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s m- 1 . . vvk. k - . . ... .
I 3 hlii !i il ill S lifi i 1 p I i iN v n
Thl AKQUB o'er the people's rlphto, No eoothlng trin norTvlaia'H foci v
Doth an eternal vlil keep Cac lull its hundred eve? to sleep.
volTxv GOLDSBORO. N. C. THUESDAY. JANDABY 7 1901. T N0I9
11
GfllGflGO'S
i 0
r RE
TE MOST DESTRUCTIVE TO
LIFE IN ALL HISTORY.
I The Latest Report From the Scene of Disaster, in a
Special Telegram to the Argus This After-
!
1
i
noon at 3 O'Clock, Shows that
745 Bodies Have Been Found
f
And There Are Still an Unknown Number in the
Ruins The Scenes Are Among the Sad
dest Ever Witnessed.
SPECIAL. TO THE ARGUS.
Chicago. 111.. Dec. 31. The!
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
Accounts of the origin of the fire
are conflicting and none of them cer-
UiMaiawiui hiwlib me m -auiCi-.tain) but the beat reason given ig
ica'a history, which occurred yes-! that an electic wire near the lower
I j part of a piece of drop scenery sud-
teroay, causea ine aeam 01 denly broke and was grounded. The
nedrlv one thousand people here, fire 8Pread rapidly toward the front
c T - -y-'v. of the stage, causing the members of
Lxien;
LTfqVloii "
It
Is
11
Pira BEHOLD.
THE GROANINGS, WEEPING
AND WAILING
Of the Grief-Stricken and Frantk-
t
Searchers ?"or Loved One Wh-.
i
Periahed in Chicago's Theatre
Fire Beggars Description
and Appals the
Senses.
mel.avy-T,w " o xxw-,in cnprus wno were.tnen. engagen tjmtii midniaMfoimi i-.TOH.
t.i-tWn fivA"wftlcft!,n thV performance to flee to the 8treeto everywhere down town were
opening
ftii matinee of 4 'Bluebeard.
j wings
burned during fire in itself up to this time was not
serious and possibly could have been
checked had not .the asbestos curtain
failed to work.
V this hour (3 o'clock p. m.)
i Copier Traeger reports, by ac-
i V ?ount, the bodies of SEVEN
INDEED and FORTY-FIVE
lAD, and there are still an
tnown number in the ruins.
it was one of the most dread-
catastrophes ever known in
e history of this country, and
e scenes are among the sad-
est ever witnessed by mortal
an.
It will be many hours before
the number of dead is accurate-
y known and many days before
Ml of them will he identihed.
There are bodies lying by the
Lozens to-day in the undertak
uoms, in the police stations,
md in the hospitals, from which
tearly everything that could re-
eal their identity to those who
them best. is srone. Their
othing is torn to rags or burned
I) cinders and their faces have
een crusnea mxo an. unrtjjwg
(izable pulp by theelsofthe
:owd that trampled thetodowri
k they fled for safety.
The fire broke out during the
cond act of the play, "Mr.
luebeard," which was the first
t-amatic production presented
Lthe theatre since its erection.
I
i .The members of the company
ilwhicn was a large one, escaped
to the street in safety, nearly all
f them, A however, being com-
1 1' -1 Ann i -r A OTlftWV
eiieu hj uuo . iu mj iiiiu . ouv j
,reets with no clothing but
eir ptage costumes. A few
mhort; nt the comoanv sus- .
ed minor injuries, but none
seriously hurt;
Chicago, Dec. 31. Through the
marble foyer of the Iroquois theatre,
there have been carried since five
o'clock yeaterday evening the bodies
of 556 dead and nearly 300 injured
spectators of yesterday's holiday
matir.ee. Down the white stairways
speechless rescuers have borne black
ened corpses and maimed Azures.
until the disaster has become a hor-
'
ror of horrors, a collossus among tht
world's holocausts. In a score ot
morgues the dead now lie in thick
lines, so close to one another that'
V
they touch. On the side walk sur-5
rounding the doors the frenzitdt'
3 .1 "
crowus ciamorea iroin eany mom
1
V
THE FIGHT FOR IilEE.
When the firemen entered the
building, the dead were found lying
in a pile at the head of the stairway
at least eight feet from the door
back to a point about five feet in
the rear of the door. This mass of
dead bodies in the center of the
doorway reached to within two feet
of the passage way. All of the corp
ses at this point were women and
children. The fight for life which
must have taken place at these two
points, is something that is simply
beyond human power adequately to
describe. . OnJ y a faint idea of its 1
horror could. ; be derived from the
aspect of the bodies as they lay. Wo
men on top of these masses of dead
had been overtaken bv death as
they were crawling on their hands
and knees over the bodies of those
who had died before. Others lay
with arms stretched out in the di
rection toward which lay life and
safety, holding in their hands frag
ments of garments not their own.
