Year: 1876

IAdIuludblOu.


Now that the excitement occasioned by the burning
Of the Brooklyn Theatre is subsidng there stll
questions lett open for discussion and action. such
calamity as the Brooklyn holocaust is apt to ap
peal to tho imagination than to the reason, and the
sacrifice becomes less painful the OF the sacrifice
is too generally overlooked In the present case one
dreadful event followed upon another in such rapid
succession that lost sight In the conem-
platon of results There was the fire ITSELF at first
believed to be comparatively unimportant
sident The scene the stage
exceedingly vivid one but those who escaped
from the burning building had adequate conception
p the terrible struggle which had taken place on the
gallery stairs When The morning came the reality
vas iound to be SO astounding that the imagna
.on of Poe would fail in conceivng its horrors. No
language has vocabulary sufficiently rich color to
portray the CHASTITY outlines Of the tragedy. Then the
recovery and identification OF the dead and
the experiences Of the eye-wnesscs of
the disaster claimed public attention almost to the
exclusion OF tho duties imposed upon the State, the
community and the direction of all places of
by the dreful calamity. Subsequently the prep
araons for sepulture and the last rites oil burial
ing upon highly wrought sympathies, continued TO
divert attention to extent from the practical
considerations Now however that these have
been performed public interest begins to turn the
other direction. aud the public mind is inquirng why
these accidents are possible in age Of improvement
ike the present.


is THERE SAFETY ASywHERE9


In the metropolitan churches to-day this question
ought TO be the theme of every pulpit The disaster
will be the subject of most OF the discourses. but
whether these will have the practical turn demanded
by tho to be II would DO foolish
for the clergy to denouncc tho theatre wickedncss
out Of which the disaster sprung Perhaps 1t would be
fooihardy also, for there few churches either in
New York Brooklyn absolutely safe against a sim
liar calamity. Most OF plae OF worship have but
single place of ext-a narrow veslibue-into which
connarration would drive the multitude from
both asics oil the building and by creating the mex
trcablc confusion Of panic make escape impossible.
AS regards the theatres, may be assumed that not
OF them is sae No architectural law has yet been
discovered which make them places OF absolute
security. 1t Is of the necessities Of theatrical on
terprise that the greatest number of people shall be
put into the smallest OF space. Except for the
parquet and orchestra, sairways, and in most
cases exceedingly narrow ones, are unavoidable
Even in the lower part of the auditorium
the aslcs and passages usually very
narrow, and in many theatres these lead to but
of egress. In the galleries rapid egress still
more difficult though it may be question whether
this is not after ALL advantage, by preventing the
crowdng OF the stairways, though il must not be tor
gotten that where these narrow death by suioca
tion certain Tor those who remain behind as tho
doom of those who their fate in the madness of
the panic.


POSSIBILITIES OF THE FUTURE


Ii is not mpossbie that any one OF our theatres
may be the scene OF a calamity awful as that which
took place the Brooklyn Theatre Tuesday night
Take the Park Theatre example 1t is truc there
Is a means Of cgress from the auditorium under the
stage into Twenty second street besides tho main
entrance. In OF fire like that IN Brooklyn this
would be cut of altogether and nothing would be lett
but the hole in the which let's the audience
into Broadway. There the streams OF people
madly rushing from the parquet would meet the mad
stampede from the galleries. and terrible scene would
be enacted the first landing right over the box
Office 1t might well be feared that the shaky stair
ways leading the upper tiers at Booths would give
way, and If the multitude in the orchestra the un
reasoning moment of panic should forget the unused
means OF exit Twcniy-third street aud block the
main LOBBY the crowd rushing down the principal
stairway would marx many victims OF disaster. Al
though tho entire fronts Of the Fifth Avenue and
Lyceum theatres open into tho street, tho
distractions OF stairways and boxes and mar
low doorways would help to madden and
destroy The Union Square has only double
door leading into the parque and this is by the loot
front gallery stairs There Is nothing nvdious
naming theatres because lew OF the others
better provided and the nature OF things Is not
,asy to see how they could be


WHERE THEATRE FIRES pEGrS-TmE REMEDY.


In nearly every of burning theatie, especially
when an audience assembled, the ire begins on the
stage. 1t follows almost a corollary that IN consc
aucnce the audience exposed to only two dangers
the risk suIocation and the appalling caiamiiies Of
Panic Everything which is an obstruction 10 the too
rapid exit the audience TO narrow starways rs, per-
haps beneficial in time OF panic amo ng public as
sembagc but then the dangers OF sunocaton are im-
onseiy increased while there Is no security that an
egress Will DO prevented by accidents Ike that
which beicl tho unfortunate woman who was
prccipitated across tho stairway in Brooklyn
The great hope then, making tho audito-
rum a separate structure from the Stage and
so confnng behind the ootIights TO the limits OF
the proscenium wall In Paris this Is now cone by
means OF o metal curtain, readily lowered as the
act drop This would not only connne tho IRE but the
smoke TO tho stage where II begun but by giving con-
adcnce TO the audience diminish the chances o.