Chicago's Awful Theater Horror Part 39

"I told them to be seated, that everything would be all right, and to quiet down, and quite a number did. After Miss Williams fainted it attracted my attention, of course, to what was going on on the stage. I saw one of the moonlight boys pick Miss Williams up in his arms and go toward the stage entrance, other members of the octet following, except myself. I staid until they were out of sight. I left the stage by the second entrance on the prompt side. I went down stairs by the stairway beside the stage elevator.

"I came back on the stage again, made one more trip down stairs, and then I came to the stage once more. I went partly up stage, toward the stage entrance, that was all in flames. I looked to the other side of the stage and that was all in flames. I went down to the footlights, crossing again across the stage, and jumped over the footlights into the auditorium and made my way out to the first exit on my left, looking into the auditorium from the stage, into the alley. The panic was on at that time and it was a dreadful sight."

The statements of the remaining members were almost identical with those quoted.

CHAPTER XXIII.

JOIN TO AVENGE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENTS.

Ten days after the fire horror, while blood curdling disclosures were coming to light revealing the fate of the penned-in fire victims in a new and more ghastly aspect, and while school officials and pupils gathered to express grief for the 39 teachers and 102 pupils who were gathered in the grim harvest, an inspired movement sprang from the aftermath of woe. It was a cry for justice.

In an upper chamber in a towering sky-sc.r.a.per in the heart of teeming, bustling Chicago, scores of sad visaged men and women a.s.sembled to lay aside their burden of woe and enter upon the prosecution of those whose avarice, neglect or incompetency had snuffed out all happiness and sunshine from their lives. A preliminary organization of relatives of victims of the Iroquois theater fire was effected in consequence on Sat.u.r.day, January 9, for that purpose, at a meeting held in the offices of the Western Society of Engineers, in the Monadnock building.

The meeting was held in response to a call sent out by Arthur E. Hull, asking that concerted action be taken by the relatives and survivors to cause the speedy prosecution and punishment of any who were criminally responsible for the disaster and to learn those financially liable for claims. Mr. Hull lost his wife and three children in the catastrophe.

Long before 3 o'clock, the time set for the meeting, many fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and near relatives of victims began to gather.

Nearly every seat was taken when the meeting was called to order. There were perhaps 125 people present, among whom over a hundred lost near and dear relatives in the fire.

Attorney W. J. Lacey announced the object of the gathering by reading the call and suggested the formation of a temporary organization. Mr. Hull was elected chairman and Edward T. n.o.ble secretary.

MR. HULL'S STATEMENT.

Mr. Hull spoke briefly of his reason for calling the meeting.

"The last time I saw my wife and little ones," he said, "was on the morning of the fire. I did not know until late in the evening that they had perished in the flames. There are many others who have suffered as deeply as I have, on account of this horror. There are some families, perhaps, whose means of support have been wrested from them. There is suffering and sorrow throughout this great city. It is my desire that we work together in the effort to find out who the men are that are criminally and financially responsible for our terrible loss and bring them before the bar of justice.

"It was the duty of the contractors who built the Iroquois theater to see that the building was complete in every detail before turning it over to the management. This, in my opinion, establishes their responsibility. The architect may also be held responsible.

"As to the building inspector, I think he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It was his failure to hold the management to a strict adherence to the law that brought about the destruction of nearly 600 precious lives. We have recourse to the courts of justice. Let us stand together and see that punishment is meted out to the guilty."

ATTORNEY T. D. KNIGHT SPEAKS.

Chairman Hull then called for an expression from his attorney, Thomas D.

Knight, who spoke as follows:

"Mr. Hull's object in calling this meeting is to place the responsibility where it belongs, not upon the scene shifter and the stage hand, but upon men high in authority--the management and owners of the theater. They are the men he regards as financially and criminally liable for the disaster that destroyed his family and families of many of those present here today. It was Mr. Hull who caused the arrest of Mr. Davis and Mr. Powers of the theater management, and Building Commissioner Williams. As Mr. Hull is so deeply affected by his loss he has requested me to state that it is his desire that a permanent organization be effected.

"I believe an executive committee should be appointed to ascertain just what is best to be done and do it. I would suggest also the appointment of subcommittees on civil authority, permanent organization and finance. This last committee would be an important adjunct of this organization. It should be the aim of the finance committee to learn how many families are dest.i.tute as a result of the loss of their means of support in the fire and see that they are provided for. There are plenty of men of wealth in the city today who would gladly contribute to such a worthy cause.

CORONER'S WORK THOROUGH.

"As to the question of who are financially responsible the coroner's investigation has been thorough, careful and fair. The coroner's questioning has been competent and complete in every respect. It is probable that he will be able to determine just which men are to blame.

Enough has been developed already to prove that there was gross and culpable negligence on the part of the proprietors of that theater.

