Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 148, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1904 — Page 2

FIXING THE BLAME.

CORONER BEGINS INQUEST ON IROQUOIS HORROR. Hundrcdsof Witnesses to Be Examined ■nd Many Give Incriminating Testimony—Grewsome Scenes Recounted --Effort Is to Place Responsibility. Grief for the dead of the Iroquois fife was thrust aside in Chicago Thursday by the grim procedure of the law bearing upon the calamity. The coroner's inquest over the bodies of the victims of tite holocaust was begun at 10 o'clock in the City Council chamber. Relentless inquiry was begun, to follow in the wake of tin 1 death-laden disaster and into the grand jury room. Witnesses heard told and retold in terrible detail the story of the tire and panic. Out of the mass of evidence the main fact apparent was the utter carelessness. blundering and criminal negligence that resulted in the sacrifice of human life. ’'lroquois” was .written into the record of the coroner to stand forever a synonym for dealh_iu.ore terrible thati the atrocious vengeance with which the tribal name has ever been associated. It will probably take two weeks to gather together the mass of -evidence as -STThe cause of the lire and the reason for its quick spread through the theater. More than 200 witnesses will testify at the inquest, which is conducted bi person by Coroner Tracger and Deputy Coroner Buckley. The witnesses include actors, stage hands, spectators who were in the playhouse and officials and ether attaches of the theater. Powers and Davis Testify, Harry J. Powers and Writ J. Davis, Chicago managers of the Iroquois Theater, which burned, killing 591' people, made their first statements under oath Wednesday. Fire Department Attorney Fulkerson had them brought before him for examination. In answer to his inquiries both men professed to have no personal knowledge of the management of the theater; were uninformed as whether employes had instructions for action at time of fires or panic; were uninformed as to what fire apparatus was in the house; had only given most general instructions to their subordinate manager, and did not know how many people were in the theater when the fire broke out. Vital Points of Evidence. Balcony aisles crowded far beyond the safety point, ushers ignorant of what to do in case of fire, a <tage with scarcely, any appliances for extinguishing a blaze, and stage hands who lost their heads at the critical moment —these were some of the disclosures made to the coronefs jury •t the second day of the inquest over the Iroquois theater victims. ■ To gain the facts by whit’ll they hope to fix the blame for the holdeaust, Coroaer Traeger and Deputy Buckley cross examined the witnesses closely. All eave the chorus girls stood the test well, but one of them. Miss Edith Williams of New York, fainted. Most of the questions asked of stage hands, employes and members of. the “Mr. Bluebeard” company were regarding fire apparatus and the failure of the “asbestos” curtain. The queries put to spectators were concerning the exits and the crowded condition of the house. Out of the mass of evidence the following are a few of the important

EXAMINING IROQUOIS THEATER MANAGERS.

Attorney Fulkerson sits bn the right; on the left in front is Will J. Davis; at Ills side and Just back of him is Harry J. Powers.

threads: There were no fire extinguishers on the stage except ,twn tubes of kilfyre. There were no leads of hose for the standpipes. There were no instructiops as to action In case of fire. . There had li/'en no fire drills of employes. The ushers made no attempts to open •xita. The aisles of the top balcony and the ■peal at the rear of the first balcony were crowded. The exits toward the alley were never •pened during performances. Two of the three exits toward the main •■trance on the first balcony were closed at time of fire. The stage hands became confused and were slow in handling the ‘“asbestos" ewrtaln. The stories that brought out these facte were in many chses dramatic in extreme. But tliF eoronor and his deputy wanted to get at facts bearing on tht causes of "the disaster, and when they found a witness who was witting to tell end knew what he was talking about they went straight to the point. la Robert E. Murray, the theater engineer, the jury found its most valuable witness. He said that although there ware four standpipes in the building Jhee* was only fifty feet of hose, and that was hidden somewhere in the smoking •oom. In bis two hour* of testimony the engineer supplied the Jury with much valuable information. * Shortly after Murray, John Klrwnn, an usher, Hk years old, testified that the Iroquois had employed boys to care for * patrons. . a

—From the Chicago Tribune of the Monday following the Iroquois Theater catastrophe.

