IRON GATES, DEATH'S ALLY.

That two iron gates, securely padlocked, across stairways in the Randolph street entrance, held scores of women and children as prisoners of death at the Iroquois theater fire horror, was the startling evidence secured on Saturday, Jan. 9, ten days after the holocaust by Fire Department Attorney Monroe Fulkerson.

In a statement under oath George M. Dusenberry, superintendent of the auditorium of the playhouse, admitted that these gates had remained locked against the frantic crowds through all the terrible rush to escape. Against these, bodies were piled high in death of those who might have gained the open air had they not been penned in by the immovable bars.

Not until the sworn statement had been secured from Dusenberry were the investigators brought to a full realization of the horrors of the imprisoned victims.

These deadly iron gates, four to five feet high, according to Dusenberry's testimony, were quietly removed after the fire. One of the gates was at the landing of the dress circle. The other was on the stairway which led from the dress circle entrance to the landing above. At the Randolph street entrance were two grand staircases. Passage down one of these staircases was shut off completely by the iron gates.

According to Dusenberry, the gates were locked with a padlock, requiring a key to open them. It was the custom to open these gates after the intermission at the close of the second act, so as to give the people an unobstructed passageway for leaving the house at the close of the play.

The exact condition made by the locked gates and the extent to which they contributed to the immense loss of life may be realized by Dusenberry's sworn testimony in detail on this point.

DUSENBERRY'S TESTIMONY.

It was as follows:

Q. Do you recall an inspection which I made of the stairway of the second floor of that theater the next day after the fire? A. Yes, sir.

Q. And showed you two iron gates that folded up like an accordion? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Please state whether or not these two gates were locked at the time of the fire. A. Yes, sir.

Q. State where the lower one was located. A. At the landing of the dress circle.

Q. And do I understand that one side of it was solidly hinged with an iron rod and that the other side of the gate was fastened by a chain locked by a padlock? A. A small lock.

Q. The lock required a key to open it? A. Yes, sir; a small key.

Q. How high was this gate? A. I should think four or five feet.

Q. And was I correct in saying it folded up like an accordion when not in use? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Where was the other one located? A. On the stairway which led from the dress circle entrance up to the landing above.

Q. And was it secured and locked in the same manner as the other gate? A. Yes, sir.

PURPOSE OF THE TWO GATES.

Q. Consider the first one; what was its function? A. In order that we could have system in handling the house.

Q. Yes; but what was it used for? A. When people were going upstairs that gate simply turned them for the balcony stairway.

Q. You are talking about the lower gate? A. Yes, sir.

Q. So, by reason of this gate, when the people started out they could have only one direction in which to leave, instead of two, as would be the case if no gate were there? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Let us consider the other gate; what was it for? A. To keep the people from going down into the dress circle, and to keep them on the regular stairway for the balcony.

Q. I believe you told me that you locked these gates yourself just before this matinee began? A. Yes, sir.

Q. That is correct, is it? A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you ever say anything to Mr. Noonan or Mr. Powers or Mr. Davis as to the importance of having men stationed there, instead of a gate, so that in case of fire this would not be an obstruction? A. No, sir; they were always unlocked after the second intermission.

Q. In what act was that? A. At the close of the second act they would be always unlocked. They were exits.

Q. At the time this fire began and people started out, were they still locked or unlocked? A. They were locked.

NEVER ANY FIRE DRILLS.

Dusenberry admitted that at the time of the fire's outbreak he was descending from the top balcony after having made an inspection of the entire house. This was his custom, to see that the ushers were in their places. He said that 100 persons were standing in the passageway back of the last row of seats on the first floor and about twenty-five persons occupied standing room in the rear of the first balcony, and seventy-five in the rear of the top balcony.

He admitted that he had never received any instructions from any of the owners or managers of the theater as to what to do in case of fire. He said that he had been told in a general way by Will J. Davis that he was to instruct the boys in their duties as ushers and make them familiar with the house.

There had never been any fire drills, he said. He did not know, he said, from what point or in what manner the large cylindrical ventilator over the auditorium was worked. It was because this ventilator was open and those above the stage closed that the fire was drawn into the front of the house. He said the nine exits on the north side, three of which were on each floor, were all bolted at the time of the fire; also that the nine pairs of iron shutters outside the inner doors were bolted at the time, and that he had never received orders from any one to have these unbolted while the audience was in the house.

GATES WERE BATTERED.

"I found these gates in a battered condition by personal inspection, the next morning after the fire," Fire Department Attorney Fulkerson added. "I hunted up Mr. Dusenberry and took him to the place and examined him on the spot as to each minute detail. The examination was with reference to their being locked, and as to why a man had not been stationed there, in place of a gate, to direct the people.

"I called two policemen as witnesses. The reason I have kept this matter secret until now was the fact that this is the first day I have had an opportunity of examining Mr. Dusenberry under oath and taking his statements in shorthand to be used in any proceeding that may follow.

"The importance of his testimony is that he is the man the theater management had put in direct control of the audience and auditorium, and the facts which he has testified to speak for themselves. Let the public draw its own conclusions.

"I wish to say, however, with reference to those iron gates that they are no part of the building or the stairway as turned over by the builders and were not a part of the plans of the same, but a feature installed by the management after the stairways were finished and accepted, and no permit was obtained from the city building department to place the gates there. They proved to be the gates of death. Until this time they have been overlooked in the general investigation and silence has been maintained by the fire department for the purpose of clinching the evidence concerning them. This was rendered necessary through the fact that those best qualified to tell of their danger gave up their lives in acquiring that knowledge. They were gathered from behind the deadly barriers and now lie in eternal silence beyond the reach of all earthly summonses and the jurisdiction of our tribunals."

Ernest Stern, 3423 South Park avenue, Chicago:

"There was nothing left in the playhouse but standing room when my sister and I arrived, so we bought tickets according that privilege and took up a position in the middle of the first balcony. We were standing there when we saw the first evidence of fire and at once ran out. We owe our lives to that fact.

"It was about the middle of the second act when I noticed the blaze on the upper left-hand corner of the stage. Those on the stage seemed to be in semi-panic. The people didn't know what to do. Then there seemed to be somebody giving directions for them to put down the curtains after a burning piece of scenery or something fell on the stage. A man came out and gave instructions for them to pull down the curtain and after that we went out the door, downstairs and came to a door on the left hand side in the foyer, facing the street, and in the inner vestibule. There was a man there. He was not in uniform. He was trying to open the door, which was locked. There was a pair—two doors—and one of them was open and a great crowd was going out. This man was trying to unlock the other door and he could not do it. I broke the glass, and that wouldn't do either, so I kicked the whole door out and we escaped."

DIDN'T BOTHER ABOUT LOCKED DOORS.

That the foyer doors, which the van of the fleeing audience found closed, were locked during the performance was the statement of Harry Weisselbach of Chicago. He was at the ticket office in the outer vestibule off Randolph street, some time before the fire and saw two men in an argument regarding the doors. They were coming out of the theater.

"That's a mean trick, to lock the doors so people can't get out," said one of the men. "They have locked the doors again," he continued, looking back at the door man. "I wonder if there is a policeman around here."

The man's companion replied that he wasn't going to bother about the matter and the two left the theater. Weisselbach went around to the Northwestern University school and was there only a short time when the fire in the theater started. His story of the fire from that viewpoint was similar to that told by Witness Fred H. Rea.