Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-23

ones TO hurry out as there was fire
| in the theater. Some OF them left with
out waiting for their wraps and brave1
| the driving snow storm in their even
ing clothes. Alarm spread among the
actors. and many Of the young women
left the building by the stage entrance
and went out into the storm without
givg thought to their scant and uncon-
ventlonal attire With the Temperature
lowering around the 20's and a fierce
| wind driving the falling snow into
their faces the chorus girls heat
hasty retreat for cover at the Marlboro
hotel, block further up Broadway
where they We're made comfortable
The fire probably lid $4,000 damage to
the front part of the theatre building
and To the gallery Of the auditorium. A
saloon and cigar store next dool were
practically. destroyed.
A fire on Broadway is always Il spec
tdcrllar affair To the crowd and coming
as it did tonight, when the theatres were
pouring their thousands into the streets
to mingle with the. bcl@tcd Christmas
shoppers. quickly caused tremendous
lam in the neighborhood of Herald
Square. A driving snowstoIm which has
disssIran2ed all street car traffic on
broadway. ard the added Inconvenience
of = strike Of the cab drivers all tended
to create 2 rather unusual state OF con-
fusion So great was the crush in the
neiehborhood that the absence Of any
casualties seemed surprising.
ONLY the GOODNESS of the thc1tre At
taches prevented anything in the way
al low
cred upon the final ensemble The orcitos-
ira continued to play. ard P"Iicn In
spector McClosky and Deputy Police
Commissioner Hansen. who wera in The
audience. went quickly 10 the exit aud
quietly reassured those who lad disror-
cred the smoke in the second gallery.
Eehird the curtain there was a good dedl
of excitement Two Of the girls became
hvste,ical ard had To he carried to
nearby hotel by other members Of the
company. Some of Them calmly removed
their stage costumes and d"nE"d iheir
street clothcs. but many ~ them lett
the building prccipitately. When II be-
came known through the dep"ltiGS AUDI
ence that there was q fire in the hAlldinS
there was = crush around the cloak room
bv those who had checked ther wraps,
Inspcctor McCloskv ordered the theatre
cleared before all of these could ne gwen
their wraps and many men and women
in evening dress went int" tie streets
and stood around on Rroadway for time
hoping to recover their wraps. Th'N were
forced however. through stress ot Weuh'
er finally to leave without them
Several of the actors after thr IRE
Mas out that they had seen the Shohe
for some time before Treasurer Lyon
came h, hind the scenes and ordered the
performance cut short. but that th'9
Went on With the songs and ditiI'eS
in order not to alarm the audience
Among the occupants "t IN" "'M'
was a party consisting uf Mr.. ana MfS'
Reginald Vanderbilt. Miss 'afron -
Winslow and others. They made the"
,scapt toward the broadway ehtra""'
as soon as the crowd began I" moNe
toward the door and got "ui Nlth "il"-
Guilty
Some time after the IRE Wa" li"e
ticallv out the theatr" gallery zen "'N'
! "A moment later 50 feet of til" r"ol "i'
the broadway end of the bulIdhs tahe
down The damage was cohIihe" "
the angle formed by Broadway ana o'''
street, in which was located the tl'''
of the Shuberts. Lee Shupert 'a''
said that he estimated the loss dt "
tween $50 900 and $4,000.