The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-01-15
Over One Third Of Entire
Audience Crernated in
Boyertown Holocaust.
MOST OF VICTIMS
WOMEN AND GIRLS
Believed That Nearly All the
Bodies Have Been Gotten Out,
and Efforts at Identification
Begin To-Day-Scores
Die in Settling
Furnace.

BoYERTOwN, PA, January 1af-i
When nightfall put stop to the work
OF recovering the dead from the ruins
OF the Khoades Opera House, where
last nights holocaust occurred, the Of.
fetal roll OF victims numbered l67.
Whether any more bodies are buried
beneath the ruins cannot be positively
stated. but it is believed that the total
list OF victims will not go above l7a.
The ratio of women and girls to men
and boys Is about nine to one. The
work OF Identification will not BIO be-
gun until tomorrow. as most OF the
bodies are still lying In confused
state at the four improyised morgues.
The inhabitants OF the little borough
In the Berks county hills are tonight
stepped In grief. The calamity has
paralyzed the town OF $500 people.
/ Everybody In the place either lost one
or more relatives. or was intimately
| acquainted with those who died in the
fire. In several cases whole families
have been wiped out
Flames Ragged All Night.
It was almost daylight this morning
before the flames were extinguished
and rescuers We're able to enter the
ruins to remove the dead. TIE morn.
Ing was bitter cold. and by the TINA
the benumbed and exhausted frernen
mass OF burned beams and twisted iron,
the entire ruins were coated with Ice,
and there was danger of the walls
falling. It was Z o'clock before tho
hrst body was removed.
Coroner Strasscr, OF Reading. who
reached the scene last night, had de-
tall of men ready to tag the bodies and
keep a record of the description OF
every corpse removed. The bodies were
cn ha n1 hnvr, $t,%
was little to describe them by. and 1t
Is snfe to say that not half the vic-
tins will ever be identified. The Sec
ond victim was taken from the ruins
about half an hour after the first, and
then the work of recovery moved more
rapidly. BY noon the rescuers became
thoroughly exhausted from, the cold and
hard work, and for q time work came
almost to standstill.
The Philadelphia and Reading Com.
pany sent w. H. Keffer. superintendent
OF the Reading Company and Mr.. Kef-
fer offered the company's assistance to
the coroner. Chief Burgess Kepler was
unable to furnish men to help and
Coroner Strasser Immediately ava'lail
himself OF The railroads proffer. With-
In an hour the company had two cur-
loads of laborers and carpenters on the
ground, and the work Of recovering the
were being taken from the ruins at
the rate of two every five minutes.
No Action Taken.
There were many different stories as
TO the exact cause of the panic and
tlre and there We're several rumors az
arrests, but the borough officials ard
Coroner Strasser tonight denied that
any action whatever had been taken.
The coroner said that his one thought
was to get out all the bodies before a
sleet or snowstorm should set In aud
hamper the work.
The Rhoades Opera House was lo-
Gated on the second floor OF three
story brick building. The nrst floor
was occupied by national bank and
several stores. and the third floor was
used for lodge rooms. The entertaln-
ment hall was large room about
fifty feet wide and seventy-five feet
long. 1t had no gallery. There was a
stairway at the front OF the building
and q narrow exit In the rear OF the
Sides and oN the front of the building.
So far as can be learned there we've
about 4as persons packed In the room.
most5of whom were adults The number
of children present was comparativc-
~ small. There We're about s!Xty-five
persons, all local talent. on the stage,
who Were giving a performance Of the
scottish Reformation.
Curiosity Caused Fire.
The entertainment was nearly over,
the audience waiting for the curtain
to go up on the last part. when some-
thing went wrong with the calcium,
apparatus that was perched on small
platform near the front entrance ot
the building and at the back OF the
audience. The light was in charge os
Fl. w. Fisher, Of Carlisle. Pa. and lie
says a rubber tubing sl,pped from 3no
CT the tanks. at any rate there was 3
slcud Kissing sound, Which caused many
in the audience to turn their heads in
curiosity Ia see what II was. Thc.,,
was absolutely no manic M to this@
time. and nothlns, probnblv wonld hnvc,tS
hannenrd n o,,a ar nors ~ III ,,a,.l