The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-27
MAYOR HARRISON AND
OTHERS ARRESTED
All Are Taken to the City Hall at
Chicago and Placed Under
Bond.


CHICAGO. Jan 25.-BeaTing the eight
mittimi, as result of the inquest into the
Iroquois Theater disaster. Coroner Traeger
and number of detectives to-day left tie
City Hall with authority to arrest Mayor
Carter r. Harrison. Manager VIII j.
Davis and the six lesser city officials and
stage employees. who were ordered held TO
await the acton Of the grand jury. The
first persons taken into custody were VII
liam McMul.en, operator of the fioOdhght
from which the Iroquois fire is said TO have
started, and James L. Cummings, the stage
carpenter at the lroquois. under whose d.
rection, it is alleged the apparatus was
constructed which interfered with the de-
scent of the asbestos curtain.
Will j. Davis was arrested in bed at his
home on Grand boulevard. Mr.. Davis was
allowed time to dress and eat breakfast.
Meanwhile his attorney. who had been tele-
phoned for, arrived, and the party left on
the elevated railroad for the business CEN
ter. Mr.. Davis was taken to the city Hail
Some time after the arrest of Manager
Davis Mayor Carter ii. Harrison presented
himself at Coroner Traeger's Office, which
is in the Criminal Court building part
of the structure containing the county jan
The mayor was accompanied by his broIner
and cousin and by former Mayor hemp,
stead Washburne The coroner greeted
them and the party then went TO Judge
Walkers court, where bonds of 5000 were
furnished. The mayor left the Criminal
Court building Immediately for his once
i'm the City Hall, which is half mile dis
tant from the jail and almost wlthln Il
stones throw of the lrOquOiS Theater. IRE
ceding Mayor Harrison s appearance at the
Criminal Court building mittimuS was
served upon him at his residence by Dep
uty coroner. The deputy was met at the
front door by a domestic and was asked
into the reception hall, where the mayor,
being called. heard the mittimus read. IL
directed that he, like the others accused.
be held until discharged by due process or
law. "All right" said the mayor when
the reading was finished. Tell Traeger IL
be down." and the mayor, bidding the dep
uty goodbye, proceeded to the Criminal
Court and gave bond.
Fire Marshal Musham served with
a mittimus at his office. a similar course
was pursued with City Building Commits
soner Williams and City Building Inspec-
tor Loughlin. In custody of two detectives
Messrs. Musham, Williams ana LoughlHi
walked to the Criminal Court building ana
gave bonds to answer any action by the
grand jury. The stage fireman. William
Sallers, was the last of the accused TO be
taken into custody.
Some pointed comment was made by
Stage Carpenter James e Cummings, after
he was put under arrest at his little cottage
in North Oakley avenue. The arrest was
effected by two officers one knocking at
the front door, the other at the rear. Cum
mings is a small man, scarcely five feet
in height. His hair is white, and his form
bent with age. I'm not worrying, because
l haven't done anything TO worry about.
The only thing L hate is being locked up.
Mayor Harrison isn't locked up and he
has been held responsible just much
as / have I've done nothing to be ashamed
Of I've been here in Chicago twenty years,
own my home and was never arrested be-
fore. | was only at the Iroquois four days
before the fire. AS to my being away
when the fire broke out-well, every stage
manager leaves his stage occasionally dur
ing a performance when Ii was necessary.
That fire curtain gave way, but they
wouldn't give me a chance to tell how.
Even if ii had come all the way down 1t
would have given away for the firemen
turned a stream of water directly upon
il from the rear entrance and nothing but
stone wall can stand one of those
streams.