Article on dangerous crowding at Niblo’s Garden

“To the Editor of the New-York Times:

New-York, Friday, Sept. 14, 1866.

Won’t you call attention in your widely-circulated journal, to the danger of blocking up by chairs and stools every passage of ingress and egress in the theatres on crowded nights, as occurs nightly at Niblo’s?

It is wrong on many accounts. The great danger in case of fire breaking out during the performance, (two alarms of which took place during last evening’s performance, and which if they had attained any headway, would have caused the death and injury of hundreds.) It is injustice to those who engage seats beforehand, (paying extra,) and a great annoyance to the entire audience, being disturbed by the placing of said stools and chairs, after the performance has commenced, for people who are too lazy to be in time and too mean to engage a seat, and who are continually rushing out between each act, which generally (in the narrow space) involves the loss of part of the wearing apparel of those sitting in end seats.

If you can, consistently, will you please draw attention to the dangers (not to speak of the inconvenience, &c.,) of this practice, with a view to having it remedied, and oblige thousands, ROOT.”