The Omaha Daily Bee
VOL. 51 NO. 191.
12
I M I tUtt IW M., It, l M
OMAHA, MONDAY, JANUARY 30. 1922.
Hut II Wll. . II. MltM t M4tl M.
M, to alta r"' M SUM, UM M Iwa, if St
TWO CENTS
DIM
c -j
"r
JV
fin
LnJ
EM
S
mm
nn
f1
Profits in
1922, Aim
of F armei's
y'lVole Ktprrt to Make
Money Iy running Thi
Year," ay Superior
U.ntk Curlier.
Few Borrowers in County
y
n
It mar surprU mnmf rll? folk he are
m mim-lir whnlrtrr in in. vmmetmw r
Im know that f.p4 rtprrl I. malt
i.M.nr, br farmlna In XV.'.." Thai I hal
a aurf rrf'MnlMllt. of Th. Urn lu4
mi nupifli. In Ih. mklat t m fit. (arm
Inr ranimnli. thla I. IN. fourlh of
-rlra, el her wf Mhlrk Kill obMliJ
bill).
By PAUL GREER.
Superior. Xci., Jan. 29. (Special.)
-"lf a farm should be advertised for
mt in Nuckolls county, there would
be five nun after it at once," said
W'cy Haiti!, cashier of the Farm
er Stale bank here. Such a state
ment lias an odd sound after all the
idle talk in cities about the drift
from the country, but Mr. Baird
gives the reason without faltering:
"People expect to make money by
, farming in l22.
."I am optimistic for the future,
too." n.iid Mr. Baird. "When you
find the farmers' corn cribs and
wheat bins empty and not much live
stuck about, then is when to expect
hard times Instead of that we now
have one and a third crops of com
on hand, plenty of small grain, and
almost every farmer has a few extra
shoals and calves. There arc from
three to five cows-on the avcraKC
f.-.rin, and many more on some. In
past years there have been crop
failures in this part of the state, and
it was then that we learned to keep
cows and chickens for a good liv
ing. At those times we had to ship
in corn for feed.
Surplus Corn Used.
'The surplus corn is be;ng used to
better advantage now. Milk cows
are being fed more of it, which in
creases the yield. A few more ears
r.re being tossed to the calves,
which grow better and make more
beef. Hog production also has been
. increased. There were more fall pigs
v Mhan usual, and these wilt bring in
a good deal of money, when they are
grown in June or July. . . -
""'' "The- fact that so much grain ha
been held on the farm is a good thing.
It is a start toward more otderl
1,'arkcting in the sense of not glutting
the market by shipping the grain all
cut at once.- The farmers have a
right to feel that they have had a
raw deal, and are not taking any
more chances by seeking large
amounts of credit. One bank in
Superior has obtained ?:U,uw
through the War Finance corpora
tion,' and others, about the country
y also have availed thmselves of this
aid, which has been nothing short ot
a godsend. Economy has been thi
farmer's answer to the high prices
of manufactured goods, and when
(Jirn to Tase Two. Column Two.)
Mid'-Year Graduates
of Central Banquet
. "High school fellows should con
sider the debt of service they owe
their city, their - state and their
country when they enter into active
business affairs," said Louis Bock,
senior class president, in a talk to
35 mid-year graduates of Central'
High school at their final banquet
at the Brandcis Renaissance room
Saturday. He urged the students
to put " their energy into building
Omaha, that their success might be
r.n asset to their own city.- Bock
has been an active leader in school
social affairs for the 'past four years.
"The, Kind of an Education that
Functions" was the subject of the
address given by J. H. Bcverldge,
" superintendent of schools, to the
graduates. Beveridge told the story
ot" "The-Americanization of Edward
Bok" to illustrate how each high
school graduate's ambitions for his
own career and for the betterment
of his country can be easily attained.
Miss Anna Hilliard and F. F. Wol
lery, teacher patrons of the graduat
ing" class, followed with short ad
dresses. Injunction Issued Against
Striking St Paul Printers
St. Paul, Jan. 29.-S-A. temporary
injunction restraining certain pick
eting methods of members of St.
Paul Typographical union No. 30
was granted by Judge Hanft in
Ramsey county district court yes
terday on petition of five job print
ing establishment, .
Union employes of the five com
panies have been on strike since
lasts May. In their .petition, theem
ployers alleged that pickets -intimidated
and coerced those remaining
at work. -
Judge Hant't apportions the num
ber of pickets at from 2 to 8 to each
of the plants involved.
New Comet Discovered
From Cape of Good Hope
Cambridge, Mass.. Jan. 29. Dis
covery of a new comet in the south
ern skies was announced in a cable
from Brussels, received at the Har
vard observatory today. The mes
sage said that the comet was seen
from the Cape of Good Hope, South
- Africa, and appeared to be moving
out'n and west, but gave no further
details. The British government
maintains an observatory at Cape
Town,
Troops, Police and Citizen Volunteers'. Take Lives
in Hands in Attempts to 'Aid Victims in
' Washington Movie House Disaster.
Omaha Hm Lr4 !.
Washington, Jan. 29, Many re
markable recuci were performed,
following the knickerbocker theater
CttUsprnphe which followed in the
wake of the moot terrific mow in
this Ma-linn in more than 20 year.
