There occurred between the acts at the Century theater, St. Louis, on New Year's night, an unusual incident, when C. H. Congdon, of Chicago, arose from his seat and related incidents of the Iroquois theater tragedy.
He had proceeded only for a few minutes when some one in the audience began singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee," which was immediately taken up by the whole audience, the orchestra joining in with the accompaniment.
SOCIETY WOMEN AND GIRLS' CLUBS.
Miss Charlotte Plamondon, daughter of the vice-president of the Chicago board of education, who waited until the fire had caught in the curtains over the front box, in which she sat, before attempting to get out, related her experience at the Chicago Beach Hotel:
"I can't tell you how I escaped the awful fate of others," she said. "I only know that when the flames began to crackle over my head and dart down from the curtains of our box I leaped over the railing of the box and fell in the arms of some man. I think he was connected with the theater, for he immediately set me down in a seat and told me to be quiet for a moment.
SCREAMS OF TERROR HEARD.
"Then I think I lost all reason. I have a vague recollection of having been pushed up along the side aisle that runs by the boxes. It was as quiet as death for a moment. The great audience rose like a single person, but no sound escaped it until those in front were wedged in the doorway. Then a scream of terror went up that I shall never forget. It rings in my ears now. Women screamed and children cried. Men were shouting and rushing for the entrance, leaping over the prostrate forms of children and women and carrying others down with them.
"Back of me, I remember, there was a sheet of flame that seemed to be gathering volume and reaching out for us. Then I forgot again, and not until the crowd surged toward the wall and caught me between it and the marble pillar did I realize what the danger was. The pain revived me. I know I was almost crushed to death, but it didn't hurt. Nothing could hurt, with the screaming, the agonizing cries of the women and children ringing in your ears.
CHORUS GIRLS ESCAPE PARTLY CLAD.
"And then, somehow, I found myself out on the street and the dead and dying were around me. When I realized that I was out of the place and safe from the fire and crush, all my strength seemed to leave me. But the cold air braced me after a moment and I went around to the drug store, where the dead were being brought in and the poor actresses and chorus girls were coming in with scarcely anything on them.
"I never felt as I did when it dawned upon us that the theater was on fire. It seemed like a dream at first. The border curtain right near our box blew back, and I think it hit a light or something, for when it fell back into place I saw it was on fire.
"The chorus girls kept right on singing for a couple of minutes, it seemed. Then one of the stage men rushed out and shouted: 'Keep your seats.'
"Oh, the stage men behaved like heroes! As I think of it now, they conducted themselves with rare courage. I saw a couple of the girls fall down, and I knew that they were overcome."
FOY TRIES TO PREVENT PANIC.
"Just then Eddie Foy ran out on the stage, partly made up, and cried:
"'My God, people, keep your seats!'
"When Foy said this I regained my senses, and when the asbestos curtain did not come down I felt that the situation was critical. The flames had taken hold of the front row of seats behind the orchestra and were creeping up the curtains over our box, when I jumped to my feet and leaped over the railing.
"I saw the children lying in heaps under our feet. Their little lives were ended, and rough feet were bruising their flesh; and such innocent children! Men leaped over the rows of prostrate forms and fought like they were mad, trying to get out of the entrance."
ESCAPE OF ANOTHER SOCIETY WOMAN.
Mrs. A. Sorge, Jr., whose husband is a consulting engineer, with offices in the Monadnock Building, and who lives at the Chicago Beach Hotel, attended the theater in company with Dr. Jager, who is a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Sorge. They occupied a seat well down in the parquet.
"When the fire started," said Mrs. Sorge, "persons on the stage told us to keep our seats. Dr. Jager also told me to sit still, and we did until the flames began to come near us. Then we clasped hands and started for the door.
"I was not half so much afraid of the fire as I was of being crushed to death, and I tried in every way to keep out of the crush. Dr. Jager got separated from me by catching his foot in an upturned chair, but he soon found me. We later managed to get out on the street without suffering any injuries of a serious nature.
"The saddest thing I saw inside the burning building was a little girl looking for her baby sister. The two had got separated in the rush for the entrance, and it is quite likelythat both were killed in that crush, for it was something awful."
MINNEAPOLIS WOMAN'S STORY OF THE FIRE.
Mrs. Baldwin, wife of Dr. F. R. Baldwin of Minneapolis, immediately after her return from the scene of the awful Chicago catastrophe, through which she had passed, overwhelmed with the horror of the sights and sounds she had seen and heard, gave the following account:
"It was too unutterably shocking for one to realize at the time. The horror of the thing has grown upon me ever since. It fills my mind and imagination, so I can hardly think of anything else. I cannot help feeling almost ashamed to be here, safe and unharmed, while whole families were burned and crushed to death in that awful place. I cannot say how glad I am to be home and see my babies safe, when so many mothers are crying aloud in Chicago for their children to come back to them.
"At first nobody seemed to realize the awful danger. No water was used to put out the flames on the stage. It was only flimsy, gauzy scenery at first that was burning, and the people on the stage tried to tear it down and stamp it out as it fell. I heard no screams, and the people for many moments kept their seats. I did not hear the cry of 'fire.'
"But all at once a great ball of fire or sheet of flame—I don't know how to express it—shot out and the whole theater above us seemed to be full of fire. Then there was a smothered sound as of a sighing by all in the theater.
"By that time I began to realize that it was time to see what could be done about getting out. It so happened that I could not have chosen a better place from which to get out of the building. We were on the alley side, opposite the Randolphstreet side of the building, and only two seats from the wall.
"I did not know that there was an entrance here, but all at once the doors seemed to be opened close to us. We had but to take two or three steps and then were thrown forward out of the doors by the crowd behind us. My mother, who was with me, was unhurt, and I had but a few bruises.
