The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-05
Less Than 80 of the 325 Pupils in Primary School Near Cleveland Escape
 Unharmed.
HEAP AT FOOT OF STAIRS
Hcartrending Scenes Enacted il Parents Futile Endeayor to
 Drag Children from
 Flames.

Cleveland O., March 4-Penned i'll marrow railways, damned up against doors that only opened inward, between one hundred and sixty and one hun dred and seventy school children in the suburb of North Colllngwood were killed to-day by fire and smoke or be- meath the grinding heels of their panic stricken playmates.
 The awful tragedy occurred this morning in the public school of North Collingwood. ten miles cast of this city. At 10 o'clock tonight one hundred and siXty-five corpses were in tie morgue at Collingwood six children were still unaccounted for, and all the hospitals and houses for two miles around con tained numbers of children. some fa- tally, and many less seriously injured, All of the victims were between the ages of six and fourteen years. The school contained between BIO and S25, and of this entire number only about eighty are known to have left the building unhurt It will be several days before the actual number of kill cd is known as the ruins still may con- tain other bodies and the list of fatal ities may be increased by deaths among the children who are now lying in the hospitals in a precarious con dition.
 The school house was of brick, two stories and an attic in height. The number of pupils was more than nor mally large, and the smaller children had been placed in the upper part of the building. There was but one fire escape, and that was In the rear of the building. There were two stair ways, one leading to g door in front, and the other to door in the rear. Both of these doors opened inward and 1t is claimed the rear door was locked as well.
 When the flames were discovered the teachers, who throughout seem to have acted with courage and self-possesSon and to have struggled heroically for the safety of their pupils. marshaled, the little ones into column for the fire drill" which they had often practiced Unfortunately the line of march in this exercise had always led to the front door and the children had not been trained to seek any other exit The fire to-day came from a furnace situated directly under this part of the building
 When the little ones reached the foot of the stairs they found the flames close upon them and so swift a rush was made for the door that in an instant tightly packed mass of chill dren was piled up against it. From that second none of those who were upon any portion of the first flight of stairs had a chance for their lives. The children at the foot of the stairs attempted to fight their way back to the floors above, while those who were coming down showed them mercilessly back into the flames below. In an in- stsnt there was a frightful panic with two hundred of the pupils fighting for their lives Most of those who were killed died here. The greater part of those who escaped managed to turn back and reached the fire escape and the windows in the rear
 What happened at the foot of that first flight, of stairs will never bt known for all of those who were caught in the full fury of the panic were killed After the flames had died away. however, a huge heap of little bodies told the tale as well as anybody need to know It.
 The statement that the back door oi the building was locked was made bS Walter C. Kelley. the editor of thr sporting department of the Clevelent Leader, two of whose children wer, killed.
 About the burned schoolhouse thert are but few residences. In one of thes' Mrs. Clark Sprung lived. Her littl, boy, Alvon. aged seven, was a pupil il the second grade, When the fire start ed the mother ran over to the schoo and arrived when the first floor was mass of flames. At window on tha floor she saw the face of her little boy He recognized her and pleaded for help
 Rushing across the street Mrs Sprung secured a step ladder and plac ed it against the window. Climbing ul she reached for her boy. She caugh him by the hair. It burned off in he hands and tho lad fell back into tn, flames,
 Miss Ethel Rose q teacher on tn, first floor of the building, whose pu pills were the youngest in the school managed to get all but three of he charges out of the building in safety Two of the smaller ones she carried il her arms
 Miss Anna Moran, the principal o the school, and two of the teachers Miss Gollmar and Mss Rowley, escape bv one of the windows in the rear. The remained with the panic stricken chil dren until they could do no more fo them and then sought their own safers
 Miss Laura Bodey. the only teache on the third floor, formed her pupil in line and marched them down to tn seoond floor. where finding the flame rushing up the stairway. she turne them around and hurried them bac again to the third floor. She here brok window with chair. and getting on to the platform of the fire escape lift ed her pupils one by one and ser them down.
 The suburb of Collingwood contain about 5000 inhabitants. and within ha an hour after the outbreak of tn