Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 148, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1904 — FIXING THE BLAME. [ARTICLE]

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

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

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.