"One of the first things I saw as I got up was a girl lying on one of the fire escape platforms with the flames shooting over her through the window. One man, who jumped from the platform, had not taken two steps before a woman who jumped a moment later from a height of about forty feet came right down upon him, killing him upon the spot.
"The sights all about the city have been many times described, but nothing can picture those terrible scenes. In a flat just below my mother's five out of a family of six perished, leaving but one demented girl.
"Of another family living near us, only the husband and father was left, his wife and four boys and his mother all having been killed in the fire. As I passed near the theater the next day I saw a man walking up and down in front of the building muttering to himself, and every now and then he would sit upon the curb and look up at the building, breaking out into peals of laughter. He had been through the fire."
GIRLS' CLUBS SORELY STRICKEN.
Mrs. Walter Raymer, wife of the alderman, attended the Iroquois in charge of the "F. P. C.," a club of young girls, of which her daughter was treasurer. Of the eight members only two escaped uninjured. Miss Mabel Hunter, the president, was killed; Miss Edna Hunter was taken to her residence, 85 Humboldt boulevard, severely injured; Miss Lillian Ackermanwas borne to the Samaritan Hospital, burned about the head and body.
Edna Hoveland was badly injured, and her little sister, who accompanied her, was burned to death. May Marks is dead. Viva Jackson, missing all Wednesday night, was found in the morning at an undertaker's rooms. The two who escaped injury were Miss Abigail Raymer, daughter of the alderman, and Miss Florence Nicholson.
The eight girls, all between sixteen and eighteen years old, had organized their little club a few weeks ago for the purpose of literary study and recreation, and the theater party was arranged by Mrs. Raymer as a surprise for the members.
The Theta Pi Zeta club of the junior class of the Englewood High School, with the exception of two members, was wiped out of existence. The club was composed of eight young women living in Englewood and Normal Park. Seven had purchased seats in the sixth row of the dress circle. What they encountered after the panic started no one knows, for of the seven only one, Miss Josephine Spencer, 7110 Princeton avenue, was saved and she was taken to the West Side Hospital terribly burned. The only member who entirely escaped was Miss Edith Mizen of 6917 Eggleston avenue, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George K. Mizen. Her parents objected to her attending a theatrical performance.
Those who perished are Helen Howard, 6565 Yale avenue; Helen McCaughan, 6565 Yale avenue; Elvira Olson, 7010 Stewart avenue; Florence Oxnam, 435 Englewood avenue; Lillie Power, 442 West Seventieth street; and Rosamond Schmidt, 335 West Sixty-first street.
EDDIE FOY'S SWORN TESTIMONY.
Eddie Foy, whose real name is Edwin Fitzgerald, has faced many audiences under all conditions and circumstances during his stage career of a quarter of a century, during which he rose from a street urchin to the distinction of one of America's most entertaining and unctuous comedians. Never before had such interest centered in his appearance as when on Thursday afternoon, January 7, 1904, he took the witness stand to relate under oath what he knew concerning the calamity of the preceding week.
The actor's face was a study. His deep-lined countenance, ordinarily irresistibly funny without effort on his part, took on a truly tragic aspect as he entered upon his story. His indescribable, husky voice that has made hundreds of thousands laugh with merriment, was broken; there was no suggestion of humor in it. Instead it was a wail from the tomb, the utterance of a man broken with the weight of the woe he had beheld in a few brief, fleeting moments.
The questions were propounded by Coroner Traeger and Major Lawrence Buckley, his chief deputy, and were promptly and fully answered by the comedian.
The full text, as secured through a stenographic report, follows:
Q. Will you kindly tell us, Mr. Foy, or Fitzgerald, in your own way, what transpired?
A. Well, I went to the matinee with my little boy, six years old, and I wanted to put him in the front of the theaterto see the show. I sent him out before the first act by the stage manager, and he took him out and brought him back and said there were no seats. I sent him downstairs and put him in a little alcove that is next to the switchboard, underneath where they claim the fire started, and where I saw the fire first.
Q. That is on what side of the stage?
A. On my right facing the audience. On the south side of the stage. The second act was on. I was in my dressing-room tying my shoes, and I heard a noise, and I didn't pay much attention to it at first. I says to myself, "Are they fighting again down there"—there was a fight there about a week or two ago; and I says, "They are fighting again." I looked out of the door and heard the buzz getting stronger and stronger, with this excitement, and I thought of my boy and I ran down the steps. I was in the middle dressing-room on the side, and I ran down screaming "Bryan." I got him at the first entrance right in front of the switchboard, and looked up and saw a fireman there. I don't know what he was doing; he was trying to put the fire out. Then the two lower borders running up the side of this canvas were burning. I grabbed my boy and rushed to the back door, and there was a lot of people trying to get out.
DESCRIBES STAGE BOX.
Q. What door?
A. The little stage door on Dearborn street.
Q. How did you find that door—was it open?
A. No. I knew where the door was.
Q. Was the door open when you got there?
A. Yes; they were breaking through it.
Q. Who?
A. All of our people.
Q. Employees on the stage?
A. Not many of them. It was crowded there, and I threw my boy to a man. I says: "Take this boy out," and ran out on the footlights to the audience. When I did they were in a sort of panic, as I thought, and what I said exactly I don't remember, but this was the substance—my idea was to get the curtain down and quietly stop the stampede. I yelled, "Drop the curtain and keep up your music." I didn't want a stampede, because it was the biggest audience I ever played to of women and children. I told them to be quiet and take it easy "Don't get excited"—and they started up on this second balcony on my left to run, and I says, "Sit down; it is all right; don't get excited." And they were going that way, and I said to the policeman, "Let them out quietly," and they moved then, and I says, "Let down the curtain," and I looked up and this curtain was burning—the fringe on the edge of it.
