The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1908-01-17

Disaster Occurs During a Play
for the Benefit of a Sum
day School.
CAUSED BY EXPLOSION OF GAS
Men. Women and Children Make a
Wild Rush for the Exit Only to
Perish i'm the Mad Stam-
j.. pede for Safety.

BoyertowD, Pa.. In. 14.-One hun
dred and fifty persons. chiefly women
and children, were burned and tram
pied to death in an accident here, and
about seventy-fve are injured. The
borough is in mourning, as 200 fam :
lies had either Il member Or mum
Der of members killed or injured.
1t is estimated that there were four
hundred persons in RhOade's opera
house when an explosion of a gas tank
occurred. The tank was being used IN
connection with moving pictu es. An
amateur performance of Scottish Re-
formation for the benefit of st. Johns
Lutheran Sunday school was being
produced. Instantly after the explosion
occurred some one yelled fire and In
almost less time than it takes to tell It
the center of the opera house was Il
blazing furnace. The rapidity with
which the flames spread was caused
by the upsetting of the coal oil lamps
used as the fOOtlights. Everyone made
for the doors. Then there was a jam
at the narrow exit.
Crushed to Death on Stair.
Many were crushed to death in the
narrow stairway. This was soon filled
with corpses, and scores were driven
back by the terrific jam. Here they
were met by a fierce blaze which owe :
powered the helpless people, and they
succumbed in quick succession.
The fire ragged with the greatest
fury, and in ten minutes the entire
building was a mass of flames. Men
women and children were caught as in
a trap and persisted as if they were so
many flies. In a few minutes more
every one who had not yet escaped
was doomed
Some bad jumped from the windows
and these were picked up by friends
and carried away. The fire in the op-
era house was beyond control from
the instant that it started, and word
was sent to Reading and POttstown.
The latter sent a fire engine and doc
tors and nurses on a special train, but
the fire fighters only arrived in time
to save neighboring property.
Victims Thrown into Basement.
The fire was not brought under con-
troll until early in the morning. The
physicians and nurses sent to Boyer
town from Reading aided material Y il
alleviating the sufferings of the in
1ured who had leaped from the WIN
dows in their mad rush to escape the
flames. Early in the day about fifty
members of the state constabulary
which is stationed in this district cam,
over from Reading on special train
The work of removing the bodies
from the debris will be unusually tedi
Gus and hazardous. When the crush
was at it's height the floor gave way.
precipitating many persons to the
basement and the bodies of these will
be buried beneath the charred timberS
and tons of brick from Il ruined
wallis. In addition to the opera house
and Farmers National bank. RAINS
hardware store and the dwellings, of
George Rain, Harry Pennypacker and
monetary loss will amount to about
$4,000
Story of an Eye Witness.
Reuben w. Slower. one of those who
fire said:
"Wheu the explosion occurred there
was at least thirty boys and girls on
the stage while many more were be-
hind the scenes. Without warning,
there was terrific explosion which
seemed to shake the entire building.
immediately there was wild rush fo'
the exits. The people on the stage
jumped over the footlights into the arl-
dience. Everybody seemed to have
lost control of themselves.
1.-THE flames first consumed the
scenery and then came to the crowd
like wave and the' suffocatpg smoke
dropped men, women and children i'll
its path. The flames did the rest 1t
was a pitiful sight and will carry the
recollection as long as | live. Once
the crowd began to fight its way to-
ward the doors no power on earth
could have saved all the lives, but had
the men not lost control of them
selves the loss of1ife would have been
very SMALL
Some of the Known Dead.
Exactly how many were killed may
never be known, for among the vic
TINS were a number of visitors who
may have no relatives to trace their
untimely fate. The list of known dead
is as follows:
Mrs. John Becker and two children
DR.. Charles Mayer and daughter. Rob
ert Lapish, child of Rev. A. NJ. Weber
Lulu Fegley, Miss Elma Engle, Mrs
Ira Shober, Mrs. Richard Turner. Mrs
Daniel Krause, Mrs. George Romine
MI. aud Mrs. Herbert Gottschal,, Her