They were evidently torn from the
clothing of others whom they had
endeavored to hold down and tram
ple under foot as they fought for
their own lives-
f ': r, BRAVE i MEN BREAK DOWN.
A the police and firemen removed
layer, after layer in these doorways,
the, sight became too much even for
them, hardened as they are to such
scenes, to endure. The bodies Were
in such an inextricable mass, and so
tightly were they jammed between
the slides of the door and the walls
that it was impossible to lift them
one by one and cary them out. J,The
only possible thing to do was to seize
a limb or some other portion of the
body and pull with main strength.
Men wprtea at the task with tears
running down their cheeks and the
sobs of the rescuers conld be heard
even in the hall beAow where this
awful scene was being enacted. A
number of the men were compelled
to abandon their task and give it over
to others whose nerves had not as yet
been shaken by the awful experience.
. ..
., Iowa's Pineapple is called Council
Bluff .
full of people, sorrowing, silent and
appalled.
Scenes indescribable were enacted
within the morgues and other centers
of the carnival of death. Identifica
tions are progressing with cruel slow
ness, and of the 556, bodies only 200
have been recognized. With the
machinery of the coroner's office
clogging the work, pitiable delays
have resulted, which adds inestim
able weight to the misery ot uncer
tainty that is driving sufferers fran
tic. Suggestions were made by the.
chief of police that the unknown dead
be taken to the Coliseum and. there
arranged so that there would be
more facility for the work of infor
mation. The coroner refused. All
the time the few who could gain en
trance to the morgues were tramp
ling over bodies, creeping through
the rows of the dead in the search
for their friends.
In the office of the chief of police
and the city hall corridors adjoining
there were packed a half crazed
throng waiting the news from the
places of death. On a chair in the
middle of the room the chief secre
tary read from the police report the
descriptions of the dead as they .were
formulated at the morgue. Now and
then there was a shriek as a man or
woman pushed out with the knowl
edge that in one of the black rows -of
the dead was the body of a loved
one. To each of these was given a
permit for the inspection of the bod
ies, but the morgues were too smail
to admit of a tenth of those who had
orders from the chief. At one of the
down townplacesa man on his hands
and knees peered down into the fea
tures of the dead before him. When
he came to the parched face of a six
year old hoy he tainted and fell
across the body.
APPAILING SCENES.
Daybreak disclosed appalling
scenes around the morgues and ne&r
the theatre. Crazed men and wo
men all night had haunted the Ran
dolph street entrance to the play
house with the hope born of despera
tion that they might find those Jor
whose return others knew there was
no hope. At Italston's morgue, iu
Adams street, the scenes of anguish
were indescribable. Weakened by
their ghastly, all-night vigil, two
j hundred weeping peddle stood wear
ily in front of the door, too tired to
continue their clamor for entrance.
As the morning waned, the crowd
became greater and greater . mid
clamored more insistently lor ad
mittance. 33 jn ciiitfhfd at the fcleove of
-ti l:l p!ieemen and begged that
they miht be allowed to go in. One
womau dropped to her knees and
era '.vied after the sergeant, who had
turned away to avoid her entreaties.
Others walked up and down the
street, wailing and moaning in their
agony. The strain on the nerves of
the police became unbearable, and
at 7:30 o'clock the office' in charge
of the detail of twenty demanded
additional men. Filteen patrolmen
vete, sent to him, and with their ar
rival the otiitrs dropped hack to
rest. Inside the mo.'gue silent men
were passing among the thick row
of dead, seeking lo identify them
and to tabulate descriptions of those
upon whose bodies no identifying
mark could be found.
At the other morgues conditions
were equally cruel. The crowds beat
igainst the police guards, muttering
futile excuses to be allowed to enter.
They w ere pushed back again, dazed
and desperate. Many of those who
watched the suffeiers declared that
otten the police were unneces-arily
harsh and unfeeling in their treat
ment of the people.
In the second gallery, seen by the
light or a fireman's lantern, two
rigid figures sat erect iu the east side
of the front row The horror look
was cn their faces. But they had
not moved. The man's arm was
stretched in front of the woman, as
if he had. prevented her from rising
i.'harred opera glasses were iu her
burned bauus. These were the lat
bodies to be taken from the theatre.
