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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1903)
PAGE SIX. ASTORIA, OREGdN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1903. HORRORS OF GREAT FIRE heartrending Scenes Enacted at ; Burning of Iroquois Theater in Chicago. . ; OVER FIVE HUNDRED DEAD Mad Rush Occura Upon First Alarm and Woman and Children Are Trampled to Death by tha ' 8tronger Onee. : -', Caicago, Deo. 81. AboVit 55 people "were killed In 10 mlnutea yesterday oft eraooa. during tbe Are tn the Iroquois theater, the newest, largest, and, as far aa human power could make It, the safest theater In Chicago. Esti mate of the number of dead vary. The police count Sit; the estimate of the newspapers Is 662. There were 56 people missing at midnight, the ma Jority of whom are probably among the dead. Eightr-six dead have been positively Identified and 92 others are now known to be Injured.. It will be many hours before the number of dead Is accurately known and many days before all of them are Identified. There are bodies lying by ozena In undertaking rooms, police stations and in hospitals from which nearly everything that could reveal their identity to those who knew them best Is gone. The clothing Is torn to rags or burned to cinders and their faces have been mashed Into unrecog nisable pulp by the heels of the crowd that trampled them down as they fled for safety. The Are broke out during the second act of the play, "Mr. Blue Beard," the first production in the theater since its erection.' The company, which was very large, escaped to the street In safety, .Nearly all, however, were compelled to flee Into the snow In the streets with no clothing but their alight stage costumes, A few members of the company sustained minor injur ies, but none was seriously hurt, , Darkness Delayed Work. The Are chief immediately called up on all his men in the vicinity to aban don work on tha Are and come at once to the rescue. The building was so dark and the smoke so thick that It was found impossible to accomplish anything until light had been secured Word was at once sent to the Orr & Lockett Hardware Company near by, and that Arm placed its entire stock of lanterns at the service of the de partment. Over 200 lights were quick ly carried into the building and the work of rescue commenced, So rap Idly were the bodies brought down that in an hour there were two streams of men in and out of the door, the one carrying bodies and the other com posed of men returning to get more. The bodies were carried into the Thompson restaurant, which adjoins the theater on the east, where the available space was given by the pro prietor. The dead and wounded were placed on chairs, one woman even be ing placed, for lack of a better spot, on the cigar case. Uccause of the tremendous throng which surrounded the block in which the theater building Btood It was not nsKlble for the police to carry the dead una wounded any distance, and they were compelled to wait for the ambu litme at the theater. Although all the patrol wagons and every ambulance ewned by the city was pressed into Ber yl, they wars utterly Inadequate to VairJ aWay (ha dead, and In a short time there was a line of corpses 50 feet long piled two and three high on the sidewalk in front of the theater. It waa found neceasary. In order to con vey the bodies rapidly to the morgue And to the various undertaking estab iahmenta to press trucks into service, and In these, upon costly blankets fur- 9IG. SICHCL a CO, ftfl liMElk Cigars M For Sale Everywhere, tiiphed by the drygoods stores in the vicinity, and covered with the same vault rial, the dead were hauled away practically like so much cord wood Merchants Lend Aid. of tie The merchants In the vicinity of the theater came to the emergency in yplendld fashion. Marshall Field ,& Company, Mandel Bros., Schlesslnger & Mayer, Carson, Pieri, Scott & Com pany and other large drygoods stores e.nt wagohload after wagonload blankets, rolls of linen and packages of of cotton to be used in binding up the wounds of ibe Injured and to cover the deaoV The drugstores furnished their stock to anybody that asked for it the name ot people hurt in the Are.. Doctors