During January,1904, there were seven investigations into the cause and extraordinary loss of life in the Iroquois Theater fire.  The only investigation with the authority to recommend legal action was the inquest conducted by the Chicago coroner's office. This page discusses the work of the Coroner's jury, including the inquest and recommendations to the court to send it on to a grand jury.

On New Year's day, January 1, two days after the Iroquois Theater fire, coroner John Traeger appointed six men to the coroner's jury. They were sworn in at 10:30 am that morning. The jurors (with a curious concentration from the retail furniture industry), in service for twenty-six days, were each compensated $1 per day:

• Leopold "Leo" H. Meyer (jury foreman) (1865–1929) — secretary/co-owner at Kennedy Furniture company. Thirty-seven years old, married with three children. Second from right in the topmost photo.
  Afterward, Meyer was reported as having said, "I wouldn't take the job again for $100 a minute. It was a terrible strain. I cannot say anything about what took place while we were arriving at the verdict. The result speaks for itself. We all took a pledge not to make any statements. The verdict was unanimous. We were all of the same mind. We did our best to place the load of responsibility for the disaster on the proper shoulders, and I think we succeeded. I cannot talk about the subject of any dissension among the jurors before arriving at a verdict. Every point and question was weighed and argued."
  Mayor Harrison's brother, Preston Harrison, would later assert that Meyer's judgment of the major was vengeance because Kennedy Furniture lost a furniture contract when Harrison closed hotels.
• John "Jack" E. Finn (1870–?) — salesman for A. H. Revell & Co. furniture company. Thirty-three years old. 5th from left in the topmost photo.
• Walter D. Clingman (1852–1930) — salesman for Tobey Furniture. Fifty-one years old, married, father of three. 6th from left in the topmost photo.
• Joseph A. Cummings (jury secretary) (1866–c1937) — manager at Browning, King & Co. clothing wholesaler/retailer. 4th from left in the topmost photo. Midway through the trial, he returned to Boston hometown to manage his employer's Boston store.
• George W. Atkin (1880–1949) — manager in Marshall Field credit department. 2nd from left in the topmost photo. Youngest juror. Married, later had two children.
• Dr. Peter Byrnes (1862–1918) — bookkeeper or salesman at Lyon & Healy musical instrument manufacturer/retailer. 3rd from left in the topmost photo. He was married with two children.

A gruesome job

The jurors' first task was to view the bodies, as required by state law, and the death scenes at the Iroquois Theater. Two horse-drawn patrol wagons transported jurors to morgues operated by the city and to funeral homes and hospitals, beginning with Rolston's on Adams St., Jordan's, St. Luke's Hospital and Buffum's. Additional trips to morgues and hospitals were made as other victims died in the days after the fire. Jurors also went to one home to view the body of a girl who had been carried off from a morgue in the first hours after the fire, circumventing official death certificate procedures.

The inquest (later estimated to have cost less than $1,000, ($27,000 today) began the morning of January 6, 1904, and continued until January 25, 1904. Either 179 or 180 witnesses (both quantities were reported) responded to subpoenas served by representatives of the coroner's office. In addition to hearing witness testimony, jurors made multiple trips to the Iroquois, and evidence (e.g. the arc lamp that started it all) was brought into the trial room for exhibit.

Y'all come

The audience was crowded with VIP's and attorneys on opening day. One newspaper described it as the "most formidable array of public officials that has ever appeared at any inquest in Cook county." In addition to the expected players (coroner Traeger, deputy coroners Buckley, Feldstein, and Downey, and assistant state attorney Albert Barnes with his boss, Charles S. Deneen, who at six months into his campaign for governor could recognize a publicity opportunity, fire department attorney Monroe Fulkerson, fire chief Musham and police chief Francis O'Neill and assistant chief Herman Schuettler) at hand were city corporation counsels William Rothmann and Charles S. Wharton |, and attorney for Cook county, James H. Wilkerson ^▼1. Prospective future defendants (Iroquois co-owners Will J. Davis and Harry J. Powers, Mr. Bluebeard company owners, Klaw & Erlanger and building commissioner George Williams) were represented by their attorneys, William J. Hynes. Thomas J. Hogan, and Levy Mayer.

Fast tracking

In a departure from standard procedure, to handle the volume of witnesses, court stenographers immediately converted shorthand transcripts of witness testimony to spoken records so that each witness could read and sign his/her testimony before leaving the trial room.

