The Mena weekly star., 1911-08-31
(6 DIE IN PANIC 1 1T PICTURE SHOW
o.,rx AND CHILDREN JAMMED
 so ax STAIRS WHEN SOMEONE WELLS FIRE"
,,..e Than Sixty Hurt-Victims Are u,oeked Down and TrampIed hy n Human Mass Ten
 Feet High-Flames Out.

*W l1~HfN
 ,.ore than sixty injured tonight
 ,,,ban a moving picture film explod-
 aa in the Canonsburg opera house.
 Immediately following the flash of # ha film some person shouted" Fire"
 Thore was a rush for the exit and
 h moment there was writhing snoss m of humanity ten feet high in ,be ,, narrow stairway leading to the entrance of the theater. The panic, !, is said, was senseless. The fire escape was not used.
 Most of the dead were smothered. majority of the audience was eomnosed of women and children. n fine fierce rush for the exit, they were thrown from their feet and trampled. Others were thrown up- m them and those at the bottom of inc human pile were suffocated.
 When two volunteer fire depart manls reached the theater the sight staggered them. Those of the audi ence who had escaped from the huilding and other persons drawn in the scene were rushing Inef- fectiyely about the front of the huildine. No person was making any effort to aid the struggling mass within the theater.
 Panic in the Street.
 The flremen pushed into the building and threw persons into the street. As the elected ones regained their feet they ran shrieklng in ter ror about the streets. As the fire men neared the bottom of the pile they began to bring out the uncon- scious forms of the injured and later came the dead.
 The dead were laid in a row along | the sidewalk. Relatives fought and struggled to break past the guards and reach the victims.
 John Mccullough, operator of the moving picture machine, had just thrown the subject of a 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, numbering i,500 persons, was un- aware of the accident, and the op- orator heroicaily fought down the flames and extinguished them with | his hands.
 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 yell- ed Fire" The spectators turned | in their seats, saw the smoke, jump | ed to their feet and simultaneously all started in the awful rush for the lone doorway leading to the eight foot stairway.
 Waiting on Stairway.
 At the stairway the fleeing women and children ran into 200 other per- sons who were waiting admisslon.I
 Immediately the narrow stairway was packed ten feet high with the | dead and dying, the injured, and those who somehow escaped un- hurt.
 In the excitement a women threw | her infant child from the side win- dow of the theater, 50 feet from the l ground. J. w. Reese caught the ln- fant in his arms and placed 1t in l charge of woman at fruit store. Up to late tonight the child was not claimed.
 When the body of Mrs. Harry Kel- ly was found, she was clasping tight to her breast her 5-year-old son. The lad had died of suffocation, but there was not a bruise or scratch on his body.
 Miss Mary Craig, pianist at the theater, when the cries of fire sounded and the crush started, be- gan playing a slow march. Over and over she played the selection, never faltering. Many in the crush caught the swing of the music and tired to hold back the crowd. When the audience had swept from the building Miss Craig left, uninjured.
 OdliuilSbuIS, Ed, hue. @o.-- hue the Morgan opera house, in which the panic occurred was death trap, is the startling result of the investigation being conducted by state officials.
 Burgess NJ. Dunlap, Sr., said For years people had been saying that something would happen at the opera house. We have no building inspection ordinances and no building inspectors, so the building was never officially con- demned. I might say that the pub lie had condemned it, but still at tended the shows and other gather lngs Tn the building wiiIJh was all so used for school commencements annually. There were baby car riages standing in the corridor out side the auditorium, but how much they had to do with causing the death roll will have to be deter mined by the jury"
 Manager c. F. Ferguson, of the opera house, said today:
 T don't feel myself to blame, but l will never reopen the theater. But I deny that there was any danger. The law was religlousiy regarded. There were TIA tickets sold for Saturday nights perform ance. i66 of which were in the ball