Lest We Forget: Chicago's Awful Theater Horror

Unconcealed joy greeted the discovery and the information that millions upon millions in securities in various vaults escaped destruction, whereas all was at first believed to have been swept away. Practically all of the vaults and strong rooms and safes of the financial concerns whose buildings were destroyed were found unhurt. A tremendous loss in securities had been anticipated at first, and when vault after vault yielded up its treasures unharmed the joy of the guardians was boundless.

From one trust company's safes alone papers to the amount of more than $200,000,000 were recovered. Merchants and their assistants, smoke soiled and begrimed and hollow-eyed from anxiety and loss of sleep, worked like laborers in the smoking ruins to uncover their safes, and in nearly every instance they were rewarded by intact contents.