Initial plan

Coroner Traeger outlined the objective and order the investigation would take. The first goal was to determine the cause of the fire and responsibility for loss of life to Mary Edna Torney and 564 others. The cause of death for all victims would be entered as "shocks and injury." The proceeding would first hear reports of investigations by police and fire department, then testimony from members of the audience, ushers, stagehands, twenty-five orchestra members, actors, theater owners and the architect. (Viva Jackson was eventually selected instead as the lead plaintiff and suffocation was designated as the cause of death for all Iroquois fatalities.)

Deliberations

After sixteen days of testimony, heard in the Chicago city council rooms at city hall, the last witness was heard at 3:21 p.m. Monday, January 25, 1904. As the city council needed the council rooms that night, the coroner's jurors, along with coroner Traeger and Buckley, and the evidence (McMullen's lamp), toted by police officers, were relocated to the county commissioner's rooms in the county building. With police officers posted outside and Traeger and Buckley set up in an adjacent office, available to answer questions but not present during deliberations, the six jurors began their task, starting with a review of 3,000 typewritten pages of testimony. Deliberations lasted roughly eight hours, with an hour dinner break at 6:00 p.m.

Atta boy

At 11:30 p.m., after officially commending Traeger and Buckley for their orderly handling of the inquest, jurors turned over their verdict to Traeger and began signing 576 verdicts. Traeger turned over the coroner's jury findings to the police department by midnight so that arrests could be made the next morning, by which time bonds would be set. Shortly after midnight, Chicago police department detectives set out to make arrests.

We're outta here

The inquest resulted in eight individuals being named as culpable enough to be held over for examination by a grand jury. The coroner's jury did not have the authority to specify the exact charges or bond for each of the individuals; that task would fall to the courts the following day.

Arrests

Police arrested six of the eight defendants during the night. By morning, Tuesday, January 26, 1904, all were booked except fireman Sallers who had rushed to the bedside of his dying father-in-law (Charles C. Rabe who did not die afterall) and turned himself in later. All but one, McMullen, were able to post bond that same day.

In deference to his position, the warrant for mayor Harrison's arrest had been served at 9:00 a.m. at his home on Schiller St. by deputy coroner Otto Spankuch (1872–1931), rather than by a police officer, and the mayor was permitted to go to the courthouse soon thereafter, without police escort. His party of four (including two family members as bondsmen and former Chicago mayor and attorney Hempstead Washburne 1851-1918) was met there by coroner's deputies Galligan and William A. Flannagan and escorted into circuit court judge Charles M. Walker's (1859–1920) courtroom on the fourth floor. Walker quickly ordered a recess and led the group to his chambers, where assistant states attorney Harry A. Lewis (1869–1935) waived the sureties requirement, documents were signed, and Carter walked on to his office as reporters yammered for a comment.

The other seven warrants were served by police officers who escorted each defendant first to the office of police lieutenant Andrew Rohan (1847–1912), then trooped to the courthouse for booking, bond assignment, and bail payment.

Predictably, the Chicago Inter Ocean newspaper blamed mayor Harrison, a Democrat, for the Iroquois disaster.^▼2

Jury's findings

Read the 5-page coroner's jury report here
Their findings in summary:

• Found that the fire started when drapery came into contact with an arc lamp. (Note: no aerialists wire involved.)
• Found city ordinances were not followed, including required fire alarm boxes, sprinklers, fire apparatus, stage flues and fireproofed scenery.
• Found the fire curtain was inadequate.
• Found there were no aisles in front of first floor box seats.
• Found there were no signs designating exits.
• Found the third-floor gallery was too steeply raked
• Found the utility stairwell was too wide, resulting it in being miss identified as a primary path to the front entrance.
• Demanded immediate action from city officials to ensure theaters maintained safe standards insofar as egresses, fireproofed scenery, steel lines with multiple control locations
• Demanded city officials educate and verify the competency of city employees and managers.
• Demanded that two uniformed firemen be on duty during performances.
• Recommended that office work and fire fighting be separated in managing the fire department.
• Recommended presence of a uniformed police office at every performance.