WOULD NOT COME DOWN.
Q. It was caught, was it?
A. It did not come down.
Q. How near to the bottom of the stage was it?
A. Three feet above my head. I would have been outside if the curtain had come down.
Q. It was lowered down after you hallooed?
A. I hallooed for it to come down.
Q. And it came down that far and then caught?
A. I did not see it come down, but it was there when I looked up.
Q. When you looked up it was caught, was it?
A. Yes, sir, it must have been caught—it didn't come down. Then when I was hallooing, I kept hallooing for thecurtain to come down—how many times I don't know—and talked to this man to let them out quietly, there was a sort of a cyclone; the thing was flying behind me; I felt it coming.
Q. What do you mean by a cyclone—cyclone of what?
A. It was a whirl of smoke when I looked around—the scenery had broken the slats it was nailed to; it came down behind me, and I didn't know whether to go in front or behind. The stage was covered with smoke, and it was a cold draft, and there was an explosion of some kind like you light a match and the box goes off. I didn't know whether to go front or not, so I thought of my boy—maybe the man did not take him out—so I rushed out the first thing and went back of the stage.
Q. You went out yourself, then?
A. Yes, sir, and I was looking for my boy all the way in. I wasn't sure he was out. I found him in the street.
Q. Do you know what started the fire, Mr. Fitzgerald?
A. No, sir.
LIGHT NEAR THE FIRE.
Q. Was there any light of any kind near where you first saw the fire?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What kind of a light?
A. A lens light—one that you throw spot light on people with.
Q. How close was that to the drop that was on fire?
A. That I could not tell—there were three or four drops on fire when I got there for the boy.
Q. They were all close together?
A. Yes.
Q. Too high up for anybody to reach?
A. Impossible.
Q. Were there any other fires of any kind, fires or lights, near those drops or the fire, besides this drop light?
A. That was the only one I saw.
Q. Then there would not be anything else able to ignite those drops, only this light?
A. I should think so, yes.
Q. You are satisfied in your own mind that it was caused from that light.
A. That it was caused from that light.
Q. You have been playing there in the theater since "Mr. Bluebeard, Jr.," started, or since the theater opened, haven't you?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know of any drill or any precautions that were taken by the management or parties in charge of the theater in emergency cases in the case of fire—that is, drilling or handling the employees as to what they should do in case of fire?
A. No. I know I couldn't smoke in the theater; the policeman was around there all the time in the dressing-rooms.
SAW NO EXTINGUISHERS.
Q. Did you notice any fire extinguishers of any kind on the stage?
A. No, sir, I did not.
Q. Any appliances of any kind to be used in case of fire?
A. No. I don't think I did; there might have been.
Q. Did you notice any fire extinguishers in your dressing-room?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever notice while in the theater whether therewas any policeman or fireman stationed on the stage or around the stage?
A. Yes, sir, there was a fireman there always on the stage.
Q. Did you ever hear while in the theater of an asbestos curtain there?
A. I cannot say that I did.
Q. Did you ever hear of a fireproof curtain there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did it take long for this curtain that you say was down and stuck to burn?
A. I couldn't stay there long enough to see if it was burning—it was on fire.
Q. You have had a good deal of experience in theaters?
A. Thirty-five years.
Q. Would you consider that there was as good a protection taken at the Iroquois theater as there was in the average theater throughout the country in cases of fire?
A. You mean in the construction of the theater?
Q. Not the construction, but I would say in the management, and in the furnishing of fire extinguishers and appliances to extinguish fires.
A. Well, I never took notice of the fire extinguisher. If a man would look at that stage he would naturally think they couldn't possibly have a fire without everybody getting out in front of the theater.
Q. I didn't ask you that. My question was, in your experience in traveling through the theaters in different cities, would you consider there was as good protection taken on the Iroquois stage to extinguish fire, as there was in the average theater throughout the country?
A. Well, I couldn't say; I never took notice of what was on the stage to extinguish fires.
Q. Did you at any other theater?
A. Well, I have seen fire extinguishers around at times.
TALKS OF APPARATUS.
Q. In theaters where you have noticed these fire extinguishers, what part of the theater did you see them in?
A. Well, they were fire extinguishers like a man would put on his back, with a strap to it.
Q. Where were they?
A. On the platform in the theater.
Q. Did you notice anything of that kind at the Iroquois theater?
A. No, sir, I did not; I cannot say that I did.
Q. Now, if you did not see those appliances, you did not see them when you went in the stage entrance?
A. No, sir.
Q. You say you saw them in other stage entrances?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You didn't see them at the Iroquois theater?
A. No, sir, not any time I was there.
Q. Did you see any hose of any kind that could be used in cases of fire?
A. I don't know whether there was any; I didn't see any.
Q. Did you know of any other fire that occurred in the theater previous to this one?
A. No, sir.
Q. You have been with the company for how long?
A. I played right along with it in Wisconsin and New York last season, and opened in Pittsburg with it and have been with it ever since.
Q. Did you play at Cleveland?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the date of the fire in Cleveland?
A. I don't know the date; there was a fire on the stage.
Q. Was the cause the same as at this fire?
A. No; the flies caught fire at this fire. This was on the stage. They could not get at this fire.
Q. What caused it?
A. That I don't know, sir.
Q. Did you consider it a dangerous lot of scenery to travel with, lights and scenery combined?
A. I don't know; I consider all scenery dangerous.
Q. Did you consider this dangerous?
A. No, sir.
ONLY ONE EXIT OPEN.
Q. Were both of the exits on the stage open?
A. Only one door, a little door that we go through always was open when I went out.
Question by Foreman Meyer of the Jury: Mr. Foy, when you came out to the footlights to try to quiet the people and you cried for the curtain to come down, did you see the curtain come down?
