The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-01-16
FINAE LIST
 REACHES ITO W tirns of Boyertown Z Theatre Fire.
cok0NER'S JURY HLD INQUEST
Chef fifteenth of Towns Popu..ation X Dead.
Building Inspector says People Were Overcome by Gas Befcfe Fire and simply Could Not Help TAem-
 selves.

H. f D / a Boyertown, Pa. Jan. 15--Bearing up bravely under the awful blow 1t re- ceived in the destruction of Rhoades Opera House by fire on Monday Fthts thriving little borough today canae to . realization that one-fifteenth tpf its population was wiped out of existence hs the holocaust.
 The figures complied by Eoroner Strasser at nightfall show th&t there are 17e dead as result of khe fire.
 The list of dead includes onef fireman. who lost his life fighting the Are. and one man, Jacob Johnson, who died today from injuries received in the blazing playnouse.
 Three charred bodies were recov- cred from the ruins cf the building today and of the .6s bodies or remains that lis in the .mproyised morgues t16 have been ofiicialiy or partially identined by sorrcwing relatives or friends.
 The private morgues in the town were not of sufficient size to receive the bodies of those taken from the Ire ruins, and the public school was also used as a charnel house. Each Dit of jeweiry or fragment of clothing pick ed up in blackened ruins was tagged. as were the charred and blackeued bodies, or such portions of them as re- main, and all in search of missing loved ones were permitted to pass through the gruesome rows to make identifcstions.
 Few of the bodies could be recogniz- ed by Ire features alone. as in most eases the upper features of the corpses were scared or burned to a crisp. A detail of the state police held the anxious crowds In check around the ifnprovised morgue and those seeking missing relatives and friends were compeIled to pass in to view the bodies in order.
 Heart-RendIng Scenes.
 The scenes at the morgue were heart rendinR. Children of tender years were in some cases called upon 70 assist n making Identification cf parents who went 10 an untinnely death in the Are. and s6ssssic' and saain feeble mst and women we're racked with sagasall Ae they came upon some distorted body in which they recognized the form Of a lost son or daughter.
 Before any Of the bodies were re- moved from the morgue. Coroner Stras- ser enpaneled a jury to view the re- mains and the scene of the fire and to sit at the inquest. The, jury made an inspection of the ruins and went through the morgues- No date has been fixed for the inquest. Coroner Strasser opened an office tonight in the Mansion House and established bu- reau of informatione where he granted death certificates and signed insurance papers In this connection, the repre- sentatives of scores of Insurance com panies are in Boyertown paying off claims as fast as they are presented. {. There were fifty-five undertakers or | tn cir representatives in town today, and | there was plenty for them to do, as all were called on to assist in preparing | the remains for inspection and identi- | dcation. Coroner Strasser says that not more than twenty-five Of the entire number of bodies removed from the | fire have heads. There are sevrai I trunks that wilh probably never be identified, as there were several stran- | gers in the audience. Ea+ Building Inspector Hickman, of Reading, who made an inspection of the opera house which was destroyed said tonight: N l hall were overcome by the fumes from tho tank used in connection with the | tableau lights and simply. could not | help themselves. A man told me that he reached in the door way to assist a wamoL from the building and that he
 was nearly overcome by gas. He was not in the hall when the fire started" John Rhoades and his grandson. who were supposed to have been killed in 1 the fire, and Mrs. John Dyer. another supposed victim. turned up today. | A committee has been apoiutsd to ar l range for .he proper burial of the | dead.