The coroners jury named eight men to be detained for examination by a grand jury:

1. Carter H. Harrison, (Chicago mayor).  The jury asserted that Harrison's refusal to accept post-fire responsibility for his appointees (department heads Musham and Willliams) demonstrated that his pre-fire performance was causal and inefficient. (See description of his arrest at left.) The mayor's $5,000 bond was signed by his brother, avid art collector William Preston Harrison (1869–1940), and his brother-in-law, Heaton Owsley (1856–1930), husband of his sister, Caroline Harrison.
2. The next day judge Richard S. Tuthill (1841–1920) granted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, freeing Harrison and agreeing with his attorneys that the coroner's jury's action was not merited by the evidence presented. Tuthill reached his decision following a conference with states attorney Barnes, Harrison's attorney, Alfred S. Trude, and Major Edgar Tolman, Chicago corporate counsel. Tuthill and Barnes thought the charges could be quashed on the basis that the coroner's jury was not empowered to determine guilt for crimes other than those directly causing death, but Harrison's attorney persuaded Tuthill to read the transcripts and base his ruling on weak evidence rather than a technicality. The Inter Ocean newspaper was rabid, but as Tuthill was a prominent republican, his decision could not be attributed to politics. Still frothing, the Inter Ocean followed up with half-page stories in two editions featuring negative blurbs about Harrison from other newspapers around the country, seemingly attempting to shame Chicago into ousting its mayor. Though the Chicago Tribune story was far more measured, the Inter Ocean was not alone in its anger that Harrison wasn't going to jail. The Chicago Eagle was even less restrained than the Inter Ocean, and the Daily Herald posed the possibility of the city going bankrupt if hit with up to $10 million in potential lawsuits.
3. George Williams (Chicago building commissioner)
   Found guilty of gross neglect of duty in allowing Iroquois to open before complete and compliant with city ordinances. Williams $5,000 bond was signed by Andrew J. Graham and prominent building contractor Victor Falkenau (1860–1933) ^▼3. Williams spoke out to reporters about his arrest.

"I have been compelled to make bricks without straw," he said, later adding, "If I enforced the law, not a store or office building would be left open. Suppose the mayor had closed the theaters November 2 when my report went to the council. He would not be living today. An assassin's bullet would have found him for sure. Ever since I have been in this office, I have feared some big fire disaster would happen, but I did not dream it would come in the Iroquois Theater. That was the one place where I would never have thought any loss of life could happen. The big stores are all calling insistently for an inspection. All the inspectors I have could not give them an intelligent inspection and make plans for each floor, as I require, within a month. Should I, therefore, close the department stores? These things have been going on ever since the Chicago fire and before the fire. I do not throw bouquets at myself, but in the seven months I have been here I have done more work than has been done by anybody before me in two years, and the records will show it. Let anybody look at the records if he cares to convince himself."

Sounds persuasive but one alderman disputed William's budget-shortage excuse, stating that his department received all but a few hundred dollars of what he requested, and that he'd never applied for more. As to the time-shortage excuse, one of Williams' staff, Julius Lenses, spent a portion of a morning at the Iroquois on an unofficial curiosity visit.

As to William's claim that he hadn't issued a license to the Iroquois, deputy city collector John F. McCarthy (1877–c1931) produced a report signed by Williams that requested a license be issued to the Iroquois Theater.

George's report was evidence that he knew better than anyone that many of Chicago's theaters were fire traps, but he judged other theaters riskier than the newly built Iroquois. In terms of structure, his judgment was accurate. In terms of capacity to contain or fight a stage fire, he was badly mistaken.