and trained nurses were the ground by the score within half hour after .the ' calamity was known and every wounded person who was carried from (he building received prompt medical aid. A number of doc tore waited at the entrance to th theater with atetbescopes in hand, and aa ' aoon aa a body which looked as though it might possess life was car riod out It was at once examined and, if dead, placed on the pile lying on the ii.uiir Tha others were at one Dlaced In ambulancea and whirled away to the hospitals or to the offices of physicians in the vicinity. ' . , Origin of the Fire. Accounts of the origin of the Are are .on Meting, but the best reason given 18 tltat an electric wire on the lower part of a piece of scenery broke and grounded. The Are spread rapidly to wan! the front of the stage, causing the menibors of the chorus to Aee to the wings, with screams of terror. The tire In Itself up to this time was not rerlous, and possibly could have been checked had not an asbestos curtain fWer.dwl about half way and then stuck. The Are was thus given a Aue through which a strong draught was setting, aided by doors which had been thrown open in the front ot the theater With the rear flames shooting through the opening over the heads of the peo ple on the flrst floor, and reaching clear up to those In the flrst balcony, the Are caught them and burned them to death where they sat. Immediately following the rush of flames there came an explosion which lifted the entire roof of the theater from its walls, shattering the . great skvllKht Into fragments As soon as the flames appeared beyond the cur tain a man in the rear of the hall shouted: . "Fire! fire!" The entire audience rose as one per son and made for the doors. It Is be lieved the explosion was caused by the flames coming In contact with gas res ervoirs of the theater, causing them to burst. ' The building in which the calamity occurred stands midway between State and Dearborn streets, on the north side of Randolph street. v As near as can be estimated, about 1300 people were In the theater. Three hundred were on the first floor and the remainder in the balconies .and hall ways. All Ran Same Way The audience, In the rush for the outer air, seems to' have chosen, for the greater part, to flee to the left en trance and attempt to make Its way down the eastern stairway leading into the lobby of the theater. The outside people were burned and suffocated by the gas. It was on these two door ways on the flrst and second balconies that the greatest loss of life occurred. When the firemen entered the build ing the bodies were found stretched in an Immense pile. This mass of dead bodies In the center of the doorway reached to within two feet of the top of the passage way. All the corpses at this point were of women and child ren. The tight for life which must have taken place at these two points ta something simply beyond human power to adequately describe, Only a faint Idea of its horror could be de- continued on page T) rc I BUSINESS TJOQAZM r- ; LET YOUR WANTS BE KNOWN, Somebody has what you want, or wants what you have to sell. , Here is where want and wanted come together. ADVERTISE. .. Smoke La Imperial cigars. For sale, cheap Good organ. Inquire at this office... tl The Columbia Oyster House Is now handling tbe celebrated Toke Point oysters. ft First-class meal for Uc; aloe cake, coffee pie or docfaata, Sc. si. 8. res taurant. 4U Bead street. tf. Sale of pictures new aa. We need the room; we need the money. Call areund for bargain. Weedaels'e Art Store. , T. F. Laurm has a eompiete llae of toilet articles and perfumes, the moat mmplete stock in any retail store in tbe northwest. Give him a trial. tf Upper Astoria has a place where you can get a. fine glass of beer, as good wines and liquors as you can And any place In the city . ' f HARRT JONES. tf , Opposite Kopp'a Brewery. Those who need tinning done on their houses should call on J. A. Montgomery, the tinning department of whose establishment is In charge of L. Noe, who has no superior In that Jine of the business. The La Tosca is under new manage - men and the new proprietors solicit a continuance of the former trade and are unply able