Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-16
.BOYERTOWN DEAD 173
Coroner Believes That 200 Lives
 Were Lost In Theater Fire.
EIGHTY BODIES IDENTIFIED.

Monument Will Be Erected to Memory
 of Those Who Perished In Horror
 In Fairview Cemstsry--The Funerals
 Began Today.
 Boyertown, Pa, Jan. 16.-With more bodies taken from the ruins of the Rhoades Opera House and the death of three of the injured the grand to- tai of fatalities in the disaster now reaches 173.
 The dismembered portions of bodies which fill half dozen sacks probably will bring this number up to 190, though Coroner Strausser still adhered to his belief that POO lives were lost in the half hour that the panic lasted,
 Eighty Bodies Identified.
 About eighty bodies were identified amid heartrending scenes.
 With the first shock of the calamity over, the borough is slowly recover ing from its stupor. The citizens com mittee appointed took up the work of amelioration. A house to house can vass is being made of the entire com munity. so that by process of elimina- tion list of the lost may be made up.
 At mass meeting plans were form ulated for the future. A limited amount of money is at the service of the committee, but much more will be needed. It is proposed in all cases where the dead cannot be buried by their relatives to make the burials at the expense of the county.
 Monument to Victims.
 A plot of ground has been obtained in Fairview cemetery for this pur- pose. There monument will be erected to the memory of the victims. A volunteer force of forty gravedig- gers has been obtained, and the work of digging the graves began at dawn today.
 A threatened clash between the citi- zens of BoyertOwn and Coroner Straus- ser over the latters refusal to permit any of the identified dead to be remov- ed was solved by the coroner consent ing to the removals being made after nightfal.
 Today the funerals began. The first was that of Miss Emma Enge, who was buried in Fairview cemetery. Sat urday there will also be buried in Fairview the six Mover girls-all cous- ins and respectively daughters of Will liam, Ephraim and Frank Mover.
 With the exception of the Mover girls few of the funerals will be pub lie.
 BuriaIs to Be Rapid.
 It is the purpose of the relatives at the suggestion of the emergency com mittee to bury the victims as rapidly as possible until all of the identified dead have been disposed of; then the unidentified dead will be buried, and later a memorial day will be fixed, at which public services will be held in memory of all the victims.
 Offers of aid to the people are pour ing in from all sides. and. indeed, be- fore the grave has closed over the last of the victims great assistance will be needed here.
 The matter of responsibility for the affair is still being discussed. There are a hundred different theories ad- vanced as to the cause.
 Charles B. Burnham. manager of wallack's theater. New York. visited the ruins and inspected in behalf of the Theatrical Managers association.
 Its the old story" he said. Every body insisted on trying to get out the way they came in. The fire escapes and back exits were absolutely ig- nored."
 The coroner's jury visited the morgue and the ruins. The inquest will be held next week.
 Long Lines at the Morgues.
 Long lines of black garbed men and women filed into the two morgues all day. It was then that the depths of the tragedy was brought into strong est relief. Overnight the twoscore of undertakos had done what was pos sible to prepare the charred bodies for Identification. Each had been wound in unbleached linen. to which a tag was attached giving the number of the body. Beside it. bearing a dupli- cate tag, were the few articles of wearing apparel. etc. that had been recovered beside the body.
 Ex-Governor Black In Hughes League.
 Albany, x. r.. Jan. 16.-Ex-Governor Frank s. Black is the latest acquisi- ton to the Hughes State league. organ ized to boom the povernor for nresi-