The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1904-01-09
WOULD NAVE TO Be REBUILT
BUILDING ORDINANCES WILL De
REVISED AND RIGiDLY
ENFORCED.
GROSS CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE
MANAGERS OF iRoQUoIs KNEW
THAT THE CURTAIN WOULD
NOT DROP. ......

Chicago, Jan. THE special COM
mittee composed of members OF the
city council appointed to investigate
the condition of the local theaters and
report upon what alterations arp
necessary to make them conform to
the building ordinances, held its first
meeting yesterday.
According to the statement OF AID.
Friestedt, one of the members OF the
committee, it is doubtful If 35 per cent
Of the theaters ever reopen their
doors. Strict adherence to the build-
ing laws would require that every ons
of the p%layhouses in the city to be OF
freproof construction, and his would
require the demolition and rebuilding
of the majority Of the thea'ers.
Aid. Jones, chairman of the commit
tee, said last night: 1--WE will first re"
wise the building ordinances. Then we
will visit the theaters and decide what
alterations will be necessary to make
the construction of the houses
Conform to III Law.
OF course the owners of theaters will
do nothing until they know lust e1-
actly what the amended ordinances
will demand of them, but they will be
obliged to reconstruct their theators
to conform with the ordinances we are
going to prepare"
Late yesterday afternoon the at
torneys of the fire department caused
the arrest of four employees Of tho
Fuller Construction company, David
Jones, a masonry foreman; Angus Nd
Kay, Otto Ruesch and John Kingston,
ironworkers. Attorneys for the Fuller
company took Jones. who had been
sought by the police for several days,
! to the fire department. 1t had been
| charged that Jones and his men broke
the skylights on the theater after thu
fire in order to destroy possible ev-
! dence. 1t developed yesterday after
the arrest Of the men, that the sky
lights were
Blocked by eeantIing
and tied with wire to prevent their
opening, and that neither of them had
been opened since the tneater was
built.
Jones, in making his statement tn
the fre department, said: Il took the
three ironworkers with me up through
an adjoining building and out upon
the theater roof over the stage. First
I removed the wooden scantlings
which blocked the skylights. Then !
found the lights tied with wire inside
and broke two panes of glass to get at
the wires to unite them. finally got
the wires off and opened the lights"
Jones was asked why he went to thu
roof of the theater and replied that hB
had been told that the north wall had
cracked in the fire and went to e IL
it was true. He declared he had
loosened the skylights because he
feared they might fall through and
injure some INT on the stage.
why did you take three ironwork-
ers with you to inspect a brick WALTZ"
asked Attorney Fulkerson of the fire
department.
Becomes Confused.
Jones was confused, but finally an
swered that the men went with him
through curiosity. He admitted that
the i~ronworkers helped him open thu
lights and worked with him about thu
roof for half an hour.
He denied that he had used any
tools in forcing open the skylights, but
this statement was denied by George
Mueller, who witnessed the breaking
open of the skylights from an adjoiH-
ing building. Mueller declared that thu
men carried and made 8 of a CROW.
bar and q hammer.
Numerous witnesses who were in ad.
Joining buildings overlooking the thea
ter testified that the skylights were
not open during the fire.
A Previous Fire.
Evidence showing grosser criminal
negligence than anything previously
developed var given under oath yes
terday in the fire department invest
cation.
Joseph Daugherty, who had charge
Of the curtain, swore that two weeks
ago during a matinee performance
there was q fire on the stage, and that
when he attempted to lower the cur
tain it was stopped by the same OBJ
%struction that prevented its operation
last Wednesday, the fatal afternoon.
The curtain manager declares that he
protested at that time, but that no at
tention was paid to his warning.
Another death yesterday brought the
number of victims Of the fire up to 591.
There remains four unidentified bodies
at the county morgue.