Rave uied again and again 10 impress
Oh the public mind. Keep cool. Don't
lose your heads in the critical moment
store lives have been lost through an
reasoning, mad panic than through any
ether cause. II people can be laugh;
that lesson the learning OF II viii con-
stitute the one inumining feature OF
this great tragedy.