Coroner’s Jury in the Opera House Calamity Censures Factory Inspection Department for its Careless Approval of Entrance
NO ONE CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE
Following is the verdict of the coroner’s jury in the opera house disaster of last Saturday night:
We the jury find that Murray Hill, Frances Byrd, Marcella Robinson, Arthur McPeake, Mrs. Callie Young, Sidney Rittiger, Lulu Fisher, Paul Mastic, Mrs. Fred Marshall, Mrs. Blanche E. Kelly, baby of Mr. And Mrs. Kelly, Carl Lane, Margaret Lane, Walter Neish, George Kay, Mrs. Charles Miller, Bolus Dubrowski, George Owen Cole, Elizabeth Gleditsch, Elizabeth Green, Elizabeth Gibbs, Stella Richards, Ludwig Nugy, Harold Shaner, Mrs. Mary Ann Laird Campbell And Annie Laird came to death August 26, 1911, from suffocation and internal injuries from being trampled and crushed in the Morgan Opera House, Canonsburg, Pa. We find from the evidence that a panic among the spectators in the Opera House caused by a person or persons unknown, crying fire in the gallery was primarily the cause of the crush resulting in the deaths of the above named. This condition being intensified by the limited means of egress afforded at the street entrance to the building.
“We, the jury, are unable to find any person or persons guilty criminally for the deaths of the above named, but do unequivocally condemn C. F. Ferguson, manager of the Opera House, for his failure to properly police the premises, to prohibit people to collect and crowd on the stairway and lobby, and leaving obstructions in the shape of baby carriages in the lower hall.
“We unanimously agree that the officer or officers of the department of state factory inspection is or are open to severe censure for carelessly approving the main entrance to the Opera House building when the same was not of lawful width.
“We recommend the owner of the Morgan building that the street entrance of the said building be widened to the same width as the stairway leading up therefrom or to a greater width.
“We recommend the owner of by the next session of the General Assembly of this commonwealth of a measure prohibiting the giving or holding of theatrical performances or moving picture shows in boroughs or townships on the floor of any building above the ground floor.”
Last Witness Examined
The taking of testimony was concluded at about 3:15, just as the town edition of The Notes was going to press. For the benefit of the readers out of town the testimony of some of the witnesses called near the close of the inquiry is here printed, most of it having appeared in an extra edition issued Friday evening just after the verdict had been returned a little before 7 o’clock. The jury deliberated nearly two and a half hours.
Yesterday’s report of the inquest closed with the testimony of Harry Kane. A summary of those who gave testimony after Mr. Kane left the stand is given below:
George Dowswell when questioned said that he saw no firemen go up through the crowd on the stairs, but all who he saw gain entrance did so by means of ladders. He saw people trying to pull others out of the heap at the bottom of the stairs.
Joseph Auerbach was on the street but ran immediately to the building where two daughters were. Gaining entrance by a fire escape he found Ferguson working hard and found one of his children. He then helped get the crowd back and helping take out the bodies at the foot of the stairs, walked out the front door.
Earnest Davis, aged 14, was in the booth and said that he was operating the machine when the film broke. He said that John McCullough, the regular operator was working with another machine and when the film broke, it caught fire and that McCullough threw about a foot of it on the floor when Davis tramped on it. The flame, he said was not much larger than that made by a match.
John McCullough, the regular operator, was then called and he refuted nearly all of Davis’s statements. He said that he, (McCullough) was running the machine when the film broke and the light, supposed to shine through the celluloid strip, flashed suddenly on the screen. He said that there was no blaze, no film burned and that, after he had fixed the film in less than two minutes, he went on with the show for 45 minutes before he knew that anyone had been hurt. He said that similar accidents had occurred thousands of times and that he did not open the door of his fireproof booth.
A. Sheldon said that while he was passing the doorway he was bumped into by a crowd running out of the theater and that by the time he had again reached the door, the steps were choked with people. He said that he pulled one or two out and then telephoned for physicians.
John Ayers said that he held onto a rope to keep the crowd from filling the street in front of the building that he pulled a mashed go-cart from the doorway. He said that he saw people jump from the top of the stairway onto the crowd.
Mark Richards, who was in the gallery and who had to wait 10 or 15 minutes for a seat, said that he saw the flash onn the curtain then in the booth. He said that there were people in the aisles and that everyone jumped up , but the picture started again almost immediately and he watched it for a while. Then he saw the chief of police and several firemen jump off the stage and he went out and helped pull people back.
Patrolman Elmer Ayers said that he had been on the street, but when he saw that the stairs were clogged he gained entrance by a ladder and helped pull people out. He carried out the last three bodies and saw one baby carriage on the east side of the stairs, near the foot.
Patrolman Peter Haught said that sometimes there was a crowd around the entrance and that sometimes he had difficulty keeping the street clear. He thought the manager of the place should have employed a special policeman, although the big crowds on the sidewalk were there only at the bigger shows. He added that Saturday night’s crowd was about the biggest he had ever seen.
Machine Operator Testifies
Earnest Davis was recalled and stated positively that he was running the machine while McCullough was fixing the other. He repeated emphatically that he was sure the film burned an that he had put his foot on it. He repeated that he saw about a foot of the film blazing on the floor after he claims it had been pulled off.
McCullough was recalled after several other witnesses had been called and affirmed that Davis had not been running the film, but had just brought in another reel of pictures. He repeated that he had pulled none of the film off and that none fell to the floor.
Melvin Rhome was called after Davis and stated that he had gone to the Opera House with his wife, two children and several other relatives and that he had left his baby buggy in the hall because others did the same thing. He said that this had been the only time that he had left the cart downstairs, formerly placing it in a corner of the lobby. He said that baby buggies on the stairs were a common occurrence.
The list of 45 subpoenaed witnesses was then exhausted but two others were heard, after which the jury was instructed by the coroner.
Earl Worstell said that he had been in the gallery and saw a sort of blister on the screen and a flash in the booth. He said that he heard several cry fire, saw no smoke and then went down the fire escape.
Fire Chief Harry Cook said that he was on the street when the trouble started, but when he heard the cry of fire he ran to the engine house and helped take the second reel of hose to the supposedly burning building. He then took a fire extinguisher and went ahead, but dropped the extinguisher at the foot of the fire escape and went up the escape. He said he thought the other firemen had entered by windows and fire escapes because in his mind, it was impossible to get up the front stairs.