In the afternoon Millard Sayles, until two weeks before the fire one of tire balcony ushers,- told how the nmlilorinin employes were managed. He declared G. M. I insenberry, who had charge of the house, had Dever held a file drill, had never given the boys instructions regarding a stampede or panic, nor told them how to handle the exit doors. “I never saw the iron doors of the alley exits open.” said the witness. “On the opening night the house was overheated, and I opened the inner doors of one of the exits. Mr. Will J. Davis eanie up and told me not to do that unless he gave me the orders.” The conditions on the stage during the fire were explained by seven members of the “moonlight octet,” who were to have gone on the stage just as the fire broke -out,— Their- story was roumled outby Willard Mae Lean, a stage hand. Of the lowering of the curtain lie said: “From where I stood it seemed to me that the men wlro should have handled the curtain were confused. It was not for a curtain call arid they hesitated. Their inaction took time.”. There were plenty of witnesses to tell of the crowded condition of the house, but the most important was Rupert D. Laughlin, 1505 Wrightwood avenue. He declared that there were women seated in the aisles, and that there were two rows standing against the rear wall.

Both sessions of the jury were brought to an unexpected close by announcenients that death had claimed some of the people injured' on the day of the fire. The two deaths made the coroner's total of fire victims 568. The police list is now 593. The testimony went to show that there were l.(j(M> people seated in the theater nnd probably IIMJ standing. It was said that the Iroquois Theater Company ia incorporated,- but the officers were not' prepared to say that the building had been legally accepted from the George 4, Fuller Construction Company. Treasurer I’owers approximated the amount paid to the construction company thus far ns $330.0d0, nnd said he believed about $100,(MX) more was owing. Mr. Noohan, business manager of the thenter, who also testified, said he knew that people were allowed to stand up on the lower floor back of the last row of seats, but insisted that he did not authorize Head Usher DnsOnberry to permit this. He nlso admitted tlmt two of the main doors in the second tier in the foyer were locked,- but ns to whether the several doors barring the way to other exits were locked he was not sure. When the Iroquois fire started the audience viewed it with calmness, and in fancied security sat and waited, with astonishing faith, until death suddenly swooped out from the proscenium arch nnd claimed nearly 900 souls. This terrible fact was brought out with distinctness at the first session of the inquest. The great audience, largely mafic up of women and children, firmly believed in the safety of the Iroquois Theater. For several minutes after the sparks began to fly on the stage the audience remained practically motionless, watching the stage bands trying to extinguish the fire.

HIS SUNDAY DINNER.

WHAT WAS REQUIRED—AND GIVEN AT THE IROQUOIS THEATER

ON THE STAGE. Fire apparatus. None at the Iroquois. Men able to use <t. None at the Iroquois. A fire alarm box. None at the Iroquois. Incombustible seen- None at the Iroquois, cry. No loose or flying Some at the Iroquois, flaps. A steel fireproof cur- None nt the Iroquois, tain. A sprinkler system. None at the Iroquois. An automatic vent!- None at the Iroquois. —lator. - ' Protected lights. None at the Iroquois. Frequent inspections. None at the Iroquois. IN THE AUDITORIUM. Straight aisles lead- Few at the Iroquois. Ing to exits. Plenty of them and Few at the Iroquois, unobstructed. r.road, straight stair- None at the Iroquois, ways. Sufficient space be- Not much at the Iro-' tween seats. qnois. Wide fire escapes, None at the Iroquois, easy of access. . In<rependcnf exits (Few at the Iroquois, from galleries. 1 * Opening of these 1 Not—practiccdatthe exits. Iroquois. Independent light- Not used at the IroIng systems. qUois. No “stan di n g Much at the Iroquois. room.” ALE OVER THE HOUSE Frequent tire drills. None at the Iroquois.

