The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-01-02
All Playhouses Lacking Asb,es-- Ash, "a
tos Curtains Must Close
Their Doors. S. iri3ss
EVERY ,PRECAUTION &.
TO PRESERVE LlFEss
Day Of Mourning i'll Chicagosi
Where Funerals Are Taking ~
Place in All Parts of tho @ y
City Many Cases ofa ofa5. 5
Great Sadness Min
listers Kept Busy. i#1.s5 @
(By Associated Press }

t7,sS
(By a Assocfated Press. i }8s 8sss
CHICAGO. ILL. !. jan 1.----Mayo Carter e r1'e
H. Harrison to-day took steps to pro oyidA &
as far as possible against repetttto11
OF Wednesdays horror at the IroquoA q
Theatre. AS result Of an inyestl ga. "a
tion made az his orders. and lasting but
;l&few hours. nineteen thea tres and rnu.'Ss
soums were ordered closed. some o. them y
being among tho leading and most POP
sular play houses Of The city. = he act 1
of the mayor was based On a single vto $
5lation Of the ordinances, which 4 are I'M
tended to protect the patrons OF theatres
from (, Just such II an occurrence as that
which cost SO many lives on Wedness--5
day. This was that every one Of these sA'
places had omitted to supply an asbestos
curtain The theatres ordered closed are;s,
Howard s. Sam t. Jack s, Marlowe. New
American, Olympic q IA cad emy vi Of Music
S.Alhambra. Avenue. y fBij jou,{ Chicago orerAs$
House. Columbus u Stock, = hirty-tlrss !
Skce Avenue, ,8C ClarrIck and 6 i cklnan q;
st rn.E edition to these vt he ~ don SGlopSgl
Museum and the Clark Street A1ussu "A g
were also compelled to close t,nirS 10 doors,
3 Do Big Business.
'rhe Chicago Opera House ut,d tie II
tr,Iyn,ric Theatre are vaudeville houses
Of tho highest class, and proba bly 9 n
as much business in poin t@ Of numbers
as any one Of thh theatres In the CIT &
ut single performance cesS y'IheyA give now
ever, a matinee every day IN n Tile " WeeA l.s
and 1T IS seldom tina seats can + g %. 4,o op.5s
taineu for any performance at the tilnef ile \
s.f opening. In addition to this. they
have been accustomed to selling large
nlmIers OF tickets for. standing ROOM
and ss general thing more people are 7
within these places of amusement at an y
,yerage performance than can be tound
at any other play house IN inc CITY
,lercd closed Is a small play house on
the northwest sida of tho city a MI Should
not be confounded with the larger theatre I
Enr th,, same name situated on Randolph
street one block west of: the lroquols.3
8 The inspection ordered blythe mayor
te,.tlay swas carried out by 5Blliidlng CON
missioner Williams and Chief OF Police
4rrEeiIl, The scope OF the investigation Il
Included no other feature than asoestossa si
curtains. The mayor Instructed COM
grnissloner Williams to ranort to him
nro,nnily ats tho, conclusion of his i,lnves-.ss
t;ga1scn, declaring that It was ms sl1'
tention that 10 theatre should pc AZ az
lowed to open It's doors ln5S.h!caso .,leU ,heEe-a
. fteri unless it was provided with al an
S,shnst os curtain Of standard quality thas
(, /, ,.o,,ld work at All times and under all H
conditions.
Take Every Precaution.
ut may not be possib'a,'' said Mayef 4
Harrison, ."to& prevent loss OF Nte wnen
audiences rushed for the doorWass.a oulE E Al III
have determined to see that every p,s-Ss pig
cuut,on is taken to prevent ,suem Ueta s,a.
grenccs as will alarm the people ana ''a sta!s 4
tben, on a rush for thrs exits. II IS al !
very we'll to say that the great loss os
l,fe,yin the Iroquois Theatre was due TO
the fact that4tllc people, 'ost thelr heaa ss.
md. crowded into the doorwa Us ano alslen y |.
Ike naniacs, but the fact MS ana II !.
connot be denied, that there would hays
henn no panic If tho apparatus In this 4
thea tre which, Judged by all ordlnaFy
standards. was the best t. equipped PLAY 4
ro,,se In the city, had been IN prones
sy.,r.rking condition. There is no settlhaN
beyond that fact From all the eVldehea
now in hand 1t is clear that II thesas
restos curtain In this theatre nae nsen
In the condition it should have oeen,
there would have been no 'oss OF Nle'. US
comparatively speaking
+. The report of Building Commlss sloner
willams showed that the Academy ot ]
Music, with a seating capacity OF .uV.if .uV.
has. a curtain Of burlap The Alhambra.
with a capacity OF 300; the Avenus, wv
90. Criterion, 1,400; Fegenhaum's, 100;
f-IJoward's 900; Marlowe, 1900: New Amer-R 4
sicnl. 400, nls had curtains OF linen.
,rhc 'curtaI, in the Chicago Dpsra House
wa1 Of burlap covered With tlreproof
psint. In the Columbus Stock 'iheatre.B
ana in Sam r. Jacks. It was OF canvas.
Ths Olympic Theatre, with seating
. /, ho,,t I llOO neona.l has n Ctr-R