Nelson Evening Mail FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1904. LESSORS OF THE CHICAGO DISASTER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 6, 8 January 1904, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1904. LESSORS OF THE CHICAGO DISASTER.

A WARNING TO THE SMALLER CENTRES. THE crowding horrors which have been recorded in the press since the Uegifrmiiug of the new year make the sensitive reader almost dread td open his newspaper. Beginning with the Auckland tramway collision, the Hews of which was received on Christmas Day, the Chicago heatre holocaust followed, together with the collision at sea off .he Victorian coast between the Figari and the Coogee. Drownings, domestic tragedies, and atalities of all kinds have furnish>ainful reading .in almost every, is:ue of the newspapers since the Ist nstant, and to-day we have the filal catastrophes of the explosion m H.M.S. Wallaroo, 'by which four ives have been lost, and the railway collision in America near To-: ieka, in which 30 persons were :illed and an equal number injured. * • • Of all these disasters, none has naide such a lasting and painful mprcssion on the public mind as.

the dreadful fire at the Iroquois j Theatre in Chicago. It has set all thinking, and for months to como there will be few. who will enter a theatre without a fear of fire at the back of their min-ds, expressed or unacknowledged. In nearly every place in the world the Chicago disaster has set the authorities inquiring into the exits and general ' provisions in public build- . ings for the* reduction of the risk of fire to a minimum cuid tho means afforded for escape oi crowds with as little loss of Life or injury to limbs as possible. In Chicago itself the stable door h,as been effectually shut after the horse has been stolen. The cable tells us that all theatres except one have been j closed owing to non-complianco , with the city building ordinances, while 400 public halls are being rigorously inspected. In every European city precautions are now being taken to insist on tbe provision of perfect exits and preventive screens in the event of outbreaks of fires. J Throughout Australia .similar steps are being arranged by state ami municipal authorities alike. Tn England the papers are full of discussions regarding the safety or ( otherwise 'oi theatres, and the assurance/ ! of proprietors that such •safety exists has only partially allayed public panic. 1 • • • Tn New Zealand inquiry is being ; made at all the large centres into the condition of tlie theatres and j public halls. At Dunedin a re-in-!=7><?<=ti<-.r>. of ; iVio liuiMlntrs has bepn , ordered. The custom is to license j the halls annually, and to inspect : them just before the license is re- | newed. This was Klone in due course': , Hut to ailay puiblic anxiety the Ma- j yor of Ddnodin has Instituted a , sr<ecinl investigation. At Christchurch all ihe places of amusement' are beiog similarly insp^ted. an.l the Chief Inspector of tho city will report, to the Christchurch City Council at its next meeting. In Wellington also rigorous inspection is being made. The Mayor says that, the provisions for exit at the places of amusement arc fairly satisfactory, but 'several minor details must be attended to. The. "Tost" instituted a special investigation cm its own account, and it has ascertained from the assurance of an Australian visitor that tho Wellington Opera ITpuse was below tho standard in comparison with the arrangements for guarding Hgninst risks in the Australian) theatres. However, this may be. n well-known theatrical agent in this colony declared the other day that, the precautionary regulation-., in, this colony were so rigid ns to be absolutely irksome. ■» # * • # We agree with the theatrical agent, not that the regulations arc irksome, ,but that in the large centres a great deal of care is taken to compel theatre lessees to do the best piossible to reduce to a minimum ithe risk of injury to the public in the event of an outbreak of fire and panic. If a disaster resembling the holocaust at Chicago were to occur .in New Zealand, we are firmly convinced that there is r rre likelihood of it in the smaller towns than in the large centres. Some of the laces they miscall "theatres" in the former are little short of death-traps. Local int-jrosts blind the eyes of the local authorities to the need • of structuntl improvement, and buildings that have done «duty since "before the flood" a:-e used for large public gatherings —flimsy wooden "cootraptions" with' scarcely any modern appliance for rapid exit, with crooked staircases, ramshackle "wings" on the stage, small dressing rooms and narrow winding stage passages, and with the material of which tho buildings are constructed old and rotten as matchwood. Into these places on occasion thousands crowd Ordinarily, when the theatres are being emptied after a performance, the outgoing multitude have ta tread on each other's heels, and move out much more slowly than if they were in a. funeral procession. Downstairs the two, or at most three exits are congested, jam-bed by the outgoing, blocked by the curious outside street crowd who in small towns seem to be fascinated by a per form n nee but who never take any but "outside tickets." From the galleries, a slow throng occupy more or less steep and angular stairways from upstairs to down. Tho least panic and rush from above, and that almost stationary crowd on, the stairs would become a horrid mass of falling and struggling humanity, with the weakest and youngest crushed voder foot in tho semi-darkness. Everything that can burn and spread flames with awful rapidity is at hand in these "tinder boxes." From the stage to the front doors there are old often worm-eaten ; scenery as inflammable as gunpowder ; curtains threadbare, with only the easily burnable cotton left and the wool worn away ; gas pipes that have not been renewed, ,or even inspected for an age ; unprotected jets in thorough .draughts, their flames flickering and ominously reaching; out for the nearest thing to which they might communicate their fire : footlights without guards waiting! for the first chance to set. ablaze the dress of an incautious peiV former ; exit doors, nominally called "fire escapes," securely bolted, with the holts rusting through disuse, or locked, with the key in the; next strc-et. * * • Yes, if ever New .Zealand has a theatre holocaust, it will probably be in a small town or city rather than at Wellington. Auckland, Dunedin or Christchurch. Local authorities 'are either blind, in a fool's paradise of complaisancy at being "the hub of the universe" where everything is as perfect as it can be. lor they wilfully ignore the people's needs because af the wire-pulling of [vested interests. It is in the small [• places that, the most rigorous inspection of theatres and public buildings should be made : and it is hoped that the movement so worthily started in the large centres will be carried into the lesser towns and cities by the demand of public opinion. There are so-called "theatres" in more than ono New Zealand town which it would be a blessing i n disguise '.\f burnt down when blessing 'in ■disguise'"! to fire when empty. They are mere death-traps, hindrances to progress, and tlie sooner they are demolished to make room Ifor i safer, more convenient structures, the better will it be for the community It is sincerely trusted that the insistence on the strict observance of building ordinances andythe precautions against fire risks will extend to the small towns of our illustration, for then) perhaps the owners of the ramshackle, obsolete structures miscalled "theatres" may be compelled either to (rebuild on a modem basis, or make room for others who will be more enterprising. I