John D. Rockefeller proposes to plant three carloads of young maple trees on his estate at Tarrytown, N. Y. Joseph Jefferson has declined to visit Australia, where, forty~ years ago, he made a great hit with “Rip Van Winkle." A tablet is to be creeled in memory of John Adam Dazyr, the first shoemaker in Lynn, Mass., and the founder of that city's great industry. Senator Tillman of South Carolina is credited with knowing more as to the contents of the Bible than the average member of the Senate. A set of silver mounted dueling pistols once owned by George Washington was purchased by a New York dealer the other day at an auction. Two Southern Congressmen served in the volunteer army during the Spanish war —A. A. Wiley of Alabama and Wyatt Aiken of South Carolina. At n bear hunt in Maryland lately the Rev. S. M. Engle, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Parsons, W. Va., killed two of the three bears bagged. Mayor Feeney of Woburn, Mass., has been elected chief magistrate of that place five times. He is one of the youngest majors in the United States. Jacob Rogers of Paterson. N. J., builder of locomotives, left several millions to the Metropolitan museum of New York. The will hns been sustained in the courts. Reed Knox, son of the Attorney Genagal, who hats been his father's confidential clerk, will devote his time in the future to the Knox farm nt Valley Forge. * Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island is said to be the most athletic figure in the upper house nt Washington, nithough ho Is not a young man. lie is devoted to golf. , Although Andrew Carnegie made nearly nil his money in Pittsburg, he does not own any property there. He has, however, given the town many millions of dollars.

Senator Daniel of Virginia says the nineteenth century produced five generals who could be called great—Napoleon, Wellington, Von Moltke, Grant nnd Robert E. Lee. Charles H. Leeds wns chosen Mayor of Stamford. Conn., largely through the support of the labor element, which now denounces him “for imbibing doctrines inimical to organized labor” while studying political economy at Yale. Senators Stone of Missouri and McCreary of Kentucky .were born in the latter State in the old bluo grass county —Madison. Each has served ik,Governor and both were sworn into the United States Senate on the same day. The Kansas State editortai convention Is to be held in Lawrence Feb. 8 and IK.

PERTINENT Personal;

POLITICAL COMMENT.

The Doomed Democracy. Senator Gorman has unconsciously hut effectively shown that Nemesis is camping on the trail of the uhfortuTiate Democracy. In a speech iii-the Senate he made a fierce attack on the administration's Panama policy, and intimated that it was entered upon for the purpose es getting votes during tlie presidential canvass. Asked by Senator Aldrich if the Democrats intended to vote against the canal treaty; Mr. Gorman replied that under the existing conditions they would. As the Maryland Senator is the titular leader of the Democrats in his branch, the chances are that he believes what he says about the attitude of his party associates. It it known.that Gorman all along has been urging union among the Democrats of the Senate in opposition to the Panama policy of the administration. This Hostility lias for its immediate purpose the defeat of the canal agreement. True, the Democratic caucus has not yet decided to make an ironclad compact to fight the canal treaty, but Gorman will unite all the Democrats against it if he can. The Maryland boss' intimation that the Panama policy of the administration would gain votes for the Republican party in the campaign of 1904 was based on fact, but it was a dangerous confession for a Democratic leader to make. It proclaimed that this policy

DEMOCRACY —Whither, O whither shall I turn In my plight! —Ohio State Journal.

has the support of the American people, that it is sure to be upheld. and that the party championing it will sweep the country next year. As a declaration and as a prophecy all this Is correct. The vast majority of the people of the United States are on the side of President Roosevelt and Secretary Hay on the Panama question. If the Maryland man takes a glance at the more prominent Southern papers, he wili find that the Panama policy is ngtther sectional nor partisan. Njew Orleans. Mobile. Chattanooga, Atlahta and the rest of the South's’big towns have papers which indorse the action taken at the isthmus as heartily as do any Journals in New York, Philadelphia. St. Louis or San Francisco. This ought to teach Gorman ami his Bourbon associates that the party which opposes the things which have been done at the isthmus will pass sentence of political death upon itself. If the Maryland man is satisfied with this aspect of affairs, the Republican party lias no right to complain. lines the Maryland Senator realize the situation at the isthmus? Not only has the United States recognized the new republic, but every other great nation in the world has done this except England, and that country makes it plain that her delay in following the United States is due to her desire to protect the Interests of’her citizens who hold Colombia's bonds. If the bare issue of the United States' connection with the present situation nt the isthmus were submitted to the Amerlca'n people, separated from partisan entanglements, it would get {he support of nt least 112,000,000 of the 15,000,000 of the country's voters. It would carry every State of the fortytive, South as well ns North. Fnte is shaping things so tlmt Gorman and his unhappy partners will be forced to nld in Indicting on their party in 1904 a defeat which will be memorable for its dimensions and completeness.—St. Lpuls Globe-Democrat.

