The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1908-03-13

An Able Article on an Allah
Sorbing Question Written by
a High School Subject.

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(By Geo NJ. Osborne in The LEMON
Have you. my dear reader. ever
been at panic at a great IRE where
hundreds Of humans, insane and un-
reasoning with fear. struggled and
pushed and fought In vain attempts
to reach the doorways Of the building
and escape to fresh air and freedom?
Where men forgot their manhood.
shed the coat OF civilization and cul-
ture, and became frightened beasts;
trampling the women and children,
the age and the invalid, under their
feet mingllng their shouts OF fear
with the terrified shrieks of the wo-
men as they sought to gain places OF
safety from the cracking. burning.
red toothed monster, rampant fire?
At times like these. in battle and on
sinking vessels. fear becomes like an
infectious disease, spreading rapidly.
sparing few, destroying all The
strongest men, the most resigned wo-
men, forget their bravery and their
religion, and add their terror to that
Of the crowd. The minds of the null
titude become one. its sole thought
safety, and its only. impulse fear.
You have never seen such panic2
Then. my reader, at It's best your Inn
agination can only picture fraction
of It's dreadful horror.
And in accidents of this character,
It is a proven fact, that few are in
jured by the first cause in compare
son with those destroyed by the slay-
er, Fear. In the fires, the doors and
windows are choked by wedged mass
es of people, so that neither they
nor those behind them can escape
from the flames, and consequently
numbers are trampled and squeezed
to death. In the great IroquoIs the
alter fire in Chicago, in the recent
holocaust in the opera house of a
small Pennsylvania town, and in the
burning of the Lake View public
school at Cleveland, Ohio, on March
3, great part or practically all Of
those that persisted could have been
saved had they kept cool and answer
ed to discipline and to the direction
of those few who retained their
senses and attempted to aid the rest.
Let us take the case of the Lake View
school as an example. Here hundreds
of children became panic stricken,
blocked the exits with masses of
struggling humanity. and as result,
10, and perhaps more, are dead.
By this latest calamity we are re-
minded that our school is practically
without fire drills; and there are hun
dreds OF pupils in the building This
omission is not due to any laxness on
the part of our officials, but to oppo-
sition and hindrance given to such
drills by the students. However, we
have seen the result of the absence
of such precautions, and as a result
we want fire drills. The danger may
never come; but If IT should, we want
to have the habit of answering the
fire signal in an orderly way, SO drill
ed into our natures that though our
minds will be bewildered and
our bodies will voluntarily
answer the well known alarm. and
we march out without confusion and
1t safety.
And we, my fellow students, must
make the thing success. We must
give our teachers encouragement by
our orderly and dignifled behavior;
and, Furthermore, the older students
must set proper examples for the
younger ones to follow. And above
all we must not grumble, Perhaps,
once or twice a week, on fine days,
we may have our studies interrupted
for matter of fifteen minutes or so.
but we must be patient-such risks,
like insurance. are worth the trouble.
Disasters viii come, in spite Of the
greatest precautions, and at the most
unexpected times.
I shall not read you a sermon on
retaining presence of mind, and on
obedience to your teachers, for you
yourselves know that, as well as the
helping and sustaining of your COM
panions, to be necessary. A good
rule for such times would be: BE
cool. be unselfish. be obedient"
Not chance Of such fire again
in a thousand years." 70 say? Yes,
but remember the old adage, that an
ounce Of prevention is worth pound
of cure. And better that every school
in our broad land have fire drills, and
their consequent interruption, every
weew for thousand years, than an
other catastrophe such as that at
Lake View visit US again. snuff out
SO many bright lives, bereave so many
loving hearts, and desolate so many
homes.