to care for the new. All treated alike. They keep aa ord erly houm and they solicit a call. tf Do you like chicken tamales or choice concarne? If ao, ring up J. G. Cook, or call on him. Headquarters in rear of National saloon. Ask for Cook, who makes the finest concarne and tamales. Orders delivered at private residences. For supper what Is nicer than a chicken tamale. or a dish of Chile Concarnle? And the only place in town to get either Is at the, National Restaurant, which . also serves all kinds of sandwiches and fine steaks and chops. Jicky! What's Jlckyl A special perfume made by Guerlain Paris, im ported and sold by Frank Hart, the druggist, who also sells Crown Per fumery Company's crab apple blos soms, Atkinson's white rose, Rogers Collet's perfumes and the other odors usually carried In a first-class reta'i drugstore. Remember the place opposite Foard & Stokes. tf T. F. Laurin, the purchaser of the Conn drug atore, corner of Commer cial and Twelfth streets? has made Elegant! Comfortable! All say it is the most tastefully decorated Cafe in the Northwest KRATZ' CAFE Favorite Rendezvous for AstorUns Sixth and Washington SLEEPING Comfortable, well furnished rooms to be had by the day, week or a montn, upon application ai mc tcsmumui w i j The 0. K. Parlors. V Neatness in the keeping of the rooms is assured. P. A. PETEUSON, Prop. Astor St., - - - J. H. HANSEN Plumbing and Tinning STEAM AND OAS FITTING All work promptly Experted. Telephone 441 Main. some needed changes in his new store and la better "prepared than ever to meet the requirements of the trade. He has also renewed tha chemicals and subscription medicines and his custom era caa depend that the stoak is new and fresh. tf A black purse containing a small sum of money, a locket and chain, and a raundtrip ticket on the A. & C. R. R. between this city and Portland, was lost near the depot Christmas tve.- Finder will please return to this eflce. AH af Wise's eas towers wfca have betajht fit worth of goods or over siaee Jum 1, IMS, who have not as yet re eeved their numbers are requested ta secure them before the drawing far four first-class round-trip tickets ta tha world's fair at St. Louts. The drawing will take place at Foard Stokes1 hall on January 14, at which time; W toe's customers will be given a masquerade ball. ' tw. JAPANI9SBI GOOD. ' New stock of fancy goods Just arriv ed at Yokohama Bntaar. Call and aee the latest novelties from Japan. COAU COAU COAU If yen want your money's worth Rlag 'Phone 1111. OBO. W. SANBORN, Aft. BEST tt-CENT MEAL. Tou will always And the best lie meal in tha city at tbe Rising Sun res taurant, No. 612 Commercial street. f To Tha Public Having assumed the managemen of the' saloon known as the La Tosca we beg leave to state that it shall be our aim at all times to sell only the best oods and to assure to all of ou patrons courteous treatment. A con cert will be given every evening by the best musical talent to be procur ed on the coast, and in evry posslbl manner we shall endeavor to mak our house attractive to the public. JESS CHESHIRE. THEO. BRAKKE. January Sale. Mrs. R. Ingleton will have a big re duction sale during the month of Jan uary on hats, skirts, shirt waists, un derclothes and all kinds of ladies' and children's furnishing goods, hair switches and pompadours. MRS. R. INGLETON, Welch block. Notice to Subscribers. . Subscriber are requested to tele- nhone this office hi all cases of failure upon the part of carriers to deliver the paper which will e sent oy special una aMiirer and the charge therefor deduct ed from the wages of the carrier res- St. Portland, Or. QUARTERS. : Astoria, Or. a a Satisfaction Guaranteed. 505 Bond Street, Astoria. ponslble for the everslght or negligence THE PUBLISHERS. D1N8M0RB TYPEWRITER. We sell, rent, aad repair all makes of typewriters. Write for aaw aatalogua of New Deaemere. Huxley, Ryan sS Co., M rewrth Street Portland. Or. f. CALL ON HIM. teetriral fixtures. Heetriral wiring. SUeotrioal eupallee. Oas mantels guaranteed. 