"Mr. Hull's object in calling this meeting is to place the responsibility where it belongs, not upon the scene shifter and the stage hand, but upon men high in authority—the management and owners of the theater. They are the men he regards as financially and criminally liable for the disaster that destroyed his family and families of many of those present here today. It was Mr. Hull who caused the arrest of Mr. Davis and Mr. Powers of the theater management, and Building Commissioner Williams. As Mr. Hull is so deeply affected by his loss he has requested me to state that it is his desire that a permanent organization be effected.
"I believe an executive committee should be appointed to ascertain just what is best to be done and do it. I would suggest also the appointment of subcommittees on civil authority, permanent organization and finance. This last committee would be an important adjunct of this organization. It should be the aim of the finance committee to learn how many families are destitute as a result of the loss of their means of support in the fire and see that they are provided for. There are plenty of men of wealth in the city today who would gladly contribute to such a worthy cause.
CORONER'S WORK THOROUGH.
"As to the question of who are financially responsible the coroner's investigation has been thorough, careful and fair. The coroner's questioning has been competent and complete in every respect. It is probable that he will be able to determine just which men are to blame. Enough has been developed already to prove that there was gross and culpable negligence on the part of the proprietors of that theater.
"As far as Klaw & Erlanger are concerned we have evidence connecting them already. The blaze that ignited the draperies and scenery was proved to have come from the 'spot' light, which was operated by an employee of the 'Mr. Bluebeard' company, which is owned by these men, who control the theatrical trust. If it can be shown that Mayor Harrison and other city officials by their negligence contributed to the loss, then they can also be held responsible. There is no doubt but that those who are liable can be attacked in the civil courts."
REMARKS BY ELIZABETH HALEY.
A general discussion followed, during which Miss Elizabeth Haley, residing at 419 Sixtieth place, arose and made some revelations in regard to the lack of fire protection in various public schools. She said:
"I presume the gentleman who has just spoken is an attorney and I would like to ask him if the men who allowed such criminal conditions to exist—the mayor, aldermen and city trustees—if they could not be held liable, both civilly and criminally? I am a school teacher, and I would like to know if men who time after time have completely ignored reports about the absolute absence of fire protection in school buildings are not liable?
"To my personal knowledge reports have been made month after month to them, and nothing was ever heard of them. I know of schools where there is no fire hose, no fire extinguishers, no fire apparatus of any kind, no fire alarms, no telephones, no fire escapes—not a thing that would enable the hundreds of children to save their lives in the event of a fire. And these buildings are locked at 9 o'clock, with only one exit left open. Are not the mayor, the aldermen, and the trustees directly responsible for this state of things, and are they not the men who should be prosecuted along with the proprietors of that theater?
"On November 2 last, the newspapers reported that a complaint had been made before the city council that the theaters were violating the laws. That report went to a subcommittee and has never been heard of since; and a day or two later Mayor Harrison came out with a statement in which he defied criticism and declared that there was no truth in the complaints. The whole thing strikes me as a splendid lesson in civics—that we cannot shirk our duty, even as high officials."