Smyrna times., 1911-08-30
SEEK MAN WHO
CAUSED PANIC
$500 Reward For Person Who
Called Fire" in Theatre.
20 KILLED IN CRUSH

Victims Smothered In Crush In Opera
House at Canonsburg, Pa, When
Film Exploded.
Rewards have been offered for the
arrest and conviction of the person
who cried Fire." in the Morgan Op-
era house at Canonsburg, Pa, dur.
ing a moving picture show, causing a
panic in which twenty-eight persons
were trampled to death and at least
forty others hurt.
The police fear that if he is cap
tured he will be dealt with violently
as threats are heard on all sides. A
report was circulated that a suspect
had been arrested. In less than five
minutes 1000 persons started on run
for the little lookup, but were told
that it was all mistake and that no
arrests had been made.
Then, too, the coroner and his as
sistants are preparing for the search
ing inquiry, which is looked to to lay
bare all the facts.
Two residents of Canonsburg are
said to have obtained the roll of films
and to have placed it in a safe to be
used as evidence when the inquest is
held
John Mccullough, operator of the
moving picture machine, had just
thrown the subject of the next series
of pictures on the screen, entitled "a
Little Girl Shall Lead Them" when
the film exploded and the asbestos
cabinet was filled with flames. For
several moments the audience, num-
bering upward of 1900, was totally
unaware of the accident, and the oper-
ator heroically fought down the flames
and succeeded in extinguishing them.
Then, his hands burned and al
most suffocated, he opened the door Of
the little box and staggered out. With
the opening of the door a dense cloud
of smoke poured into the auditorium.
At this moment some person yelled
Fire." The spectators turned in their
seats, saw the smoke, jumped to their
feet and then started the awful rush
for the lone doorway leading to the
narrow, eight-foot stairway
p At the stairway they collided and
ahmed into probably 200 other per
arfons who were awaiting the end OF
~ tfe1re Esint, ehce to take the places loi
Row William d seen the show. Imme
diately the throw stairway was pack
ed and jammed ten feet high with the
dead and dying, the shrieking injured
and the screaming unhurt, while the
crowds of townspeople rushed to the
scene and added confusion to the din.
Within a few moments after the
film flashed and the panic started th'
fire whistles were blown. Practical!
the entire population of the town re
sponded and packed in narrow Pix,
street, from. which the fatal theate
entrance led. All of them were az
parently terror stricken and could Civ
little aid The only cool persons wer
the firemen and the several member
of the police force.
The removal of the dead was tn
only work left for the firemen, an
in it the cooler ones of the spectator
Joined.
Pathetic scenes followed the disa
ter, when friends and relatives of tn
twenty-eight victims sought to identif
bodies at McNary's and Hopper Bros
morgues. Many of the mutilated an
all but dismembered bodies we're gat
cred together at the main entrance I
the building where grief stricken rel
tive tried to identify them.
The bodies were later removed
the morgue. While the room throngt
thicker and thicker with women alte
nately covering their faces, they we
bitterly as they tried to identify mis-
ing loved ones. Men brok down as th'
busted themselves about the same 81
duty