OCR Text |
Show lV A Hh l Film Palace Roof I Collapses; Scenes j of Horror Follow I WASHINGTON, Jan. 29. Weakened by the tremendous weight of more than 3G hours of steady snow, the roof of the Knickerbocker theatre, one of the national capital's most palatial movie palaces, caved in without warning shortly after 9 o'clock last night, b ury-mg ury-mg an audience of 300 people in a twisted mass of steel girders and concrete and snow. The bodies of twenty dead had been gathered early today from the ruins of the structure. Many more injured were also etrited while rescuers worked in an effort to release ethers still imprisoned in the wreckage. W'A SHINGTON. Jan. 29. Army cn-glnecry cn-glnecry and wrecking crew's were summoned sum-moned early today as tho work of rescue precede ;,t tiie Knlckcrbock r theatre to shore up the walls which threatened to collapse on the workers Inside. At the same time Captain J. II Illlls, U. S. A., was still pinned beneath be-neath the w reckage, but was said to be conscious. His wife had been rescued earlier and sent to a hospital Edward H Shaughnessy, second assistant as-sistant pastmasler general, wax llsl d as missing early today after the Knn -krbocker theatre disaster He was understood un-derstood to have attended the performance per-formance when the fatal crash camo, and efforts to locate him later wi re without avail. M ANY IN RUINS At that time mans were still In the ruins and In case he was pinned beneath be-neath the wreckage It was hoped he was still alive Captain Hills was extricated this morning and was said to be only slightly injured. All was confusion for hours after the crash while police, firemen, marines ma-rines from the nearby barracks and soldiers from waiter Keen military hospital strove to burrow beneath the mass of debris and bring forth those burled underneath Scores had heen removed from the edges of the debris and hurried to hospitals, but pOllOS engaged for I ! hours In battling the heavy snowstorm, snow-storm, were unable to check up on the number of those taken to the hosplt ill or how many, had died after reaching reach-ing the hospitals. Every tire station was called upon to send Its crew,vio the scene and the collection of fire fighting apparatus only added to the confusion. With the arrival of the marines, however, order began to be restored restor-ed Many women who escaped r in screaming to the street and several fainted while the Injured were removed re-moved on stretchers and taken In ambulances to hospitals. private homes and nearby clubs Wot Mil l) t.UOAMM. The theatre roof as It fell Imprisoned Impris-oned many under the mass of wrei k-age. k-age. the balcony collapsing also while concrete pillars fell over to add their (Continued on page Two.) I Scenes of Horror Follow I I Collapse of Film Palace I continued from Page one. weight to the debris under which the Wounded lav groaning. The fire department was called by I tyv alarms and police reserves were i i-vshed to the scene, the rescuers Irn- l nScdlutoly beginning toe work of hat I -I iMg at the wreckage to llln-r.it. ih. . . I Jrisoned "Get Rick Quick Walling-I Walling-I urd" was being shown and the second Atfw of the tvenlng had lust begun when tlii' r"il rashed .Two men wen- mild to have beon re-t)ioed re-t)ioed ilfinl ami a Misr I'ostley died of injuries after she had been taken t i physician s office. Coroner J It. 1 IbweH said "hll guess" was lhat the:. I f bud been ;',uo killed Several Imur-i I "ould perhaps elapse, however, it waa I : Bdlcated, before a definite estimate i Jt the "situation would be available. o kRMNG -I EN 5 II Co warning was given as the walla I ij(asii''d. the roof breaking In on the iMda of the audience, with a nols-(Jke nols-(Jke thunder, crushing seats und or-)ipnnts or-)ipnnts as It Fell. It was more thB I I 4h hour before the rescuers using gas torches to cut through the accumulat t-Q maaf of steel and concrete rent bed ijhe section where it was believed tjlost of the dead and Injured were. (Senator Smith of South Carolina 4Tis snid to be among the rescued His injuries were described as only slight. T.The theatre, situated in the center Of Washington's fashionable northeast north-east section, presented a scene of hor-Ur hor-Ur an hour after the roof fell be-fl be-fl dfatn a weight of snow heavier than I r' to which it had iee:i subjected Since the building win reeled sevc-.i $nrs ago. The roof seenied to rest almost on iilit- floor, scarcely more than a foor iod a half separating the lower-most I (jfbris and the floor level. All of the I debris was covered with the snow I Mblcl hud wolf had so heavily upon I fl)c roof. Standing up tbrought the. I debris, however, stack and race.-. I Vere the pillars that had supported I IJJe balconies and the roof. I The site of the theatre, being at the I intersection of two or three principal I ijreets, was lighted bv the glow f.f I I iTeet lights, which a few blocks die," H tint shed n ,. lov on tl m Of snow which coertd the city. MO 1XS IR1 HEARD I ItFlremen and soldi' rs hastily rushed I from Walter Reed hospital and bar- racks near the city endeavored to find I an opening In th' debris but the In a I Vf! ant concrete defied their efforts I 4icept when reinforced with picks and H gfis torches Moans of the Injured I could be heard together with the com- glands of the fire chiefs and the mlll-I mlll-I Beyond the lines first established by I ioe police and later taken over by soi-I soi-I dlers, thousands gathered. I Those beyond the fire lines includ-I includ-I $d men and women known throughout I the country senators, representatives, HI ambassadors, ministers and BOClat loaders Numbers of those behind the tties had friends whom they believed t,o have been In the theatre when hc j mash came and they appealed to those j maintaining the lines either to lei them through or glvi- them some idea a. to the number of dead or Injured H, The nnif snowfuli which caused the collapse of the theatre's roof al-so al-so worked to lessen the number ..f (nose in the crash for the theatre b - hlg the only one In that section, usual- ly Is filled even to standing room on week-end nights. The theatre building was one of a I number owned by Harry M Crandall and was regarded a.s one of th mo H beautiful in the city |