A. I did not see the curtain come down. I screamed for the curtain to come down, and I told the orchestra to keep up the music, and then I addressed the audience, thinking I would get the curtain down. I would have been in front of the curtain if it came down.
Q. You said at the same time you looked around?
A. I looked around, yes, sir.
Q. What was the color of the curtain as you looked at it?
A. I couldn't tell the color. It was right over my head.
Q. Could you tell from any observation at any time before that?
A. No, sir.
Question by Juror Cummings: When you counseled the audience to keep quiet were you working on the assumption that there was a fire brigade on the stage?
A. Well, my idea was to get the curtain down and stop the panic. The audience was composed of women and children.
Question by Deputy Buckley: From the time that you first heard the noise, when you were in the dressing-room until you got out, about what time elapsed?
A. Well, I have been trying to figure that out in my own mind. I don't think it was ninety seconds.
WIRE ACROSS AUDITORIUM.
Q. Do you know, Mr. Foy, whether there was a wire extending from the stage across the auditorium to any of the balconies or any part of the theater or auditorium outside?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where was that wire located?
A. The wire hung from the center of the auditorium to the side of the stage, to where the fire, they say, started, on my right-hand side facing the audience.
Q. Was that the side of the stage where the curtain was caught?
A. I could not say. I have been trying to fix that in my mind.
Q. You cannot say whether it was hung on the wire on the right or left hand side?
A. No, sir. I should not think that it had anything to do with it.
Q. Was that stationary?
A. It hung from the front, and it was unhooked and put on the woman when she went out in the air.
Q. Did any part of it go behind the curtain?
A. Yes, it went behind the curtain, but that could not have possibly stopped it, because it would have broken it. I don't think the curtain was low enough down to touch it, because the girl is only a little girl, Miss Reed, and they had to hook it on her.
Q. About how high up was the wire?
A. Well, so that a man like the stage manager would take it off and the man that was assisting in this flying ballet would hook it on this little girl that flew out.
Q. She was killed?
A. She was killed.
EFFECT OF THE FIRE NEAR AND FAR.
Many of the members of the "Mr. Bluebeard, Jr.," company were arrested and retained as witnesses in the trial, on a charge of manslaughter, of Messrs. Davis and Powers, Building Commissioner Williams and the stage manager, electricians and carpenters especially concerned in the manipulation of the lights and curtains. On the Saturday night succeeding the fire Mayor Harrison closed all the theaters in the city, numbering thirty-seven, for a period of two weeks, or until a thorough investigation could be made as to whether they were complying with the city ordinances in every detail.
People with seat checks were turned away from the doors of the theaters. Even the fireproof Auditorium was not permitted to remain open, and Theodore Thomas and his musicians returned to their homes without playing.
Theatrical people in the dressing-rooms of the theaters took off their makeup and left. Ushers turned out the lights and the managers locked the doors. It was a condition without precedent in any large city of this or any other country—every public place of theatrical amusement closed by command, as the result of a great disaster.
And not only did the terrible calamity close every theater in Chicago, but it sent the city authorities, fire inspectors, aldermen and all, scurrying through the city, examining the big department stores and their means of escape for their thousands of employees. The alarm and inspection also extendedto the public schools of the city. Nor was the awful upheaval felt with startling force only at home, but like an earthquake its vibrations reached distant cities and countries. The monarchs of Europe, with the great public men of America, sent words of sympathy over the throbbing wires, those which came from Emperor William being:
"Neues Palais, Dec. 31.—To the President of the United States: Aghast at the terrible news of the catastrophe that has befallen the citizens of Chicago the empress and myself wish to convey to you how deeply we feel for the American people who have been so cruelly visited in this week of joy. Please convey expression of our sincerest sympathy to the city of Chicago. Many thanks for your kind letter. In coming years may Providence shield you and America from harm and such accidents.
"WilhelmI. R."
Within a few days there was abundant evidence that profound sympathy had given place, in all the large cities of the world, to practical endeavors to avert like calamities.
NEW YORK THEATERS AND SCHOOLS.
As his first official act, Nicholas J. Hayes, who on New Year's became fire commissioner of New York, ordered an investigation of all the theaters of that city. He declared that he intended to ascertain whether the New York playhouses were so constructed and equipped as to safeguard human life in case of fire or panic.
"The protection of human life is the first and most important duty of the fire commissioner," said Mr. Hayes. "In this work no one shall hinder me from doing my full duty."
In each battalion district where a theater was located the new fire commissioner designated a competent assistant foreman as theater inspector and provided for weekly inspection oftheaters. These inspectors were under the supervision of a general theater inspector. One of the tests at once applied by Commissioner Hayes was to have the inspector pour gasoline on the asbestos curtain and then apply fire. Several houses were at once closed, as the curtains failed to stand the test.
City Superintendent of Schools Maxwell, of New York, also issued special fire instructions to the district superintendents and principals of schools, whom he directed to perfect fire drills and the rapid dismissal of school children under their care.
CRUSADE IN PITTSBURG.
The Pittsburg department of public safety immediately began a crusade against the violation of the ordinances regarding theater construction and equipment. Managers were compelled to arrange their fire escapes, curtains and apparatus so that everything worked with facility. At the Nixon theater, at the close of a performance, the people were rapidly dismissed after a fire alarm, and ushered out into the alley exits and down fire escapes in two and one-half minutes. Other theaters were put through similar drills.
WASHINGTON THEATER OWNERS ARRESTED.
Warrants were issued for the arrest of the proprietors of three of the seven Washington theaters. Failure to comply with building regulations in making improvements resulted in the withholding of the license of one theater. The two other proprietors were arrested for failure to provide proper exit lights, fire escapes and stage stairways.
MASSACHUSETTS THEATERS INVESTIGATED.
