The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1904-01-15
STORY OF DEATH
AND CRIM|NALITY
Coroner Examining Witnesses Al
the Iroquois Fire Inquest.
TwO MORE DEATHS ADDED
Testimony shows That the Theater
Wa Practically Desritnte Of
Protection NEain~g lire and
No Precautions Taken.

C~hicaso. Jan s-Two more names
were added Friday to the list OF the
victims 80 tho lroQuo.s fire. when Nel.
Tie Dawson - years old. and Estelle
Muir "a years old. died in hospitals.
The deaths Friday make a total Of 5CS
fatalities due % the fire.
No Protection AGAINST Fire.
The most important witness Of the
day was Robert z Murray. stationary
engineer Of the ~IroQuOis theater. tes-
trying At the Inquest over the victims
OF the ~IrOQuois lre. and whose testi-
mony showed that the thcater was
practically destitute of protection
against hre. that no precautions had
been taken and that no instructions
had veT been given 70 any Of the
attaches He declared that there was
IA s%tandpipe on the stage. two in
the basement and one in the smoking
rom There was no hose attached u
any lf them although there vas hose
iu tte building on a reel Nobody
had q g. been instructed Dos 90 use
g. The hose to- the building consisted
OF one coil and was located in the
smoking room az the front Of the
buftiing n was not his business. 70
said % look after fire protection the
only way In which an alarm could
reach the fire Department was hy use
or the telephone 90 hy eorE two or
three blocks to The nearest fire sta
Uon
Made Them SIT Down.
Ruth Michel a sclo1lrirl testified
t4at when She and members Of her
party noticed sparks dropping from
above the stage one member remarked
thar they lai better ser ont They
started to do SD bug a gentleman sit.
ting 10 The front row rose and said
he would knock their heads cf IL they
did not sit down The eir.s sat down
and remained there uu.l q mighty
draIght ~ air blew flames directly
over tre audience TherauDon she
and her marty rushed 20 The north side
OF THE h1iiinE- crawied out onto a
nre escape ami dropped 70 the alley
The first witness % the afternoon
Frederick II Rca. a student in g
law school directly north ~ the Iro-
qngis theater HI told of placing lad
ders and pianks from the windows
% tho law school 70 the platforms u
the fire escape and a number of PEG
yie We're rescued ia that manner
Got Tangled in Her Evidence.
Madeline Dupont one Of the girls
In me double octette which was On
stage when the FIRE broke out. was
tn her statement that the
-artain that was lowered was the as
curtain which had on il an
scene. and which previous Wit
1esses had declared was the curtain
lower and the curtain that burned
Mss Dupont was emphatic in her evil
fence that the curtain which was low
sred fid not burn up. She became :
tangled in the latter part ~ her +,
evidence and finally admitted that she
I'D not know whether or not there
~as an asbestos curtai- IN the the
lter. but supposed there was
Edith Williams another member Of
double oc-ette. who tainted on
stage ar the outset III ne fire was .
,ailed. hut after taking The oath faint I
q again. falling from the stand and I
to the floor before She could !
- caught She was removed from the !
courtroom and did not testify Z
10 Instructions Given.
Ethel Wynne. 81 New York. a mem. .
'er Of the ~Bluebaard company. de- :
.cribed the commencement o., the fire y