Evening star., 1908-01-17
'O|G. GRAVES FOR many
.Laborers Work in Moonlight at
BoyertoWn, Pa.
NUMBER OF DEAD NOW 173
Sad Scenes and Incidents Of the Re-
cent Horror.
TRENCH FOR UNIDENTIFIED
NUMBER OF DEAD NOW 173
TRENCH FOR UNIDENTIFIED
It Will Be Sixty Feet Long, Forty
Feet Wide and Six Feet Deep.
To Be Buried in Semicircle.

BOYERTOWN, Pa. January 1.-THE
uncommon sight of a gang of Italian la
borers digging graves by the light OF the
moon for the burial of the dead of the
Rhoads Opera House disaster was wit
MESSED in Union and Fairview cemeteries
here last night. So many funerals arc to
he held TODAY. tomorrow and Sunday that
the borough authorities found it neces-
sary to keep the men at work all night.
Today found this part of the work In
connection with Monday nights horror al
most completed. A large number OF
funerals were held today and many sad
scenes were enacted as one or Two MEM
bers of family were laid to rest III tne
hurriediy prepared graves
The largest number of funerals Will take
place tomorrow. The coroner today placed
the number of dead at 1I3.
Thirty Unidentified Bodies. '
The unidentified dead will be buried In
trench 60 feet long. 40 feet wide and
8 feet deep. Each of the thirty unidenti-
fed bodies will be placed in separate
coffin, and each coffin will be separated
from the others by brick wall.
The bodies will be placed in a semicir-
Gle and at some future time monument
containing the names of the missing per-
sons known to have been IN the opera
house when the first started and whose
bodies have not been Identified will be
erected on the plot. After all of the bodies
have been buried memorial services will
be held.
It is probable the inquest will not be
held until some time next week after Cor
tification of the victims. He will conduct a
rigid investigation. but will be hampered
somewhat in fixing responsibility because
the borough had no laws regulating the
use of public halls.
Three Claim Same Corpse.
There was a.slight hitch in the work
Of removing remains from the morgues
yesterday afternoon through the action of
Coroner Strasser forbidding the removal
Of any bodies during his absence. This
was due to a mixup in the identification
Of the body of a boy.
There were three claimants for the
body, and all appeared before the coroner
for permission to remove the remains.
All were positive that the body was the
one they were looking for. Therefore,
In order to prevent mistakes, the coroner
issued the order.
Burgess Kohler learned OF this and I'M
mediately communicated with the coroner
at Reading, where he had gone on busf-
ness in connection with his Office. When
1t was explained that people who had
positively identified their dead wanted
the remains and that bodies in dispute
would be held the coroner rescinded his
order.
Mystery Over One Body.
A mystery has developed as a result
Of the examination of the bodies still
remaining in the schoolhouse. In look
ing over the corpses Coroner Strasser
came across one he at first. had reason to
believe was that Of a man, but on open
ing the coat which enveioped the frame
he was surprised to see that the body
was that Of a woman.
The whole body was attired IN male
garments even to the underclothes. An
investigation shows that there was no
girl in the play Monday night dressed in
mans attire.
The body is one Of those still unidenti-
fled. and 1t is hardly likely that II will
be claimed. The features are burned be-
town has been found who has any recoi-
lection Of q person who would answer to
the description of the body.
Respect to Memory Of Victims.
Nearly everybody living here turned out
today to pay respect to victims of the fire.
Many OF the graves in the two cemeteries
were not ready to receive the caskets.
and mourners escorting bodies were COM
PEELED to wait for hours to bury their
dead AS a result Of this some OF the
funerals set for this afternoon were post
poned until tomorrow. dozen more
ihearses have been ordered from Reading.
the nearest large town.
The town is full of relatives and friends
from other towns who came here to at
tend the funerals Of victims. 1t was the
intention to bury the unknown dead to-
morrow, but Coroner Strasser has post
poned interment Of these bodies to give
the relatives OF missing persons more
time to look over the unidentified victims.
The authorities have thus far been un-
able to solve the mystery surrounding the
unidentified body OF a woman which was
found dressed in male attire.
The coroner is inclined to believe the
woman dressed in mans clothing just for
a lark
Searchers at the ruins of the opera
house continue to find fragments of bodies.
Today they came across an arm and a
leg The latter was identified as having
belonged to Ira Shaber. The identifica-
xto oh cxo