As a result of the fire Chief Rufus R. Wade, of the Massachusetts state police, at once issued orders for his inspectorsto make immediate and thorough inspection of every theater in the commonwealth outside of Boston. The statutes give no jurisdiction over Boston, but his orders meant that more than 100 theaters under his supervision would receive immediate attention.
The Chicago theater horror caused such a decreased attendance at Boston theaters as to mean comparatively empty houses for some time afterward. Huge areas of vacant seats were to be observed and the crowds at theater exits at 10:45 were prominent for their absence.
ACTION IN MILWAUKEE.
Spurred to action by the theater horror in Chicago, the city officials of Milwaukee, Wis., closed four theaters. The orders to darken the houses followed an investigation by the chief of the fire department. In the Academy and the Bijou, popular-priced houses, and in the two vaudeville houses, the Star and the Crystal, the chief found the "fire" curtains were made of thin canvas.
PRECAUTIONS AT ST. LOUIS.
In St. Louis the commissioner of public buildings and the chief of the fire department served notice on theater managers that the provisions of the city ordinances designed to prevent fire and panic must be rigidly carried out. A new ordinance revising the building laws was at once laid before the city council. One of its new features insists on a metal skylight or fire vent over the stage. This vent must be so constructed as to open instantly and automatically. Fire Chief Swingle sent notice to the managers that all aisles must be kept cleared.
ORDERS AFFECTING OMAHA THEATERS.
Building Inspector Withnell ordered several radical changes in theaters and large department stores as a result of the fire. All the theaters were required to increase their exit facilities, and one theater was ordered to put in additional aisles and remove 150 rear seats in the parquet circle and balconies, which would interfere with a free exit in case of panic. Asbestos curtains were ordered into use at all the theaters.
EFFECT ABROAD.
The news of the awful calamity shocked the great cities of Europe beyond expression, and its discussion excluded even such large agitating questions as the Eastern—possible war between Japan and Russia, which might involve the entire Old World. The so-called American colonies of London, Paris and Berlin were especially shocked, many members of whom sought for news of friends and relatives who might be among the list of dead or injured. As the complete list could not be cabled for several days thereafter their suspense was, in many cases, unbearable, and scores took the first steamers for America.
HORROR FELT IN LONDON.
Upon the receipt of the first news all local and foreign topics of interest were forgotten in London in the universal horror over the tragedy. The extra editions of the newspapers giving the latest details were eagerly bought up and newspaper placards bore in flaring type the announcement of further news from Chicago. The flags over the American steamship offices were half-masted.
The accounts of the deadly panic were read by the English people with peculiar sympathy and horror, for the pantomimeseason was at its height and the London theaters were daily packed with women and children.
Yet certainly the first night after the news was generally known, which was Thursday, no appreciable effect was felt on the attendance of most of the London theaters. The usual number were waiting in line at the Drury Lane box office early in the evening. The vaudeville had "house full" boards prominently displayed. Still another playhouse in the Strand showed only a slight falling off in attendance, but when the actual list of dead, injured and missing was received by cable and posted in the newspaper offices, hotels and other public places, there was a very marked decrease in the number of theater goers. Later still came the detailed information called for by the fire committee of the London county council, which indicated that the Chicago theater offered better chances of escape than a number of houses in the very heart of London. This was the first step toward a thorough overhauling of the theaters of the world's metropolis.
LONDON THEATER PRECAUTIONS.
With the story of the horror upon the pale lips of all, there was at the same time, in the minds of many of the theater goers of London, a feeling that the regulations of the lord chamberlain and the London county council reduced to a minimum the possibility of the occurrence of a similar tragedy in their midst. Nevertheless theatrical men of experience agree that, after all, the most elaborate precautions may be taken, and when the crucial moment arrives they may prove of not the slightest value.
PRESENT RULES FOR LONDON THEATERS.
On the programme of every theater in London is printed the following extract from rules made by the lord chamberlain:
"The name of the actual responsible manager of the theater must be printed on every playbill. The public can leave the theater at the end of the performance by all exit entrance doors, which must open outward.
"Where there is a fireproof screen to the proscenium opening it must be lowered at least once during every performance, to insure it being in proper working order.
"All gangways, passages and staircases must be kept free from chairs or any other obstructions."
To guard against the possibility of a person in a moment of fright jumping from a balcony, the London county council insists on a brass railing being fixed on the tier in front of the upper circle.
CURTAIN OFTEN TESTED.
His Majesty's Theater is one of the largest and best equipped theaters in London. The precautions taken there may be mentioned as representative of what many London theater managers do to protect their patrons. A big iron asbestos curtain is worked by a lever in the "prop" corner on the prompter's side. The curtain is lowered just after the audience has been seated, before the play begins, not only to test it, but to give the audience confidence. Thursday night following the Iroquois fire Beerbohm Tree, the proprietor, ordered the curtain to be lowered twice, the second time after the first act, and this will be done in the future.
CLOSE WATCH FOR FIRE.
Two firemen belonging to the fire department, but paid by the theater, come on duty at 7 o'clock. Every light or naked torch carried on the stage it is their duty to watch. It is the custom here, as at all theaters, to keep blankets dripping wethanging at certain points all round the stage. Cutting-away apparatus and buckets are kept in the flies.
"I have never heard of a great theater fire," said Mr. Dana, acting manager, "where trouble has been caused by flames in the front of the house. The exits in London theaters must be direct to the streets, not false exits, as I am afraid is too often the case in America. Nevertheless, when all is done, the fact remains that no one has ever invented a patent for stopping a panic."
TREE TELLS OF RUSE.
