The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-01-23
PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATION
Facts Brought Out at Inquest of
Iroquois Theater Fire.
Gross Negligence shown ny Mana
gers and Building Inspectors 90
Guard Against Disasters.

Guard Against Disasters.
Chicago, Jan. 12.-George N Dusen-
berry, superintendent OF the auditorium
of the Iroquois theater, admitted at the
inquest that there was lack of discipline:
that at least one exit and the iron gates
we're carefully locked; that the ventila-
tor was closed, and that there was no
way to distinguish exits. Corroborative
testimony of the difficulties of the pa
irons in escaping from the building, the
finding of locked passages, the failure of
the curtain to work, and other details
previously given by witnesses, was
brought out by others who were heard.
Lax Methods of Inspectors.
Chicago, Jan. 13.-How building in
spectors fail TO inspect was shown in a
striking manner Tuesday at the Iroquois
inquest
The building department was on the
rack. both at the morning and afternoon
sessions.
William Curran, the inspector who
was in the Iroquois theater few min
utes before the fire, threw great deal
of light upon the conduct of the de-
partment. According to Curran, dead
man. who has been in his grave for a
year, has remained, in effect, at the
head of the theater inspections.
Curran declared that since Chief In
spector Barry died no new orders had
been issued to the theater inspectors,
but that the latter had gone along about
as usual. Curran still continued to car
ry the card signed by Barry, authorizing
inspections of certain theaters.
Gross negligence of inspectors, insult
ficiency of investigation to forestall pos
sible disasters and decided violations of
the city ordinances pertaining TO public
buildings were admitted by the evidence
given by Building Commissioner Will
liams and his chief assistant, Leon Z.
Stanhope.
Mayor ms n Witness.
Chicago, Jan. 14.-Mayor Harrison.
testifying before the coroners jury
Wednesday afternoon, frankly admitted
that he feared to close the theaters OF
| Chicago when he first became aware
that gross violations of the building
code were menacing the lives of play.
goers. Public opinion, the mayor said.
would not have sustained him in so
drastic a move. He said that as early
as Nov. 2 of last year he was in pos
session of a formal report that all the
theaters were violating the building
| ordinance, but says he sent the report
to the council, in the belief that pub
| lie opinion would not sustain him should
he close the play houses. He also said
he feared law suits. Excuses were made
for the building department because of
lack of funds. He said that Building
Commissioner Williams. in presenting
to him the report that all the theaters
were violating the ordinances, did not
| recommend that they be closed.
Trying to Shift Blame.
Chicago. Jan. 15.-The lroquois in
quest has resolved itself into a wild
scramble among city officials ana en-
ployes to throw the blame for the thea
| alter fire on each other.
Edward Loughlin. the inspector who
supervised the construction of the the
alter, spent several hours on the wit
ness stand Thursday and was put
| through fierce fire of questions, which
made him squirm. He took refuge in
the claim that his only duty was to
look after the structural part of the
| theater.
Loughlin was the man who reported
| the theater completed 90 X" the day
before the fire. When confronted with
this fact, he declared that if anything
| was lacking the omission was due to
| somebody else.
The city council refused last night to
| consider the new theater ordinance Ii
| likewise voted down proposition to al
low certain houses to run which could
comply with suggested conditions.
shows Ignorance of Laws.
Chicago, Jan. 16-Fire Chief Musham,
as the principal witness before the cor
, oner's jury in the Iroquois theater fire,
| admitted that he was unfamiliar with the
laws governing public safety and sought
to shift responsibility on the building
| department, even though he has coordi-
nate powers with the building commits
sioner. He confessed that he signed
safety" certificates for the theaters, al
| though he had little information con-
| corning them. Chief Musham did not
consider it the duty of his department to
enforce the ordinance relative to fire ap-
paratus in theaters. His duty lay only
in the inspection of apparatus after it
had been installed. he declared. Were
no apparatus installed, as was the case
at the Iroquois, It was no concern of his.
as head of the fire department. To the
testimony Of their chief subordinate
commanding officers added statements
equally damaging to the department.