American Wage,. In some Interesting personal reminiscences of Mr. Blaine, ex-Senator Vest toadies Incidentally on the servIces of the Maine statesman, to the protective policy, and he recalls a conversation In which Blaine said: “There should be high wages for the workingmen, Iwth in factories nnd on the farms, and nt the some time the manufacturers should receive sufficient profits on their Investments." It Is a fact well worth the special ‘attention of the working class of the United States that the < Democratic party has never been In favor of any part of this proposition No Demo-

cratic platform has ever proposed even to have protection x enough to maintain American wages at the present standard, which is the highest in the world. Democrats hold that the workers should be left to look out for themselves against foreign competition, and that a decreased cost of goods, which is taken for granted, would <•■ ’upensate tne wage earners for going down to the foreign level of pay. In thes£ days when a single ship carries an immense cargo, and can cross the Atlantic in less than a week, the adaption of a tariff for government revenue only would tieod the country with foreign goods made by men who receive but half the wages prevailing in the United States. A short trial of this supreme folly would result in a speedy return of the protect 1 ve system that has brought about present conditions. Even a serious threat of free trade would convulse the industries of the country. In spite of these evident facts, the Democratic party still refuse to advocate enough of protection to hold American wages at the highest level, an arrangement that is perfectly right, and one that ought to be most zealously guarded as a distinctive feature of the national strength. As the Democratic party is not now, and never has been, for protecting the margin of

superiority In American wages, how can it reasonably ask for a working man’s vote?—St. Louis Globe-Demo-crat.

Prosperity ant! Saving,, There is no such thing as real pros parity in this country when the gen eral public is short of surplus money. Time Is iio abatement of real prosper jity when jXie general public goes on making money and saving some of it. The speculative gambler may be rolling in wealth or he may be absolutely poverty stricken, and neither the one condition nor the other reflects the situation of the general public and the country. Something that does, unfailingly and emphatically, is the total of the-savings banks deposits—the surplus wealth of the general publig. When we had “hard times'’ with tlr» advent of the Wilson law, savings banks deposits first ceased to increase and then actually decreased. From 1893 to 1894 they fell nearly S4O,(MM),O<H». or to a total of $1,747,901,000. By 1992 they had risen to $2,750,000,000. Controller Ridgley’s reportt, which hns just appeared, shows that the total of the savings banks deposits is now $2,935,204,845. From the experts who “went broke" ip speculative excesses we hear that national prosperity turned downward In 1901. In that year the savings banks' deposits were $2,597,000,000, so that since that time now there has been a gain of nearly $4(M),000,000. This gain, since the “turn of prosperity,” is larger than the gain from 1893 to 1898. It Is ns large as the gain front 1895 to 1899, larger than the gain from 1898 to 1900, when the boom was indeed booming, as no one will deny. Nearly three billions of savings banks deposits to-day—nearly twice what we had In 1894—does not look as If tin* general public were yet quit of prosperity. Nor will It be, if this nation continues a policy which keeps our industries protected against foreign Industries and our wage earners against foreign • wage earners.—New York Press. Ready to Meet Them. Protection to American industries Is Republican doctrine as much to-day as it was ten years ago. There Is no need of search for net? Issues. The policy which made the United States prosiserous, great and happy is good enough as the Issue for 1904. The revival of the Igsue nt thia time may be undesirable from a business point of view. but If the Democrats Insist upon starting the agitation of thia subject they will find the Republicans ready To meet them. —Grand Rapids Herald.

Fishes Never Play.

Play distinguishes the higher from the lower animals, and it signifies possibility of education. Fishes do not play at all; the lower mammals' can , hardly be taught to play, and birds are entirely devoid of the instinct. But the kitten and the lamb are essentially playing animals. The human young, however, are the true players, and, in reality, it is play that develops them into manhood.

An American Monte Carlo

The American Monte Carlo is in the principality of Flagler, at Palm Beach, Fla. The concessionaries, owning the Casino, are two brothers of the name of Thompson. They came from Texas, and their little gaming establishment at Palm Beach is worth to them $200,000 a season.

A Physician’s Statement.

