Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1911-08-27

SCORES ARE INJURED
Shout OF "Fire" Brought Hundreds on
Lower Floor and Galleries Into
Exits. Choking Them.

Canonsburg, Pa, Aug ga NOV
ing picture film exploded at $50
O'Clock tonight In the Morgan Opera
House on pike street. causing a panic
in the audience and a mad rush to tho
doors and exits.
Before the theater was emptied of
its people twenty-eight lives had been
sacrificed and their bruised and
crushed bodies We're gathered from the
main entrance of the playhouse and
carried to the morgue while scores
of injured were taken to the Canons-
burg Hospital or to their homes.
The disaster came with a sudden
ness that stunned the people of Can
onsburg and scores walked tho streets
in a dazed condition, seemingly help
less in their terror and grief, for few
homes had escaped the affliction.
The Morgan Opera House is located
in the center of the town in the main
street. It is a large structure and has
two galleries, which with the main
floor affords seating capacity fer one
thousand persons.
The house was crowded at the time.
Not only We're all the seats filled, but
hundreds We're standing in the rear on
the ground floor. The morine picture
cage was located on the SO 4 gallery
floor and it was there that 90 explos-
ion took place. It made loud noise
and showed flash of flame and this
caused shout of "Fire" among the
spectators
Those on the main floor and the
galleries heard the cry and all rose at
once and started for the exits The
stairways leading from the second
gallery brought the spectators there to
the first balcony and then second
stairway led to the main entrance. A
rush Of both galleries to the stairway
caused the exits to become choked in
stantly.
Some of the others, maddened with
fear, sought the fire escapes and
reached the streets in safety. But
those that had made for the main en-
trance not only found their own num-
Der filling the entrance, but they were
stopped in their progress by crowd
of eager hundreds who were trying
to force their way into the theater at
the same time.
These latter saw the crowd coming
out and were trying to get in for the
second performance, which was to be-
gin within few minutes. Both the
performances draw big crowds on Sat
urday nights and this accounted for
the confusion at the main doors.
Screams and shouts from the con-
were heard for considerable distance
from the Opera House. The cry of
Fire" caused an alarm to be turned in
and the firemen quickly responded,
but were almost helpless in their eff
forts to get in the tangled mass of
humanity.
Gradually it was seen that there was
no fire in the building, but the STAN
pede had done it's awful work.
The film booth was fireproof and )
the fire went no further than it's ex
terror A call for volunteers for res |
cue brought great army OF eager and |
frenzied workers to the scene. They |
found bodies mostly in the doorways
at the foot of the stairway and all
we're victims of crushing and tramp
ing from those behind them. A most
pitiable sight was the number of /
who were dead. These we're
taken out almost unrecOgniZkable and
hurried to McMary's undertaking
rooms. The majority Of dead are from :
six to eighteen years of age.
TIE injured came later from the i
building, which was still lighted and
as soon as the struggling ceased it be-
came easy to enter the auditorium.
But in the excitement over the acct
dent it was found that many of the
injured ones had been hurried to their
homes. Physicians were called for
hose carried out. Three were taken i
to the Cannonsburg Hospital at the
outset and then the bodies of the :
dead began to be carried out. Final