4 At the Magistrate's Court to-day. George Nicholas was brought up on remand on a charge of having stolen the sum of J>s4 ;• from his brother in law, Jos. Saba. Evidence was taken and accused, who was represented by Mr Maginnity, junior, pleaded guilty. The, Magistrate I commited Nicholas for trial, to appear at j the Supreme Cearfc at "Wellington on the morning of the Ist jPebruary. Bail was allowed, accused in .£IOO and two sureties of £50. Two Assyrians, countrymen of ho accused, wont bail for him, and he was set f re.e temporarily. A well attended and enthusiastic meeting of the newly formed Walking and Touring Club was held last evening, Several netf members were elected. The executive committee intend getting off a handicap walk in about two weeks time to Stoke and back. Members aro requested to go into active training so that a good contest should result. Further particulars will appear by ad vertisemept. In tlio rifle match to morrow, at the Mudflat range, the following will represent tho respective corps : — Wakatu Mounted Rifles : Lieut. Ching, Sergt. O'Brien, bad.-Sergt. Hailing, Corpls. Drummond, Cook, Barnatt, and Faulkner, Troopei-3,. .Tomlinson, Olson, Forsyth ; emoigenpy, Trooper J. Dickson. Nolsod "Rifles : Capt. Stiles, Lieu t Stewart, Col.. Soigt. Hill, Scrgts. Johnson and Mitchoner, Corp. Prank, Lance-Corpl. Kershaw, Privates Webley, and King; emergencies, Privates b'rost aiid F. Emms. 1 The championship meeting of the New Zealand A mat our Athletic Association will I be hold at Wellington to-morrow. Nelson will be represented by G. K. Kitching, and P. 0, ffujrst. | BuildinjK-in Johannesburg(according to i the "South African Trade Journal") is go- 1 iig on at a, t.-emendous rate. Pans are I passed every fortniptKfc fur buildin prs to . thevahieof over iJiOO.OM, and' within a mile radius of the centre of the town contracts to tho- extent of two millions sterling are being carried out, about half of that ainoun-t bping paid out in wages, i Nearly 4000 artisans are employed on i them. In the fashionable suburbs, dwellings to tlie value of a quarter of a million ara being erected During the past quarter. 1528 buildings wero sanctioned, providing accommodation for 6000 people Signor Eh-agat">, Government VitiI culturist, has visited the Nelson district, at the request of several settlers who had J conceived the idea that the climate and soil wore suitable for grape culture. The ■ expert travelled overland from Nelson to j Motueka and back on the trip. He eon- ! sidor3 th *t for the most part the hilly , country is scarcely adapted to vinegrowing, and tho flats would be subject to frost? . .Still, some parts could.no I doubt, bo brought under cultivation with some prospect of "success. He was ' charmed with 'the Nelson district generally ns a fruit-growing centre. A gicat deal of the country through which ho was taken — between Nelson and Motuoka — would, he thinks, be found admirably suited for plantations of oaks and black walnut for timber purposes. i In point of fact, it is the best country he i has yet seen in tho colony adapted fcr producing such timbers, ifjthe trees wero judiciously planted. Tho following will represent the Nelson-Bival in a cricket match at Stoke to morrow : — Louisson, Bogers, Allnatt, Kirwin, Haase, Witt, Cullen, Ladley, King, Spenco, and Howard. To-morro^ at 11 a.m. Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. will sell merchandise, dupery, boots and shoes, at their salerooms, without reserve. Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. report tbe salo of property, Waimea Road, belonging to Mr Field to Mc Harley. The s.ime firm altio report strong demand for all classes of i own properties espeor'ally 5, 0, and 7-roomed dwellings. On Friday next. 15th iust., at 1 30 p m. Mr W. Lock will sell the whole of the furnituio and effects bolonging to the Eov. J. S. Smalley. The salo will be held at the Contral Auction E oonis, and will be unreserved. Messrs W. Rout & Sons report having sold the balance of the land at Appleby formerly belonging to Mr Joseph Best, Mr A. Stratfoid again being tlie purchaser. Ihe much criticised Municipal Buildings:^- Overdraft Hall, as it is termed by some has been opened in proper form by the Hon. Col. Pitt. Though the way in which it has been financed has been strongly condemned, yet tho place will afford much comfort and convenience to tho staff, and will be more pleasant for the Happy Family who have been piling on the overdraft during the past few years. .. Tt is, however, a comfort and solatium to know that the over burdoned ratepayers can save a good deal of money by purchasing their furniture and everything required in the homo from Look, the Universal Frovider There is no doubt but Look has by ar the largest and most up to l date stock of goods in Nelson, aud his prices aro tho lowest and terms the easiest. Extensive direct shipments of Linoleums, Curtains, Carpets, Hearth • Eugs, Inlaid Linoß, Fancy Rattan and Easy Chairs, beautifiul Toilet Sots, Hall Stands, Wardrobes, Crockery, Cutlery, &c. just to hand. AI3O the wonderful Atlas Sewing Machines and Minor Eangcs— Advt.