4. William H. Musham (fire chief)  Accused of guilty of gross neglect of duty in failing to enforce city ordinances, failure to demand accountability from Iroquois fireman Sallers and failure to report the theater's inadequate fire apparatus. Musham's $5,000 bond was signed by James Carle (or Ciare, both names reported in different newspapers, no one living in Chicago by either name) and Daniel D. Healy.^▼4
5. Edward Loughlin (building inspector)  Guilty of gross neglect of duty and glaring incompetence in reporting the Iroquois as "OK" after a superficial inspection.
6. Loughlin's $2,000 bond, signed by William H. Jung / Young (1840–1906), a Randolph Street restaurant/saloon keeper, and 19th ward alderman John J. Powers "De Pow" (1852–1930).^▼5
7. William Sallers (Iroquois fireman)  Reported to the courthouse on Jan 27, 1904. Some out-of-town newspapers reported it as "Fireman gives up," as though a hombre holed up during a siege had waved a white flag. Sallers was found guilty of gross neglect of duty in not reporting inadequate fire apparatus. Posted bail for $2,000 bond. The later grand jury disagreed with the coroner's jury finding, perhaps recognizing that Sallers was the only one who at least called the Iroquois's lack of fire preparedness to the attention of higher ups.
8. Will J. Davis (Iroquois owner/manager)
   Police detectives John Tobin (1860-) and Michael Farrelly (1872–1942) went to Davis' home at 4740 Grand Blvd. He made them wait while he dressed and had breakfast. His $5,000 bond was signed by William Pinkerton, backed by $75,000 in real estate.^▼6
9. William McMullen (light operator)  Found guilty of gross neglect and carelessness in the performance of duty. McMullen could not post bail for $2,000 bond and spent several weeks in jail while his family raised the bond. The later grand jury disagreed with the coroner's jury finding regarding McMullen.
10. James Cummings (stage carpenter) Found guilty of gross neglect for not "seeing to it" that the theater stage was fully equipped with fire apparatus. His $5,000 bond was signed by Harry Powers backed by $100,000 in real estate. Chicago police detectives Anthony J. Nagle (c1865–1933) and Edward J. Flaherty (1860–1937) allowed Cummings to eat breakfast before going to the courthouse.

Upon hearing the verdict, observers took note that whatever culpability might have been attached to usher supervisor George Dusenberry,  business manager Thomas Noonan , or Iroquois co-owner Harry Powers, had been consolidated on theater manager Will J. Davis. The Chicago Inter Ocean speculated that the candidness of Harry Powers' testimony, and his partner Will Davis' failure to refute it, contributed to the jury's final focus on Davis.  Summaries of their January 22, 1904 testimony appeared in January 23, 1904 Chicago newspapers.   I've poured over coverage of their testimony in four newspapers and do not find examples of Ocean's observation.  A future trip to the Chicago library to view other newspapers may produce reports in newspapers I don't have access to online.

A few days remained of the session for the sitting grand jury, but its calendar was full, as was that of the upcoming February grand jury. A special grand jury was therefore called to hear the Iroquois Theater fire case. They would agree with the coroner's jury on five of the eight named defendants, and add one.

Discrepancies and addendum

The Encyclopedia Britannica website gives a summary of the role of coroners in modern times.

1. James Herbert Wilkerson's term as Cook county's council came to an end later that year. As a federal judge (1922–1940) for the northern district of Illinois, he sentenced Al Capone to eleven years for tax evasion in 1931.

2.  The Chicago Republican had ceased publishing after the 1871 Chicago fire and was reborn the following year as the Chicago Inter Ocean.

3. Victor Falkenau is credited with building the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Congress Hotel, and many structures for U.S. Steel in Gary, Indiana. He met in closed sessions with Chicago aldermen after the Iroquois fire to discuss the fire risk of Chicago theaters. On Jan 7, 1904, a week after the Iroquois fire, Falkenau called a conference with Chicago police chief O'Neill and coroner Traeger to report that he had received reports that evidence was being tamped with and removed from the theater. Traeger requested O'Neill to prevent anyone from entering the theater without a signed permit. Details of the tampering were not publicized. In 1933 he was killed in a hit-and-run accident while at his second home in Pasadena, California. The driver of the car, identified and arrested, was Ada Mae Brooks, a pioneer in kindergarten teaching methods.

4. Subsequent special grand jury declined to indict.

5.  Later that year, Charles Stuart Wharton (1875–1939) was elected to a two-year term as a U.S. congressman. He returned to Chicago to serve as an assistant state attorney and private practice. In 1907, soon after completing his congressional term, he ran into a spot of trouble. He clubbed a stranger in a bar with the butt of a gun because the stranger spoke churlishly in the presence of women. In 1928 he got into substantially worse legal problems when convicted of conspiracy in the robbery of a mail train. After disbarment and a two-year imprisonment in Leavenworth, he operated a restaurant and authored several books.

6. Indicted by Special grand jury along with Iroquois business manager Thomas Noonan, Feb 20, 1904. Davis, Noonan and Cummings were indicted for manslaughter, Loughlin and Williams for neglect of duty.

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