Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1904-01-07

ing became so violent that many "
them were crowded off and fell TO the
granite paved alley below. others
leaped from the platform, fracturihs
legs and arms, and two were picKed up
at this point with fractured Skulls
having been killed instantly.
Rarely in the history OF Chicaso
has its people been so stirred as ps
this calamity. 1t is, next to the oni-
a 3 fire, the greatest catastrophe that
has ever occurred here. and the speed
with which 1t came and went seemed
for a brief period to appal the business
section OF the city. The news spreaa
with great rapidly and in a short tline
hundreds Of men. women and chilureh
we're rushing toward the theater. Inc
building in which the Calamity DC
Cured stands midway between state
and Dearborn streets on the north side
~ Randolph street. Although every
available policeman within call OF the
department was Immediately
Hurried to the Spot
and the men placed in lines at the ena
of the block. allowing nobody TO enter
Randolph street from either Dearborn
or State. it was found for a time al
most impossible to hold back n
frenzied crowd that pressed forward
many of tnem having friends or rela-
tiyes IN the theater, and anxious TO
learn something of them. The con
duct of the police was beyond all
praise. The officers held their ground
firmly and gently pushed back all
those who sought to gain an entrance
TO the tneater, although in some IN
stances frantic men. anxious TO looK
for their loved ones, actually beat the
officers with their fists in their rage
at being prevented.
In spite of the efforts Of the police,
however, a large number of people
succeeded in breaking through their
lines and entering the theater, and in
many cases did heroic work in rescu-
ing the injured and carrying out the
dead.
Day of '.%'ourning.
Chicago never witnessed such a day
Of mourning as that which ushered in
the new year. In every portion OF the
city almost it seemed as though there
were funerals going or undertaken
wagons arriving with dead, taking
them to their homes for the last time.
While the funeral professions were
moving through the s~now-coyered
streets to various cemeteries. the
throng about the various morgues
seemed almost as large as ever. The
scenes here were the same as those OF
Wednesday night and Of Thursday
and Thursday night. Many men ap-
peared at the door of Rolston's and
Jordan's morgues yesterday afternoon
who had been on their feet for forty
eight hours constantly searching for
those they had lost. The greater num-
Der of unidentified dead are in these
two places, and men who had viewed
the
CHASTITY Rows Of corpses
before and had gone on ~unavailing
search to every other morgue in Chi
cago went back once more to Rol-
ston's and to Jordan's almost In des-
pair, but hoping against hope that they
might have overlooked their dead In
the great number that had crowded
the tables and floors on Thursday
morning. In some cases they were
successful, in many others they were
not. Nearly all bodies which admit OF
careful Identification have been car
ried away, and, of those which re
main the majority are in such a con
dition that only the most minute and
careful inspection will be able to re.
veal their identity to those who knew
them best.
1t was absolutely impossible for the
bereaved relatives to secure all the
carriages they wished to convey their
friends and relatives to the cemeteries
In many cases it was not possible fol
all members of the immediate family
to ride In the funeral cortege because
no carriages could be procured fol
them.
Theater Employees Arrested.
Twelve of the employees of the
%Troquois theater were arrested Thurs
day night on orders issued by Chief o.
Police O'Neil. The charge agains
| them is at present that Of being acces
| sorry to ma~nslaughter. They will b.
held pending the verdict of the coro
ner's jury.
After being arrested four of the mer
told Chief O'Neil they had been re
quested by people connected with thu
theater to leave the city. When asked
who advised them to do this they a
first refused to say, but later admitted
that the advice was given by an as
sistant stage manager.
Chief of Police O'Neil said the al
rest of the men did not necessarily in
dictate that there was any specih
blame attached to them. The NOV
was made to prevent the possible dis
appearance of witnesses before tn
time when they are needed at the II
quest.
Inquiry Vigorously Pushed.
The police yesterday vigorousl
pushed their inquiry into the causes c
the fire and made several other a
rests Of stage hands, among them viii
lam McMullen, the operator Of tn
light which started the nre. He wa
locked UP at the central station. an
Wilson Kerr. q lyman at the theate