4H Commercial stieet. M. F. Hardesty, Eleotriean Con tracter. ff AT THB TOKB POINT. If it is in season you will And it at its best at the celebrated Toke Point oyster house on Eleventh street. Fish, game, shell-fish, choicest meats, pastry coffee, etc., etc., served to the queen's taste. Special accommodations for parties. Open all night. Don't miss the place, Eleventh street, near Bond. Call far Proposals. A Sealed proposals for tha ereetiea af a eald starage warehouse ta be built aa the site af the Hanthom eaaaary Astoria, Oregon, will be received at tale nice until 11:01 a, m. January 5, MM, and then publiely opened. Specifica tions and. all available information will be furnished an applteaMaa to thla lee , Columbia River Packers' Association Samuel Blmore, Ties-President. Astoria, Ore., Dee. 31. 193, Occident Shop. Four chairs at the Occident barber sh.-.p. No use to miss everything wait ing for a shave. First-class artists and by the way, this 1 the place to get a bath. Everything the very best, tf Notice. , Notice is hereby given that the com mittee on Streets and Public Ways of the common council of the City of As toria, Superintendent of Streets and City Surveyor have filed with the Audi tor and Police Judge of said City a cer tificate of the acceptance of the im provement of Franklin avenue, from the west line of Fifth street to the west line of Ninth street, under ordinance No. 2831, by L. Lebeck, the' contractor, and unless objections are filed against the same, said improvement will be accepted by ordinance at the next reg ular meeting of said council. s OLOF ANDERSON, :' Auditor and Police Judge. Dated Astoria. Oregon, December 29, 1903. ' ' . : ALIFB8ATBR, " Many lives are annually destroyed by THE BUREAU SALOON JOHNSON & COOK, Props. We Keep the Best ' Wines, Liquors, Ciirars and ; WE MAKE A SPECIALTY Phone No. 8661 Main THE MIDWAY CLU (NEWLY TIBUKO A MANSON . cssrs tBi OHoioaar stooi or BTaBTTKIHa til Til UMI Ot Kopp's North rGI BUILD1HH The GROTTO. ASTORIA'S LATEST AND MOST ELEGANT RESORT FOR GENTLEMEN. UNEXCELLED ANYWHERE. ALL GOODS GUARANTEED TO BE THE BEST - , OBTAINABLE. ; , OTTO. MIKIILESEN, Prop. 626 COMMERCIAL ST. . diseases resulting from faulty plumbing Ba aura your plumbing is dona by an expert, and save annoyanoa and dan gar. Oas and steam fitting, aeatiag, tinning, ate, fixtures in stoak. JOHN A. MONTGOMERY, ill Bond street. 'P. mm. . Cheap Fuel, Fir slabwood, stove lengths, $2. to per cord. Boxwood $1.60 per large load. Phone 2211 Black, Kelly, the transfer man. ' ' Notioa of Dissolution.., -Notice is hereby given that th part nership heretofore existing under th name of the Franklin Printing Com pany is this day . dissolved by mutual oonsent. The business of publishing The Astorlan will be conducted in fu ture ay tbe Aatorlan Publishing Cern pany, to whom all accounts due said Arm are payable. . . , '.- OTIS PATTERSON, EDGAR W. STAHL, ROBERT GIBSON. Astoria, Oregan, Dec. 24, 1S3. City Treasurer's Notlaa. There is money In tha City Treasury to pay tha following warrants drawn on tha following streets: M F,. Alleyway and Cedar, No. 1.40 to 1, 4U, inclusive. Fifty-one and Birch, No. 11,441. Fourth street, iBond to Astor, No. II,- . I ' Fifth, Commercial to Astor, No. 11,314 andl,3K. Fifteenth, Jerome to Niagara, Nos, M,2Gf, 14.MI, 11,204. . Eighth street, Commercial to Astor, Nas. 11,191, 1I,M, ll,7, 1I,MS. k A. ' ., WIIU W Nos. 1I.70 to 11.714 Inclusive. ' Interest will cease after this date. THOMAS DBALEY, City Treasurer. Astoria, Ore., Pee. 19, IMS. bf Assessment Notice. Notice is hereby given that the as sessment made for the purpose of im proving 60th street from the south line of Cdar street, to the north line sf Date street as per assessment roll No. 71 was made by an order of the com mon council due and payable January 8th, 1904 by ordinance No. 2873 con firming said assessment roll. That th following are the names of the persons against whom the assessments are 1'iade,. amounts owning by each, to-wit: Allen, B. F S.13.66. Anderson, George 3S.W Duffner, Otto 28.41 Kelly, Mary M. 1M.2J Wevang. AndrewHelrs of 3.J City of Astoria 7S.22 By order of tha common council, OLOF ANDERSON, . Auditor and Police Judge. Dated Astoria, Oregon, Dec. 2, 13. flineral Waters OF BRANDY - 870 Commercial Stoaet OKBN1D.) - Proprietors 1 . loss, Liquors and Cigars Pacific Bear 48T0B STREET . . ASTORIA. ORB.