A WHITED SEPULCHRE.
Though serene without the inter
ior of the theatre marked it as a
true whited sepulchre. Upon the
marble staircases at the left and
right within were the mess and con
fusion ot the grim march of the bear
t rs of the dead. Among the thous
ands of bits of brilliantly colored
glass, shattered in the fight against
the flames, lay many scorched pieces
of clothing and occasional fragments
of charred bodies. From the upper
galleries the view seemed a remind-
t r of a burned out volcano crater.
In a a saloon near the theatre was
being guarded a huge pile of gar
ments and furs gathered up in the
theatre after the fire. Five bushel
baskets were filled with the purses,
gloves and hankerchiefs of the flee
ing, terror-stricKen women.Two bar
rels were needed to hold the over-
snoes ana snoes iouna.
The greatest center of excitement
to-day was not the theatre, but Rbl-
sum 's morgue, ah ot tne morgues
were surrounded, but at Rolston's
where more bodies of the dead were
taken than to any other, the scenes
f anguish were the worst. The po
lice stationed there could not begin
to handle the crowd and extra de
tails were hurried to the beseiged
morgue: On a lesser scale the same
fearful siege was in progress at the
various other morgues.
GHOULS REAP A HARVEST. "
Immediately after the fire ghoul
ish thieves reaped a barvest.r They
succeeded in passing the fire line-
by shamming grief and telling the
police they wished to search for bod
ies orrelatives.. Inside , the theatre
the floors were strewn with, purses,
watches and pieces of jewelry which
the people had lost or thrown . away
in the wild scramble for their lives..
The ghouls plundeied the purses
and stuffed their pockets with ' the
jew els. They snatched - rings irom
charred fingers, in some instances
breaking off the fingers. They tore
ear drops from the ears of patrician
women and filched the watches out
of their pockets. ?
SPICER-GOLD.
A Notable Wedding At The Home
of Elder P. D, Gold.
Special cor. Raleigh Post.
i!on, N. C, Dec. 30. There
was celebrated last evening at 7:30
o'clock the most elegant and most
elaborate home wedding that ever
took place in Wilson, when Miss
Ruth Gold, the talented and highly
cultured daughter of Elder P. D.
Gold, was married to Dr. Williams
Spicer, an able, learned and promt
nent young physician of Goldsboro
the Gold home, on Vance street,
last evening, under the electric
glare and festooned and garlanded
as it was with choicest vine and
flower, was indeed a scene of loveli
ness and beauty. Upon the assem
bliug of the invited guests, that ac
complished musician, Mrs. Alice
Wright, played the wedding an
them, "The Voice That Breathed
O'er Eden," which was most sweet
ly and beautifully sung by Mesdames
Venable, Cutchiu, Whitehead, Davis,
and Messrs. Brown, Harris, Bruton
and i ate. Then Mendelssohn's wed
ding march was played by the tal
ented Miss Mary Austen of Tarboro,
and during the ceremony "Medita
tion" was also most softly and beau
tifully rendered by Miss Austen.
The marriage ceremony was per
formed in the front parlor and un-
uer tne aicove, wnicn was decorated Annual financial statement of the
in trailing cedar and smilax, with Board of Education of Wayne county
Pipkin, of Goldsbpro, and Sue Wil
son, of Kinston. From thi9 room
they were escorted by Mr. F. L.
Pippen, of Enfield and Mrs. C. D.
Gold to the dining room, where most
delicious refreshments were served
by Misses Nir Roberts, Ella Mo
Craw, Vance Tilghraan, Edna Tyer,
Georgia Hales and Bailie Gordon.
From this room the guests were
ushered to the coffee room by Misses
Smith, of Goldsboro, and Pauline
Woodard, of Wilson, who were re
ceived in this room by Mesdames
Albert Anderson and Thad Thrash,
of Tarboro, where coffee was served
by Misses Bettie Wainwright and .
Maude Tyler, of, Wilson, and Rachel
Borden and Stella O' Berry, of Golds
boro. Iu this room were the pres
ents. They were many of them.
They were magnificent.
The couple left on the north bound
train for an extensive northern tour.
After their return their home will
be in Goldsboro, where the groom
has a large and growing practice.
