The Washington herald., 1908-01-16
BODIES NUMBER III
More Are Found in Ruins Of
BOyertOwn Theater.
THIRTY STILL ARE MISSING
Fully One Hundred Killed in Panic
Were Women and Girls, and at
Grayes-0perator Denies blame for
the Disaster-Fears for Wife.

Boyertovu. Pa, Jan IS. - The total
number of bodies taken from the ruins OF
the Rhoades opera House amounted to-
( night 90 I7L or this number 10 are
women and girls. 43 men and boys, and
the sex Of the Others cannot be deter
mined. There are suH about 90 missing.
The relief committee completed arrange
ments 30 keep the temporary morgue
open until late tonight At least 60. and
maybe Co. viii go TO nameIess graves. a
large buTiap bag. containing many arms
and legs. was inferred In Fairvlew Gene
terry this afternoon
The citizens held mass meeting in the
auditorium tonight TO discuss means Of
helping the survivors. and at 9 O'Clock
the relief committee met The railroads
are running specials to Pottstown.
The hotels are unable 10 accommodate
the visitors. and many Of the citizens are
opening their doors 10 those who have
been brought here TO look after their
dead IL viii take tomorrow and pos
sibly Friday to complete the idenudea-
ton.
Care for Orphans.
Charitable institutions IN Philadelphia
have sent word that they will take care
of all the children made orphans by the
disaster. The tendency TO place the blame
FOR the tragedy on Henry c. Fischer of
Chicago. the young man who operated
the stereoptieon at the opera house snow.
was met this afternoon by an application
from him for fair play. Fischer was
badly burned. but escaped. II was the
kissing Of "a valve on one Of his gas tanks
that caused the person on the stage 10
upset the hmps
"As God is my witness" he said. 7 am
not to blame for this horrible thing.
did not cause the deaths Of these poor
people. There was no explosion Of any
tank, either before or during the panic.
The tanks themselves are still intact.
THE lamps were upset and the cur
tain caught fire The flames swept back
over the audience Ike big fed sheet
and We were forced to flee Before left
my post I disconnected the tubes from the
lantern and turned the stop cocks so that
no gas could escape. After leaving the
tanks I was hurled back by the crowd
and was pushed through side window TO
a fire escape"
Fischer VIII be called by the cOroner's
jury, which has been impaneied
Thought House All Right.
DR.. J. T. B. Rhoades. who owned the
ruined opera house and the tenement
houses in the fear. declared this afternoon
that he could not be held responsible
for the loss Of life by any infringement of
either the laws of the State or the stipu-
lations of the fire insurance companies.
He admitted that the theater had no
asbestos curtain which was installed in
many of the Dlayhouses Of the country
after the Iroquois Theater disaster in Chi
cago.
Reporters reminded him that an as
bestos curtain would not have caught fire
from an overturned oil lamp
THAT might be- replied Dr. Rhoades.
''but that old oil painting curtain was
good one. Why it did good service for
twenty-five years"
Waited for Electricity.
The use Of oil lamps for footHghts.
when the borough was supplied with gas.
ard gas pipes ran past the opera house.
brought another remarkable answer from
the aged theatrical manager and moneyed
man Of the town.
Il thought that an electric plant. he
said, would be installed here before
long. and. as I wanted the opera house
10 be as modern as possible, I thought I
would wait until electricity could be used
in the building
After a search of forty-eight hours. the
man who. in raising the curtain upon the
stage Of the opera house. is said to have
caused the fire by Oyerturning the row Of
oil lamp footlights, has been found. He
is George A. Romig, a prominent citizen
Continued on Page 3, Column ..
RuEs-Rugs-RugA
Al - Naaa