Yorktown, Ark., Jan. 11.—Leland Williamson, M. D., one of our cleverest physicians, has made it statement, indorsing Dodd’s Kidney' Pills and saying that he uses the.n in his daily practice in preference to any other kidney medicine. His statement has created a profound sensation, as It Is somewhat unusual for a physician to publicly indorse anything in the shape of a patent medicine. Dr. Williamson says: “After twenty years’ practice in a sickly am) malarious country I have come to the conclusion that it is always best to use the remedy that will relieve and cure my patients whether ethical or not. “I have used Dodd's Kidney Pills with uniform success in the various forms of Kidney Disease, Pain in the Back, Gout, Rheumatism, Inflammation and Congestion of the Kidneys and all kindred diseases; I always prescribe Dodd's Kidney Pills In such cases and can testify that they invariably restore the Kidneys to their normal state and thereby relieve the blood of accumulated poisons, producing prompt and effective cures.”

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Gives to Salzer’s Oats its heartiest endorsement. Salzer’s New National Oats yielded in 1903 from 150 Tb" 300 bu. per acre in 30 different States, and you, Mr. Farmer, can beat this in 1904, if you will. Salzer’s seeds .are pedigree seeds, bred up through careful selection to big yields. 1 ~ . Per Acre. Salzer’s Beardless Barley yielded. 121 bu. Salzer’s Home Builder Corn 300 bu. Speltz and Macaroni Wheat 80 bu. Victoria Rape. — .60,000 lbs. Salzer’s Teosinte, the quick growing fodder wonder 160,000 lbs. Salzer’s Billion Dollar Grass. 50,000 lbs..> Salzer's Pedigree Potatoes... 1,000 bu. Now such yields pny nnd you can have them, Mr. Farmer, in 1904. , SEND 10c IN STAMPS nnd tills notice to the John A. Salzer Seed Co., La Crosse, Wis., and you will get their big catalogue and lots of farm seed samples free. (0. N. U.) „

The Pencil.

The lead pencil, so generally used to-day, is not made from lead,- but from graphite, says the Chicago News. It derives its name from the fact that prior to the time when pencils were made from graphite metallic lead was employed for the purpose. Graphite was first used in pencils after the discovery in 1565 of the famous Cumberland mines in England. This graphite was of remarkable purity and could be used without by cutting It Into thin slabs anc^ incasing them in wood. For two centuries England enjoyed practically a monopoly of the lead pencil Industry. In the eighteenth century, however, the lead pencil industry had found Its way into Germany. In 1701 Caspar Faber, in the village of Stein, near the ancient city of Nuremberg, became and remained the center of the lead pencil Industry for more than a century. For five generations Faber’s descendants made lead pencils. Up to the present day they have continued to devote their interest and energy to the development and perfection of pencil making. Eberhard Faber, a great-grand-son of Caspar Faber, Immigrated to this country and in 1859 established himself In New York City. In 1861. when the war tariff first went into effect, he erected his own pencil factory in New York City and thus Introduced the Industry Into the United States.

GIVES "GO."

Food That Carries One Along, It’s nice to know of food that not only tastes delicious but that puts the snap and go into one and supplies staying power for the day. A woman says: “I have taken enough medicine in my time to furnish a drug store, but In later and wiser years I have taken none but have depended, for the health I now enjoy, on suitable and sustaining food of which I keep on hand a tested variety, plain but nourishing. .“Of these my main dependence la Grape-Nuts, especially If I have before me a day of unusual effort, either mental or physical. In this case I fortify myself the first thing in the morning with about four teaspooufuls of GrapeNuts moistened with cream and not much else for breakfast and the amount of work I can then carry . through successfully without fatigue or exhaustion Is a wonder to those about me and even to myself. "Grape-Nuts food is certainly a wonderful strengthener and is not a stimulant. for there Is no reaction afterwards, but It Is sustaining and strengthening, as I have proved by long experience.” Name given by Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. There's a reason four teaspoonfuls of Grape-Nuts and cream will add more strength and carry one further than a plateful of coarse, heavy food that Is nearly all waste. Grape-Nuts food Is condensed, pre-digested and de lick)us. It contains the parts of the Wheat and Barley grains that supply tbs rebuilding parts for Brain and Nerve Centers. • Look In each packsge for a copy of the famous little book, "The Road to WellvlUa.'!