"As far as Klaw & Erlanger are concerned we have evidence connecting them already. The blaze that ignited the draperies and scenery was proved to have come from the 'spot' light, which was operated by an employee of the 'Mr. Bluebeard' company, which is owned by these men, who control the theatrical trust. If it can be shown that Mayor Harrison and other city officials by their negligence contributed to the loss, then they can also be held responsible. There is no doubt but that those who are liable can be attacked in the civil courts."

REMARKS BY ELIZABETH HALEY.

A general discussion followed, during which Miss Elizabeth Haley, residing at 419 Sixtieth place, arose and made some revelations in regard to the lack of fire protection in various public schools. She said:

"I presume the gentleman who has just spoken is an attorney and I would like to ask him if the men who allowed such criminal conditions to exist--the mayor, aldermen and city trustees--if they could not be held liable, both civilly and criminally? I am a school teacher, and I would like to know if men who time after time have completely ignored reports about the absolute absence of fire protection in school buildings are not liable?

"To my personal knowledge reports have been made month after month to them, and nothing was ever heard of them. I know of schools where there is no fire hose, no fire extinguishers, no fire apparatus of any kind, no fire alarms, no telephones, no fire escapes--not a thing that would enable the hundreds of children to save their lives in the event of a fire. And these buildings are locked at 9 o'clock, with only one exit left open. Are not the mayor, the aldermen, and the trustees directly responsible for this state of things, and are they not the men who should be prosecuted along with the proprietors of that theater?

"On November 2 last, the newspapers reported that a complaint had been made before the city council that the theaters were violating the laws.

That report went to a subcommittee and has never been heard of since; and a day or two later Mayor Harrison came out with a statement in which he defied criticism and declared that there was no truth in the complaints.

The whole thing strikes me as a splendid lesson in civics--that we cannot shirk our duty, even as high officials."

The following committee, the majority residents of Chicago, was named to act, pending further action: J. L. McKenna, 758 South Kedzie avenue; Henry M. Shabad, 4041 Indiana avenue; J. J. Reynolds, 421 East Forty-fifth street; E. S. Frazier, Aurora, Ill.; Morris Schaffner, 578 East Forty-fifth street.

All of these men lost members of their families in the fire, Mr. McKenna losing his whole family.

CHAPTER XXIV.

AWFUL PROPHECY FULFILLED.

More than a quarter of a century ago the prophecy was made by the _Chicago Times_ that a terrible calamity was in store for the public on account of the lax provision made for escape from burning theaters. The prophecy was put forth in the guise of a pretended report of such a horror in the issue of that publication for February 13, 1875, and was as follows:

"Scores of houses are saddened this beautiful winter morning by the fate which overtook so many unsuspecting people in Chicago last night. The hearts of thousands will be stirred to their depths with sympathy for the unfortunates. It was a catastrophe awful in its results, yet grand in its horror. Nothing has equaled it for years; it is to be hoped that its counterpart will never be known.

"There are smoking ruins down in the heart of the city--ruins of one of the finest theaters in Chicago, which fell a prey to the devouring element last night. There are mourning households and rows of dead bodies at the morgue. There will be anxious inquiries on the lips of many persons with whom one will meet manifesting an eagerness to know whether friends were swallowed up in the flames or made good their escape.

"While it cannot be said that the catastrophe was entirely unexpected, yet it came so suddenly and so little had been done to obviate it, that its results are fearful to contemplate. For months the frequenters of the various places of amus.e.m.e.nt in Chicago had often questioned themselves whether there would not come the day when in some of these buildings grisly death would stalk forth, like a thief in the night, and lay his cold hands upon the unsuspecting throng; at last the terrible moment and the horrible reality dawned.

"With all her experience in conflagrations and attendant horrors, Chicago has nothing to compare with this catastrophe. Even the fire of 1871, which swept over a vast extent of country and reduced proud and formidable looking buildings and scattered their strength to the winds, lacked the comparative loss of life which this one disaster has entailed. Property may be dissipated, but it can be recovered once more.

"Death robs us forever of our dear ones, and leaves a void which time can never fully fill.

MOURNING AND INDIGNATION.

"As we tread today upon the very heels of this latest sad event and take a comprehensive view of its details and results, no one, not even though he have no personal interest in the loss entailed, can help joining in the expression of mourning which will go up, and at the same time give vent to the already too long-suppressed feelings of indignation, which have from time to time arisen when thinking of the flimsy manner in which theaters are built, their lack of protection against fire and the inadequate means afforded inmates to escape therefrom in the event of an undue excitement that should spread a panic, ere the breaking out of a fire.

"The sympathy for the dead will be equally balanced by vigorous denunciation of the criminality of everybody who, in an official or proprietary capacity, is interested therein.