The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-28
Boys Cry Of Fire"
Precipitates Wild
: Struggle.
DEATH KNELL FOR
MORE THAN SCORE
Giant Miner Rushes for Exit, and
in Moment Pleasure-Seekers
Are Piled Up in Fighting,
/ Suffocating Mass-Broken
Film and Flash of Light
the Cause.


ty-six dead from sunocation. twenty
hVe seriously injured thirty suffering
from minor hurts-that is the human
Toll exacted last night during the in
e1cusaDle panic at moving picture
show In the Canonsburg Opera House.
me moving picture machine developed
slight defect A small boy shouted
Are" at the same time starting for
the narrow exit. Bolus Dubrowski a
foreign miner. one of the dead giant
IN proportions. jumped from his seat
and ran wildly for the same exit In a
moment there was n lighting. strug-
cling mass after him. At the head OF
a narrow stairway. which led TO the
street. tho foreigner tripped. AZ he
rolled dow nthe stairs he swept others
before him who were waiting their
turn TO enter the theatre and soon
there was an indescribable pile of hu-
man beings at the foot OF the steps,
battling like mad With the excep-
tion OF three persons, all of the dead
are local people.
All Over In Short Time.
1t was all over within short time.
Volunteer Aremen. several policemen
ana Few level-headed' citizens UNI
tangled the human mass. The unhurt
and those slightly injured were pulled
from the top of the pile. AS they
gained the street. they ran screaming
like maniacs to all parts OF the small
town. Next came the more seriously
injured. and these were sent home or
taken TO nearby houses, while a few
were rushed, Unconscious. to the hos
pitfalls.
Then the reseuers came to the silent
forms of those who had reached the
fatal stairway lrst. One after another
the victims, many of them women and
small children, We're carried to the
y Nva1 IL
the faces showed terror
Coroner James Hefran has begun a
rigid investigation He arrived at the
scene early to-day. and within a short
tilne had selected e Jury.
The moving picture machine oper-
ator was about 10 conclude the first
performance when a flm parted Some
OF the audience already had commenced
TO cave the building and other per-
sons we're on the stairway coming up.
Dubrowskrs wild flight through the
theatre and his subsequent stumble
down the stairs Into those entering
the building. was the beginning of
the death struggling jam at the foot
OF the stairs. The bodies clogged the
doorway. Men walked over them and
fought for positions OF safety until.
overwhelmed br the weight from the
moving mass they. too. were crushed
10 death When the doorway had been
nlled. still other persons walked over
the bodies of those who had gone
down, and breaking the glass transom
over the door crawled through and
dropped into the street.
Endenvors to Stop Panic.
During this time Manager Ferguson
had endeavored 10 stop the panic. Ac-
companied by his wife he started for
the stairs when the first alarm was
given bat seeing there was no escape,
then made his way to the stage. Call
Ing loudly to the frightened people 10
follow him, he led the way to the rear
OF the stage. and fully 800 escaped in
this way.
The alarm had been quickly spread.
Persons standing on the street at the
entrance to the opera house endeavore d
to eXtricate struggling men and wo-
men from the rapidly rising pile OF
bruised and bleeding flesh but to no
purpose. An alarm of FIRE was sounded.
and iremen and policemen hurried to
the scene. When they arrived they
lent their efforts to saving those still
within the building and to opening IN
the doorway In ten minutes the opera
house was empty. and in half an hour
twenty bodies had been recovered
OF the twenty-six dead thirteen were
children. seven pupils in the public
schools. To-day IL was decided by the
school authorities to postpone Tor a
week the opening of the schools.
Arthur McPeake, aged twenty. who
is among the dead. was passing whe,:
the bodies began to pile up at the door.
The young man rushed to the rescu.
and was in the act of dragging body
from the pile when a man came hurt
ling down the stairs. lie struck Nc
Peake on the back and the Young
mans neck was broken.
Sydney Rittiger aged thirty. OF
Youngstown, Ohio. was a; the perform
ance with his nancee. Miss Lulu Fisher.
aged twenty-eight, of Glen Campbell
Pa. Before entering the building they
had stopped at jewelry store near by.
and Rittiger had bought the ring that
was TO have been used at their we'd
ding. Roth were killed
Finds Children Dead
Wilmer Lane. volunteer fireman.
fastened to answer the alarm, and was
working at the pile Of bodies al the
entrance when he came upon the life
less forms of his two children lyins
beside his unconscious wife.
Samuel Lane entered the building a
short time before the alarm was given
He was making his way down when
he saw child almost under his feet.
AS he stopped to pick her up he rec
ognlzed mis- granddaughter, hut at tina
moment he was caught in this mighty
whirl, and she was swept out of his
reach and killed: Lane was seriously
hurt.
1t developed during the day thu,
there was no flash, nor was there tho
slightest sign OF fire.
Manager Ferguson, Of the opero
house. explained that when the MIN.
broke bright light was thrown OF,
the screen The frightened boy imap