The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-02
MANSLAUCHTER.
Charge on Which Ir0quOis Han
agers-Are Held.
Are With Commissioner Will
liams Under $4,000 Bond.
Complaint Made By Uncle of
Children from Topeka.
NOW STANDS AT $50.
Total Number of Corpses Re-
covered from the IrOQuois.
All but Twenty-Five of These
Have Been Identified.
Day Is Given Over to the Burial
of the Dead.
NOW STANDS AT $50.
Total Number of Corpses Re.
covered from the Iroquois.
All but Twenty-Five of These
Have Been Identified.
Day Is Given Over to the Burial
of the Dead.

Chicago, Jan. 2.-Formary charged
with manslaughter Managers Will j.
Davis and Harry j. Powers of the Iro-
quois theater. with City Building Com
missioner Williams, were today held
under bonds of $4,000 each.
Colonel William Pinkerton and Chas.
H Plamondon furnished bonds for
Davis and Powers
Andrew J. Graham, a banker. fur
nished bond for Commissioner Will
liams.
Arthur E. Hull, whose family perish
ed in the theater fire. and who was
| the complainant. was present when the
two theater managers and the city Off
cial underwent the ordeal of facing the
| charges. The hearing of the case was
set for January u.
Twenty men arrested in connection
with the Iroquois theater tragedy were
arra1gned before Justice Caverly in the
Harrison street police court today, on
a charge of manslaughter. Five of the
DEFENDANTS were members of the chorus
OF Mr.. Blue Beard" company and were
defended by Attorney Thomas Hogan
NO testimony was given in court and
/ 1t was Immediately agreed that a con-
tinuance be granted. Most of the time
was devoted to an effort by the attor-
ney to have the bonds of his clients re-
duced from the $4,000 in which they had
| been held. In the end the bonds in each
case were reduced to $1,000, and the
cases placed on the calendar for hear
1 ing January Ii.
| Attorney Hogan told the magistrate
| that his clients had nothing to do with
the management, construction or han
ding of the. scenery. He said they con-
tinued singing even after the audience
became panic stricken in a vain effort
to allay the fear of the frightened au-
dience.
Those who will be arraigned before
Justice Caverly January IL are:
Edward G. Winesm, Victor Bozart,
Samuel Bell, William Slack, John j.
Russell and E. T. Moreau. The other
defendants will have a hearing before
Justice Caverly Monday They are w.
D. Korr, William McMullen, William
Plunkett, Max Mazzonivitch, A. Ber-
nard, Edward Eagle, William Me
Queen, William Oleson, f. Poland, Will
liam Carleton, J. J. Andrew and F. P.
Nolan. Their bonds were placed at
IS, 900 each.
+ NEW EVIDENCE FOUND.
A mass of new evidence which throws
complete light on the Iroquois theater
was obtained from stage employees by
! Coroner Traeger today, and will be
submitted to the coroner's jury when
that body meets Thursday to hear tes-
timony. Coroner Traeger has learned
that Stage Carpenter Cummings, who
y
rigging aloft was responsible to the
owners of the theater for the operation
of everything on the stage. If the city
ordinances were not complied with in
regard to the necessary safeguards
against fire behind the curtain it was
! Cummings duty to notify the owners
and managers of the house. Joe
| Dougherty, who is now in one OF the
hospitals suffering from a broken leg
was the man who attempted to lower
the asbestos curtain. He says that the
reason it stuck and would not come
down was that it struck on the arc
spot light in the first entrance near the
top of the proscenium arch. From the
stage hands Coroner Traeger learned
| the cause of the mysterious explosion
| which occurred shortly after the lire
| was discovered 1t was caused by the
falling of the big fan scene which con-
| tajned so incandeScent electric lights
This scene was not in use at the time
] of the fire, but was set in the rear or
the stage. The opening OF the double
| doors in the rear of the stage created
a draft which caused the big fan scene
to topple over and break the incandes-
cent bulbs. This produced noise like
an explosion. The stage hands deny
| that there was a calcium tank on the
stage at the time of the fire. coroner
Traeger has learned that each of the
$50 drop scenes in the theater was
i hung on new, oily, manila rope. 1t is
estimated that there were $50 lineal feet
| of this lnffammaDle material uSeu III
| supporting the drop scenes and that 1t
added fuel to the flames in the rig
ging loft.
McMullen 3s considered by the police
| to be one of the most important wit
| neses He was in charge of the SPOT
light which set fire to the scenery and
resulted in the large loss of life.
| Frank Poland made vain effort to
have his bond reduced from $4,000. say
ing that he was off the stage when the
fire started. He told the magistrate
that he and another employe.
stranger to him. were in the balcony
above the gallery controlling the arc
lights which made the pale moonlight
for the show When the panic occurred
he says his companion jumped to his
death. He could not remember the
faintest detail of his own escape. The
magistrate refused to decrease the
amount of the bond. believing that
Poland might oe able to explain the
condition OF tie exits before the fire.
TOTAL DEAD $50.
Chicago, Jan 2-The total number of
corpses recovered from the Iroquois
theater fire stands today at 5S6,as com
pared with 582 yesterday. OF these %
remain unidentified. Previous reports
gave the number awaiting Identification
as q but it developed today that mis-
take in the figures at Ralstons morgue
had been made and the corrected total
added four to the list of unidentified
dead.
| Warrants have been issued for the ar
rest of Will j. Davis and Harry Powers
Cuois theater, and George Williams. city