Show tJf A JEB GREAT 7IBE fi e I 4 a id f t b i With each day additional facts are i it I t > fl j i yea ied in connection with the burn j I iiCof the Ring Theatre at Vienna i i 1 d the unparalleled loss of life con iJ II tai j e t1ant upon that terrible event J1 rsi i t iB developments only tend the l Ill L i uro to show how coldblooded and i i h different were the managers with ftii i j tand to ihe safety of their L i 1 Ii u fences Even costumes and tnt tn-t t mBntB were saved from the 1 LI J j iUfaied building but it has yet to be > > L I J a i down that the slightest effort was 1 f if sods to save the lives of the hun k4 fc of helplew victims forced toE to-E = aeita in the burning edifice It j j l 1 l now appears that a large door in the J i f ter < of the theatre was thrown open ra J r i that the draft created by this t i tmelnli drove the flames into the t za oaditorium Had this door been ij t t i 108ed the audience or a great U i < port on < of it would have had time i t i Ij k i reaQbthe street before the flames tI i t tendered escape impossible The Ifi j 1 r t ° safety exits were actually fastened HO f t + aat they could not ba opened and qe r j k < t dl ihs other precautionary appoint i j 1 I f Il gents were neglected alike The pr j saremen were absent from their post > I j oLfue gas was turned off the lamps i i ere not lighted according to the C J I i I municipal orders and everywhere the r 1 II i same disregard for the safety of life I j 1 It I s 1 I i rae manifested If ever there was a 1 i = SSQof pure and unadulterated crim t t i sal t negligence this is one and no Lr I I d Banishment that can be inflicted r h L I s 1 I + i < < ra those whose duty it was to rs 1e + R i J i see that the precautions against fh i 1 j fire were carried into effect would be I fl i i r 4 f r unwarranted The alarm connecting j f P t 1 i bs building with the fire department lt i 1 11 I Kr l cwasout of order in fact among all Ii i J p r he facilities provided against fire it i 1 t ir r tae yeti to be learned that the first j 1 r tit i I 1 a one was applied I or was in a condition I r i t 1 If Jlo be applied The horror of the act K > f the police in blocking up the way I I r I 4 f I out of the theatre and absolutely I t J vttcing those who might have escaped R P t f lt3 perish in awful agonies is unmitigated h r 1 f unmiti-gated by the fact that their object E I i Was to prevent the multitude from I 1 f I prosbing into the building and perhaps I i i tgett 1 g killed They J een arrested lL chose as mad who urged the throng li t IJt t to break through and save the vic j j tims inside the building Perhaps t 1 = ff the most striking t and disgusting reSection t fir re-Section in this connection is the fact t + t r 4bat with such vast throng present x t > I and on such n occasion the whole 4 x t oiBiiial bad lifSrtrending scene ia unrelieved 3 f jf relieved by a single act of bravery or I j selfsacrifice It is a questionif another 4 I I 1 I J t 1 < instance of the kind can be pointed j j out where in such a multitude no d one manifested a feeling of humanity Ht j or spirit of bravery sufficient to induce tHit in-duce him to risk himself for the sake f t 1 j cif others The action of the em vployea is perhaps as cowardly and 4i A I oravenhearted as can be found in it L i History and the world would be the beUer if they were swept from the if faco of the earth The whole story fl from first to last is without a single J i redeeming feature or mitigating act i i E ttt f 1 f and will go down to posterity as an I tt i occurrence upon which succeeding 1 generations will blush to think of as t Jr having taken place in an age of such h l boasted enlightenment civilization i T and regard for human life A natural result of this fearful r f i JQVent ia that precautionary measures are + being taken ia all park of En op3 Had it bien any other than the Bing Thtatre which wu buracd i with M terrible a low of life there tK f I can be no question but the Bing Theatre would have been among the first to put all its safety appliances in recd es5 3 end would have maintained until the flrj aoivo watch over them memory of the occurrence bad died oat when the energy would have re lazed vigilance decreased and finally been neglected entirely as was the caseuntil another startling fire occurred to arouse the managers to their duty This will be the course of the present precautionary measures all over the world they will be strictly enforced while the vivid memory of the catastrophe at Vienna lasts and as the date of the fire recedes the recollection of it will become fainter and fainter and the precautionary efforts gradually grad-ually relax until they are entirely neglected or only nominally observed Such ia the history of the world in like instances You cannot force persons to guard the welfare Hud safety of others unless tbeir own safety is involved and even hen I they frequently manifest only a passive pas-sive interest How then can it be expected that precautionary efforts will always be active 7 Bach efforts are like the resolutions made on a New Years daywhen a person is alive with the thought of a better future because everybody else is alive with a similar sentiment and forgotten the day after when the business of life I i its cares and its treacheries occupy the attention of those who thought only of new resolves the day previous There is i but one way to make precautionary pre-cautionary measures lasting that way is to hold some person or some persons oriminally responsible for all such occurrences When a man appreciates ap-preciates that the value of his own life is estimated by the value he places upon the lives of others the chances are that he will manifest the liveliest interest in the welfare of those who come within the scope of his duties If he will not be careful under inch conditions he will be careful under none Were the directors direc-tors of the Hinglheatre and the employees em-ployees who cravenbeartedly deserted their posts at the only hour they were needed to meet death for their negligence it would have a wonderful effect in ensuring precautionary precau-tionary measures for the future An occasional reminder of the fate of those in similar positions who failed to do their duty would be all that was necessary to induce men to stand to their poste and to place a slight value at least upoa otherjivea than their own |