The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-03-06
ENTIRE TOWN IS
IN MOURNING
FIRE HORROR IS
FELT IN EVERY HOME.
CORONER BEGINS INQUEST.
Many Bodies Are SO Badly Burned
that Identification Is impossible
Janitor Claims Fire Was Work
Of lncondiary.

Cleveland, March 6.--The total mum.
ber of bodies recovered from the ruins
of the school house at Colinwood that
was destroyed by fire Wednesday Is
161. OF these 131 have been positively
identified.
The Collinwood city council has ap-
propriated money to defray the ex.
pense OF the funerals.
In the meantime investigations as to
the cause of the fire and the culpabll.
ity, II any, of the persons responsible
for II have been started.
Coroner Burke has begun his in.
quest Several witnesses testified
Thursday.
There are few families in Collinwood
but have lost one or more children.
The whole town is I'm mourning. Those
whose children were saved are griev.
ing with the ones that lost their chill.
dren.
No plausible reason for the fire has
been given The janitor, Fred Hirter
states that the fire started In the base.
ment In the front of the building, He
said that there was not a scrap OF
loose paper anywhere and that none
OF the boys were allowed In that part
OF the building. He blames II upon an
incendiary.
"The fire could not possibly have
started except through some persons
deliberate and malicious act" said he.
The people OF Collinwood think diff.
ferently.
Chief Inspector OF Workshops and
Factories Morgan is at Collinwood In.
vestigating the construction of the
Ia t,, I,tas
the belief was expressed that the
building was faulty i'm construction.
severe penalty Is provided for such
violation of the state laws.
Expressions of sympathy for the peo-
pie come from all sources and many
steps for the relief of suffering are be.
Ing taken.
The Colllnwood board of trade and
the town council met Thursday and ap-
pointed relief committee The com
mittee will take charge of the bodies
that cannot be recognized.
If any family that has lost IA child
aud cannot find the boy or girl should
wish to bury one of the unrecogni2a-
BILE bodies, they will be permitted to
do SO. The rest of the bodies will be
laid side by side in the cemetery
Fire Marshlls Brockman and Felgen-
baum examined the dorways In the
school Thursday, but little could be
determined, as the doors had been
burned Off
The fire marshals questioned many
persons aud gave out the Information
late in. the day that they were con
vinced that the doors opened outward.
Whether they were locked or not
they have not yet been able TO deter
mine. They have testimony on both
sides. Some say that both doors were
locked, others that one was locked, and
still others say that all doors were
open.
Thirty-nlne police guarded the fire.
swept school house and the morgue in
the city hall in COlinwood Thursday
and superintended the search for
bodies and the Identification of those
recovered.
The crowd about the morgue was so
great that the police were almost over
powered many times. Mothers and
fathers who had lost children demand
ed admittance. Many of them were
almost insane with grief and the suffer
Ing caused by the horrible suspense
aud would not take no for an answer.
A few were admitted, but the ma
jority had to remain outside the fire
lines, The police, in many cases, had
to use force to keep the people out.