"It is certainly the most terrible tragedy I ever heard of," said Mr. Tree, the proprietor. "It is quite easy at times to prevent a panic from the stage by a little presence of mind. I was playing once in Belfast when suddenly behind a transparency I saw a reddish blaze and guessed it was a fire, but went quietly on until a convenient pause. Then I announced to the audience that something was out of order and the curtain would descend quietly and remain down a few minutes. I assured them there was absolutely no danger. The curtain descended amid applause, and while the band played the fire was quickly smothered. The curtain rose and the play went on without a soul leaving the house.
"It is quite possible at such a time for a person to hypnotize an audience. In all cases of theater disasters it has been the panic, not the fire, that has caused the big loss of life.
"It is probable if the audience had known where the exits were the Iroquois theater might have been cleared in two minutes. I think that every night uniformed attendants should be stationed in all theaters, whose duty it should be to call out 'This way out' when the audience is leaving. I am surprised there appeared to be no outside balconies with stairways, as isthe case in most American theaters, which is an advantage which we have not got here."
FORTUNE FOR SAFETY.
Sidney Smith, business manager of the Drury Lane theater, where "Mr. Bluebeard, Jr.," was produced two years ago, said: "The kernel of the whole matter is that human beings will be human beings. There is no possible provision against a panic. Our theater is the only isolated one in London."
W. C. ZIMMERMAN ON EUROPEAN THEATERS.
W. Carbys Zimmerman, of Chicago, the well-known architect, sailed for America on the Saturday succeeding the fire, with his wife, in a state of intense anxiety as to whether his children had been caught in the Iroquois disaster.
Mr. Zimmerman had just completed a tour of inspection of the theaters of Vienna, Paris and London. "My work in London," he said, "was interfered with by the appalling news from Chicago. I had seen only a few theaters here when I heard of the Iroquois fire. After that I had no heart to make further investigation. My observation leads me to think the Vienna theaters the safest in Europe. Many of them are quite detached from other buildings. They are splendidly furnished with exits and fire-fighting appliances. The theaters of Paris, except the best ones, are extremely dangerous.
"From what I saw in London I judge that fire in many theaters would result in great loss of life. The passages are often so narrow that two people can scarcely pass. The managers naturally put a rosy face on the matter. They pretend that the Chicago fire has not reduced their bookings, but intelligent observers know better. Immense improvements are certain to be effected in London theaters in the immediate future.
"Every theater should be isolated from other structures. It should have exits all round and these should be used regularly. There should be no emergency exits whatever. The fireproof curtain should be used constantly in place of the ordinary drop curtain. All passages should be straight and wide and all scenery noncombustible. Lastly, professional fire fighters should be properly posted throughout the performance. Europe recognizes that amateur firemen are useless in a crisis."
THE EFFECT ON GAY PARIS.
Thousands of Parisians, both French and Americans, including all those who had friends and relatives in Chicago, eagerly scanned the list of the dead and injured in the Iroquois disaster, as it was posted at the newspaper offices and distributed throughout the hotels and public places in the city. This step greatly relieved the anxiety of many of the American colony, while at the same time it confirmed the fears of those whose friends or acquaintances were caught in the fire.
The theater managers complained at once that the Chicago catastrophe had a most damaging effect on receipts. All the popular matinees were comparatively deserted and the children's New Year pantomimes were complete failures. Cool heads pointed out that the Parisian theaters, as a rule, are better equipped against fire than those of Chicago, but without effect. The lesson of terror had seized the public.
UPHEAVAL OF BERLIN THEATER WORLD.
The Berlin evening papers of the fateful day expressed horror and sympathy over the Chicago catastrophe, comparing the details with those of the Vienna and Paris theater fires. The fire department of the city announced that it would immediately make a fresh study of the protective arrangements of the localtheaters, so as to prevent, if possible, a disaster similar to the one at Chicago.
Directors of all the Berlin theaters were promptly summoned to police headquarters and apprised of the kaiser's demand that fire protection be made more adequate. The directors of many houses came before their audiences and publicly stated their intention to install the new facilities ordered by the kaiser. These precautions included the lowering of the iron curtain five minutes before each performance and during the intermissions; an increase in the number of firemen on and off the stage, and illuminated exit signs, incapable of extinguishment by smoke or flame. Before each performance the firemen were also to make minute inspection of the building and furnish a formal report that all was right before the curtain was raised.
The greatest bomb, however, cast into the theater world of Berlin was Emperor Wilhelm's order summarily closing the Royal Opera House until certain alterations, necessary for protection from fire and possible panic, were made. The kaiser's action attracted the attention of the whole community, which concluded that if the largest and best-equipped playhouse in Prussia was unsafe many minor establishments must be positively dangerous. Berlin, without doubt, contained a dozen music halls and other places of amusement where a fire panic would be deadly, and they followed the fate of the Royal Opera House and were closed until safeguards approved by the proper authorities were provided. In the future proprietors of Berlin theaters will also station special policemen in their houses for the sole purpose of controlling audiences in case of fire, or panic, or both. Thus did the Chicago tragedy profoundly affect one of the great theater centers of the world.
MR. SHAVER ON BERLIN THEATERS.
Cornelius H. Shaver, president of the Railroad News Company of Chicago, who was in Berlin at the time of the fire, said: "Many of the theaters in Germany strike me as firetraps. Several Berliners assure me that the ushers are the only ones sure of escaping with their lives from at least three of their best houses. The auditoriums in many German theaters are 150 feet back from the street and to reach them one must journey through a labyrinth of courts, corridors and sudden turnings. In the interior the precautions against fire are excellent, including iron curtains, automatic sprinklers and squads of city firemen; but German theaters and hotels are lacking in so essential an equipment as outside fire escapes."
VIENNA RECALLS A HORROR OF ITS OWN.