Wilson regrets to lose from her
midst this popular young bride, for
she was beloved by all. In all of
the churches and at all social func
tions her sweet melody and song
have made her numberless friends
whose cordial good wishes go with
her to her new home in our sister
town of Goldsboro.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
candles extending clear up and over
the arch on both sides. First came
the four little five year old nieces
and nephews of the bride, Miss Mar
garet Ho ward and Master Richard
Winstead, and Misses Elizabeth and
Mar garette Gold, two from the hall
door and two from the library door,
carrying ribbons, making a passage
way through which the bridal party
marched in and formed in a circle
around the ministers, Elders E. V.
White and P. D. Gold, who united
the couple.
Then from the hall and library
doors the bridal party came simul
taneously in the following order:
Miss Stella Pippen, gowned in white
mouselin, trimmed with plaited
chiffon and lace with pink fan, vel
vet girdle and carrying pink carna
tions, and was met by Mr. Norwood
Spicer, w ho came from the library
door; then Miss Clara Spicer, gown
ed in accordeon plaited silk mous
elin, trimmed in lace, pink fan, vel
vet girdle, and carrying pink carna
tions, was met by Mr. Allie Edger
ton from the parlor door. The maid
of honor, Miss Bessie Gold, in white
silk , mouselin, trimmed in lace,
plaited chiffon and white sash, carry
ing white carnations, entered next.
The groom entered from the hall
dt)or, with his brother, Dr. John
Spicer, meeting the bride, who en
tered from the library door on .the
arm of her brother, Mr. Joe. M.
Gold, of Washington, N. C, who
gave her away .The bride was gown
ed in a wdiite lace robe, with plaited
mouselin, over ..white "'taffeta, and
carried a ahower bouquet of bride's
roses and lilies of the valley. Her
veil was caught with orange blos
soms, fastened with a diamond
M-'
for the year ending June 30, 1903:
RECEIPTS.
From General State and . r v V
county poll tax $ 5,557.50.
From geneiai pruperty - ; .
school tax... 12,749.50
From fines forfeiture and
penalties
For liquor licenses
From State Treasurer
From sale of old school
houses
From teachers' examina
tion fees
i;473.36
3,762.95
1,644.45
204.00
32.00
Total received during the
year ended June 30, 1903 $25,423.76
Balance on hand as per
last report 3,314.85
Total $ 28,738.61
DISBURSEMENTS. '
Paid white teachers $ 10,212.00
Paid col teachers 3,931.45
Paid for school houses
and sites, white
Paid for school houses
and sites, colored
Paid county superinten-
, dent
Paid for Teachers' Insti
tute, white
Paid for Teachers' Insti
tute, colored
Paid county treasurer
Mileage and per diem,
County Board of Edu
cation Expenses County Board
Education, including
fuel, stationery and
postage
Paid to D. J. Broadhurst
for schools of the city
of Goldsboro
Paid for taking census...
Paid treasurer of the Mt.
Olive graded school....
Paid insurance on school
houses.....
4,754.00
239.60
900.00
30.65
3.5.00
395.85
37.20 ?
63.84
5,374.00
138.72
1,200.00
"Joints pain you this morning?"
brooch. This ceremonial was made
the mor6 impressive by the fact that
the bonds were- pronounced by the
venerable and. beloved father of the
bride and another relative, Col. E. Paid attorney's fee...
V-White, of Leesburg, Va., who
very feelingly asked God's blessing
on the happy couple.
From 8:30 until 10:30 there was
an ingoing tide of Wilson's best peo
ple to give to this popular couple
their congratulations and cordial
croivirl wi.t.hp; MtWInrriPS P. V". Virr
gin, atad Jno. E. Gold, Col. and Mrs. ! ?ordanf. with See. 75, of the school
White, and Dr. and Mrs Spicer, of
99,00 s;
20.00
Total disbursements $ 27,431.31
Balance on hand July 1,
1903 1,307.30
Total $ 28,738.61
This statement is published. in ac-
Goldsboro, welcomed the incoming
guests,who were presented to the re
ceiving party by Messrs. Harry
Wainwright and Steve Anderson.
From the front parlor to the punch
room the guests were invited by
Mrs. Graham Woodard and Miss
law, which requires that this state
ment shall be published the 31st of
December ofeach year.
E.T.Atkinson,
Secretary.
Jos. E. Robinson,
Chairman of Wayne County Board
of Education. . .:
Dec. 31, 1903. .
Austin, of Tarboro, where that do- :
BUeumacidewill giye you quick and . lightful beverage w.as served by j Russia and Japan will nrobablv
! thorough relief. Ask your drnggfct; Misses Margarette Hadieyj Annie t put off their tuttmatomg td 1904:
1
V--v
'V 1 -..'.'::. "V. '..' ; 0 . i