New-York tribune., 1905-02-17
CURTAINS NOT FIREPROOF
,SKYLIGHTS HELD FAST.
Jerome also Says Better Theatre
inspections Are Needed.

,raIl,nr Yesterday about the difficulty of making
even the best Of the city theatres safe Tor an
audience in case Of fire starting on ''e s'dse
District Attorney Jerome declared that oails IN IN
enections and inspections by members OF 'he
Fire Department we're needed
MY information the subject, he said. is
that the inspections before the performances ne
gin are farcicaI The law requires that there snail
be over every stage sliding skylights so arranged
as 20 open automatically in case of fire. being held
,n ulace by tarred ropes attached to weights Inc
theory is that when the skylghts are open ana
the asbestos curtain is down the flames and smoke
90 straight up as in chimney and cannot get to
the audience In the case of the Iroquois Iheatre
fire IN Chicago the skylights were nailed down /
understand that a good many nights thls win
Ter while fashionable audiences filled the auoiT
.ori,lros in this city the skylEghts were held as
fast by sleet and ice if they had been naiieo
down
1T should he the duty Of the fremen detailed at
the theatres that all the skylights are teS'u
before every performance. and if the skylights DO
not start to slide as soon the ropes are loosened
the management should be obliged to go up ana
thaw them out before the audience Is admlttea
Il have information that there is pracucaHy Ho
renrof scenery in any city theatre. and there are
acres of scenery every stage-that is the scenery
would cover acres If it were spread OUT na'-ai,u
such an amount of combustlble mateflal WouIu
-rnesn a large fire if a fire started Ihen am
So that while the space under stage may be
clear one night at inspection II may oe hiieu
with dangerous rubbish the next nlsht' ana oilS
daily systematic inspection VIII keep 'he space
clear
..r nv, talks with Professor Freeman the sub
5ect I have come to believe shat none of the so
called asbestos curtains in the theatres are hreproot
Asbestos is of such peculiar texture lhat you put
enough of II into q curtain to make it hreproot the
,r+sjn viii not hang together. and if you put in
enough cotton TO make the curtain strong the cur
rain will burn through in few minutes thnK
Mr. Freeman's plan to have steel curtains for the
theatres so hung as TO run down OF thelr own
Sre ic he
There is one provision of the law which un-
derstand is being violated in some of the best
sheatres in the city. That is the provision thaI
there shall be no more than six seats between any
seat in a row and the nearest aisle. That allows
,br+eer seats in a row but I informed that
there are many rows in city theatres containing
sixteen seats
Mr.. jerome received an open letter from Oscar
FIammerstein containing an attack which the
writer said was an invitation to libel suit Por-
lions of the letter the following:
So you visited the Fields Theatre; Of which you
know am the owner to detect Va9a9n9 aI 9nsnn OF one
Of Texas, stout heavy man. as you describe MN,
had lawyer Never take a fat nor fat
woman to theatre They are always 1 dlsSa - Of
natural dimensions only. You should have taken
ibe depravity of our authorities in providing
bowling alleys and billiard rooms to unfortunate
So you took your, friend, the Sheriff; riff to my my
theare and X0g az and 5 ne o 0[ be go9d ge Ges There
you made a horrible discovery These stairs had
no Jess nine turns and nine landings, and you
Immediately concluded that these stairs were DAN
gerous 10 life and limb. Travers. you are dangerous
10 life and limb, and I appeal TO YOU as District
Attorney not allow yourself to be at large. why
you are not even lucid enough TO know that such
stairs especially theatre, the safest INA
Unable in the world Don't YOU know that the
longer and straighter staircase is the more dan
ger there is of accident?
And YOU also found that some OF the electric
brackets in the wall so low as TO Craze the
head of a passerby. and especially your tall stout
Texan friend This you consider another menace TO
life and limb. An electric bracket in theatre has
a gas connection: YOU this on in case OF an
accident to the electric facilities. Il has to be
T.Iaced sufficiently low be in reach of a small
person wise and efficient precaution, which even
such as YOU will have to admit.