The catastrophe at Chicago aroused the most painful interest and the utmost sympathy everywhere in Austria, the Viennese having a keen recollection of the disaster at the Ring theater in 1881, when 875 people lost their lives. Intense anxiety prevailed in the American colony, as many doctors and musical students who form the bulk of the colony come from the Middle West of the United States.
Herr Lueger, the burgomaster of Vienna, sent a cable message to Mayor Harrison, expressing sympathy and deep condolence over the terrible catastrophe.
THE NETHERLANDS AND SCANDINAVIA.
Upon receipt of definite news of the Iroquois theater disaster the theaters and music halls in The Hague were overhauled by the authorities. Amsterdam and Rotterdam demanded strict enforcement of the regulations against fire and new legislation looking to that end was at once put in force.
In Copenhagen, Stockholm and Christiania the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian licensing authorities for public amusements caused a rigid inspection to be made of all playhouses with a view to better safeguards against fire, and that inspection is still progressing and will doubtless bear good results as in other European centers.
Enough has been said to indicate that virtually the entire hemisphere of the West has been stirred to practical action by the terrible calamity which this book records. It is not within the range of human possibility that theaters can be made absolutely perfect, any more than other human institutions, nor is it possible that the awful lesson furnished by the Iroquois theater disaster will have been forgotten before substantial improvements are made in the amusement houses of the world for the present and future protection of human life.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SAFE THEATERS.
Clarence J. Root, of Chicago, an assistant of Prof. Cox in the weather bureau, makes the following suggestions in connection with the safe-theater agitation:
"Location—All theaters to be in buildings by themselves, like the Illinois and Iroquois. No stores or offices to be located in them. Buildings should be isolated, with wide private or public alleys or courts entirely around the rear and sides. A false wall could be built in front of the side courts where they project upon the street, thus helping the appearance of the block. These should, however, have wide arches through them.
"Construction—All buildings to be absolutely fireproof. The buildings should be built of steel, fireproof tiling, steel lathing, etc. Scenery of asbestos or aluminum would be practicable. Aluminum is light and easily handled. The seats to be upholstered in leather. The floor to be constructed of metal, cement, mosaic or composition, with thin rubber matting over them, such as is used on sleeping-car steps. Ornamental iron work can be used on boxes, front of balconies, etc. Stair railings of brass or fancy copper. The fire curtain to be of steel and asbestos both. The heavy steel would prevent any bulging from a draft.
"Exits—No steps or stairs should be used in the aisles or exits or anywhere in the theater. Easy inclines, similar to the ones in the new Pittsburg theater, should be used in the aisles,the inside entrances and exits, and the outside exits, all to be covered with rubber to prevent slipping. Two or three very wide exits ought to be provided on each side of the theater, and in addition, one (say twice as wide as the aisle) at the rear end of each aisle, the hallway leading from these rear exits, if not opening outdoors, to be wide enough to accommodate the entire number of exits. These rules should apply in the balconies, also. The outside fire-escapes to be long, easy inclines, with high sides, to prevent people from jumping. Each exit to have its own independent incline, so that the crowd from the first balcony cannot block those from the upper gallery, as in the Iroquois fire. All doors to swing outward and not to be locked during the performance. They should be inspected before each play and should be so connected, electrically, that every door in the house could be thrown open instantly, merely by the touching of a button, these buttons to be located on the stage and other places convenient to the ushers and employees. Theaters should not be built 'L' shape. That was one fault of the Iroquois. The crowd naturally followed the aisles to the back of the house and then, instead of finding themselves at the outdoor exits, as in most playhouses, they had to go clear to one side of the theater. This mixed them up with the crowds from the other aisles and concentrated too many people in one place.
"Summary—A theater as described above could not burn, but a sprinkler system would do no harm. Heating and power plant in another building would prevent danger of an explosion. The aisles should be very wide and no standing room or portable chairs allowed. It may seem unnecessary in a fireproof theater to have such elaborate exits, but panics will occur from other causes than fires. A plan of the house should be printed on the cover of the program; this should plainly showthe exits. A description of the fireproof qualities of the theater should also be printed. This will secure the confidence of the audience, and perhaps avert a panic. In a house built and equipped, strictly in accordance with the above ideas, a fire would be impossible and a serious panic unlikely."
FRANCIS WILSON SAYS "NO STEPS."
Francis Wilson, the well known actor, in speaking of the fire, said:
"I suppose similar scenes always will follow a sudden rush in any building crowded with men and women, but I feel strongly that theater buildings could be improved so as to reduce the danger in a stampede to a minimum. It is my opinion that there should not be a single step in a theater. The descents should be gentle inclines. That this is possible is shown by the construction of a new theater in Pittsburg, where even the gallery is reached by inclines.
"It is the thought of the many stairways that must be passed quickly, and possibly in darkness, that drives the occupants of the galleries to panic at any alarm. If they were sure of a clear pathway straight to the street half their fear would be allayed. In doing away with steps in the auditoriums of theaters the builders should not forget the actors."
STAIRCASES WITH RAILINGS.
Suggestion by W. B. Chamberlain, of London:
"In nearly all fires in theaters loss of life seems to be at the head of stairs. This is natural, as persons who come first to the head of the stairs, hold back, being afraid to go down quickly lest they be pushed down by those behind them. People seem to think a broad staircase safer than a narrow one. I don't think this is the case, as in a narrow one you can putyour hands on two sides, and go down with less fear of being thrown forward. All wide staircases should be provided with handrails, for if you have both hands on handrails you can run down quickly. If theaters were below ground you would in case of fire run up instead of down. They would be much safer for want of air to feed the flames."
PRECAUTIONS ENFORCED IN LONDON.
