Arizona republican., 1904-01-08
BlanaI Ie Points In the Average
 Theater.

The Hartford COuTNnN pilutS .'"i' which a week ago last Wednesday he- came terribly timely topic.
 In the first place the architects are t,I blame. They suggest or consent to the notion that crooked way out or our theaters, or a way broken in the level with stairs or steps, IS just the same as a straight way on ore level The architects walk through these crooked or uneven ways alone. or in company with the owner. In entire tranquility of mind. and they say that it will do, and statistics say that 1t does not do. The error of the architects is that they forget the human emo tions that, under conditions of danger are to make use Of these corner-full and unlevel passages. Observation would teach the architects that herd of frightened animals will go through a straight and level passage nine times out of ten without one falling down and being trampled upcn. Put corner into this passage, or break the level, and some of the animals almost cer- tainly will fall down and be walked ever. A frightened crowd of human be- ings Is nothing more, in regard to the cCntrCl of reason. than herd of frightened cattle. The human being. uI4E Slel stress of danger thatf causes panic. rushes headlong into sit nations that mean death just as d frightened animal does. But the archi- tects persist in thinking that they de- sign our theater exits for rational peo- their right mind Of course-inevi- tably-when a mass of insane people try to drive themselves through these passages that wind around or up and down We have a Chicago disaster in various degrees of horror. The result is not accidental, but mathematical.
 dn the second place, the executive heads of our theaters are to blame
 They treat our special exits, made for times of danger, very much. as if these extra ways out were parts of the per- manent walls of the theater. The ac- tual director of the buildings seems to. be under the impression that these special exits are never to be used ex- cept under the pressure of immediate danger. They make nc systematic effort to teach their own habitual audiences train their own subordinates to use daily use of these exits. The result is that panic often seizes upon the au- dience because it has no per ions made for it's safety; and also the theater men themselves, including the director, suddenly became conscious that the building is not ready to meet the emergencies of a panic. by having all the special exits open, and so the mad emotion of the audience sweeps to 0 degree over the theater men, making them almost as helpless as those for whose safety they are responsible. It may be set down as a rule that a spe- cial exit that Is almost never used except in time of danger is very near ly worthless when the danger actually exists. Every frightened man, woman and child in the audience, naturally goes for the way out that is known 1t cannot be believed that any of them goes for way out that is not known. Thus we have the congestion, the cruel fighting. and the horrible trampling. that makes up these theater disasters. But this result is no accident-it is a pure piece of consequence, under the condition that special theater exits are reserved for use only when their use means saving human lives. The time when a special exit is of the greatest service is when it is not needed; for if it is used every day when it is not needed all the chances are that it will be ready for use when 1t is needed
 In the third place our fire depart ments are partly to blame. We do not know of any place where trained fire men are more needed, as a daily mat ter of service, than in our theaters. People congregate in our churches. but they do not strike matches and throw away cigar stubs In the church. The pulpit Is traditionally not so inflam- mable as the stage. and of course the pulpit contains nothing material that is likely to burn, such as the pointed scenery of the stage. In our great workshops and factories special rules against fire are regularly enforced. But the theSter combines a great deal of intlamnable stuff, and great many lights, and an immense capacity for powerful drafts Of air, with a mass oj people who are under no sort of con- trol CT, restraint except that of ordin- ar!iT good manners. So far as it is