According to Sir Algernon West, of London, since 1858 not a single life has been lost in a properly licensed theater building in that city, except of a fireman, who perished in the performance of duty at the Alhambra in 1882. During the few days following the Iroquois disaster, theater managers and the public praised the wisdom of the rules of the county council, whereas some of the former had been wont to find them rather irksome. In addition to the main rules about lowering the asbestos curtain once during the performance, doors opening outward, stairways and passages to be kept free, there are some other precautions which must be observed. All doors used for the purpose of exit must, if fastened during the time the public are in the building, be secured during such time only by automatic bolts only of a pattern and position approved by the council. The management must allow the public to leave by all exit doors. All gas burners within reach of the audience must be protected by glass or wire globes. All gas taps within reach of the public must be made secure.
An additional means of lighting for use in the event of the principal system being extinguished must be provided in the auditorium, corridors, passages, exits and staircases. If oil or candle lamps are used for this purpose, they must be of a pattern approved by the council, and properly secured to a noninflammable base, out of reach of the public. Such lampsmust be kept lighted during the whole time the public is in the premises. No mineral oil must be used in them. All hangings, curtains and draperies must be rendered noninflammable. Scenery is painted on canvas that has been first prepared with a solution recommended by the county council, to make it noninflammable. The paints used by the scenic artists contain no oils.
WHAT THE CHICAGO CITY ENGINEER SAYS.
John Ericson, the city engineer of Chicago, has this to offer:
"A theater building should have an open space on all sides with exits and entrances leading directly out, and not, as now is mostly the case, be wedged in tight between other large buildings, with a number of exits all leading to one or two not too wide hallways which again, together with the stairways from the balconies and galleries, merge into one entrance. These halls and stairways are only too easily blocked by the frantic people in case of a panic. The aisles in most of our theaters are also too narrow and should be made considerably wider.
"The excuse that space is too valuable for such extravagance cannot hold. If the return for the capital invested in such a case does not seem sufficiently large to the investor, then rather charge a little more for the entertainment or reduce the number of playhouses so as to insure full houses, but in the name of humanity construct those that are used in such a way that calamities such as have occurred will be an impossibility.
"I am also of the opinion that perforated water pipes over the stage, into which water can be turned at a moment's notice so as to drench the whole stage if necessary, would add greatly to the safety of life and property.
"An automatic sprinkler system would probably have beenless effective in the case of the Iroquois fire, as great damage to life would have probably been done before such sprinklers would have been put into action."
OPINION OF A FIREPROOF EXPERT.
William Clendennin, editor of theFireproof Magazine, condemned the Iroquois Theater building as long ago as last August. Here is his opinion, which he asserts is based on a personal investigation:
"The Iroquois theater was a firetrap. The whole thing was a rush construction. It was beautiful but it was cheap. Everything but the structural members was of wood; the roller on the asbestos curtain, the pulleys, all of a cheap compromise.
"I made an investigation of the theater last August and condemned it on four different points. My condemnation was published in the August number of theFireproof. The points are:
"1. The absence of an intake, or stage draft shaft.
"2. The exposed re-enforcement of the concrete arch.
"3. The presence of wood trim on everything.
"4. The inadequate provision of exits.
"A theater has two parts—the stage and the house or audience part. There should be a roll shutter between the two and the best sort of a curtain is a compromise. The poor stuff in the curtain at the Iroquois theater made it doubly a compromise; a great danger, a terrible trap.
"The stage may be compared to a closet. When you open a closet door the draft is outward, not inward. So when the fire started on the stage the draft pulled it toward the audience. It was a quick flame puff.
"The arch, or ceiling, was covered with a cheap concrete. The first puff of flame destroyed this. It crumbled away,exposing the twisted mass of steel re-enforcement and girders, and fell on the audience. This killed many. Looking from below, the bewildered, choking and maddened crowd thought it was the result of a panic above. They believed the galleries were falling and in the rush resulting many more were killed.
"The Iroquois theater was the most-talked-of construction in the country at the time of its building. It was believed to be the expression of the most modern ideas in regard to theater building; to be about as near fireproof as one could be. My investigation satisfied me that it was one of the worst firetraps in the city. There was so much wood and so much plush and inflammable trimming about everything. The insufficient exits tell the rest of the story."
ILLUMINATED EXIT SIGNS.
On this point T. B. Badt, a consulting electrical engineer of Chicago, writes:
"It has been stated that in the Iroquois no exit signs were over the doors, and it has been suggested that this was one of the causes of loss of life. The question arises, what would signs have been good for if the theater was thrown in darkness? The signs would not have been seen any more than the doors underneath the draperies. In order to avoid such trouble I should propose the following:
"Have over each door a transparent sign made out of metal with glass crystal letters, and have same illuminated from the outside of the building wall by means of a lantern attached on the outside, and have this lantern supplied by a source of light independent of the theater lighting system, either electric or gas. The sign would be illuminated at all times during the performance; it would not be an objection during dark scenes, because there would be practically no light thrown throughthe glass letters to interfere with the darkness inside; at the same time the sign would stand there glaring the word 'exit,' no matter how dark the theater or how light the theater. The main point I am trying to raise is that any device which has to be operated in case of an emergency is liable to fail, but an illuminated sign that will be illuminated at all times will be there no matter what trouble may happen, because nobody can forget to light it during the excitement, as it is already lighted before the performance commences. This, in my opinion, is the keynote for all devices which are intended to prevent panics in theaters. An automatic device is dependent upon certain conditions, usually rise of temperature near the ceiling. A manually operated safety device depends upon the presence of mind and cool-headedness of a certain employee and in my opinion all these features should be eliminated. Everything should be ready for an emergency and not be dependent upon somebody or something to make it ready. All exit doors ought to be unlocked and swing open towards the outside, and this, in connection with the permanently illuminated sign above the door saying 'exit,' in my opinion, would prevent any of the calamities heretofore experienced in theater disasters."