One of the most remarkable re
scue wa that of Scott Mont
gomery, who was taken out at 8:20
this morning, after having bent
pinned beneath an iron girder for
more than 11 hour, lie died four
hours later at Waller Kcid hospital,
however, He was given opiatri while
under the wreckage by a physician
who liadao crawl quite a ways to
him. Miss Veronica Murphy, whom
Montgomery accompanied to the
theater also it among the dead.
Miss Caroline (."pshaw, niece of
Representative I'pshaw of Georgia,
had one foot cut off and the other
so badly mangled that it will have
to be amputated. Ten college
Undents, living af the S- A. E.
fraternity home have volunteered
their services for blood transfusion,
f which may be necessary to Miss I'p
shaw s recovery.
Vittlc Grant Kaiiston, 8, is all who
can be found of a happy family of
five who attended the fateful theater
last night. His' father. Oscar Cans-ten,
bis mother and his 9-year-old
sister are among the identified dead.
Another sister, Dorothy, IS is listed
among the missing and is believed to
have perished. The Kanstons re
cently came to Washington from
Chicago. Mr. Kanston was env
ployed at the bureau of valuation of
the War department.
Tells of Many Rescues.
Graphic description of many in
dividual rescues was given a reporter
by Lieutenant Parsons of the police.
"We were digging into the ruins
when we saw a tuft of red hair pro
truding from the wreckage. Contin
uing to dig,' we manager to uncover
a small boy, probably 9 years old.
While we were getting him out he
told us that his little sister was be
neath the pile of debris also. The
girl, about 6 years old, was rescued.
Neither of the children . were seri
ously hurt, through some' miracle,
but their mother, nearby, was dead.
("Lieutenant Colonel Taylor, an
army officer, was .taken out by our
men: We started to put him on a
stretcher but he found he could use
his legs and turned around to help
us in our work.
"Dr. Gearhart, a dentist,, was found
pinned beneath an I-beam. He told
us as we endeavored to extricate him,
that he had brctt conscious nil iiiulit
in, that position. '.V woman beside
him wa dead. She was la'ir iden
tilicd a the dentist' wife.
Jokes About Injuries.
"One lellow 'with both legs .hor
ribly broken asked for cigaret as he
was being carried out tm a stretch
er. He joked w ith li reeueri about
Ida mangled limbs, remarking that
ite had about 'ig legs' now. He was
tcrtainly full of. gnu
"A group of two women and &
Man whom we were digging out aio
displayed remarkable nerve, talking
with the men and directing their res
"We were forced to be rather
rough with a number of persons wht
i.enundcd entrance to the ruins in
order to find relatives or friends.1 We
wish to express our regret to them
for this, but it wa the only way we
could handle the situation under the
Irving circumstances." '
.When the crash came last night it
began with a loud hiss, followed by
a deafening roar. The middle of
the roof gave away first. It was (ol
Icwed by the entire roof and the-balcony.-
The fallen balcony covered
the pit of the theater. On top oi
that was. the roof.
Screams cHard for Blocks.
Before the noise from the crash of
filling timbers, concrete and , steel
was silenced the agonized shrieks
and1 cries for help from those bunej
beneath the mass . began. .. Thi"
screams of hysterical women and
others actually, injured were heard
lor blocks away.
Rescue work began immediately.
Those who had escaped by a mira
cle joined the police reserves, and
firemen, who reached the scene with
in -15 minutes after the crash. There
was no light. The minding , snow
made the work more difficult. And
above everything else, came t the
cries of the injured, many of them
completely buried and out of sight
beneath a mass of timbers, i
Among well known persons who
lost their lives in the disaster were
Chaunccy C. Brainerd. Washington
correspondent of the Brooklyn
Eagle and vice president of the
gridiron ' club, and his wife. Louis
W. Mrayer, . Washington corre
spondent of the - Pittsburgh Dis
patch also is among the dead.
Guy S. Eldridge of Salt Lake
City, also killed, is a brother-in-law
of benator Kecd hmoot. - Another
victim was former Congressman A.
J. Barchfeld of Pennsylvania. His
daughter met death with him. ;'
Many Remarkable Rescues Follow ! Q g f m a jj y
Washington I heater Catastrophe , tl,i
for Relief
Second Ship Runs Wild
in Harbor at New York
Oinnha Be leased Wire.
New York. Jan. 29. Another
steamship the second large vessel so
afflicted in 24 hours went "loco"
near the entrance to the Hudson
river . veered suddenly from its
course, charged toward the barge of
fice on the Battery and, by a matter
of a few yards, escaped smashing into
the rocky sea wall at Battery park.
, Today it was the Mount Carrioll
of the United American line, in from
Hamburg with about 200 passengers.
Yesterday it was the Sioux of the
New York and Porto Rico line.
The fact that the two-ships "ran
wild" in almost the identical place and
within a short speace of time, gave
rise to rumors of some "mysterious
attraction" and veterans of the water
front "spoke sagely of Jonahs and
jinx.
Mrs. R, S. Dpud to Speak
at Philosophical Meeting
The Omaha Philosophical society
meets at 3 this afternoon in Patter
son block. Seventeenth and Farnam
streets. Mrs. R. S. Doud will talk
on "Americanization in Social Settlements."
"Drys" Win Sweeping ;
Victory in Poland
, , . - . . ,
Warsaw: Jan., 29. (By A P,)
Beer containing more than 2 1-2
per cent alcohol is to be forbidden
in Poland. The alcoltol law passed
by the diet today, places the ban
on beer of higher alcohol content,
limits drinking places to one for
each 2,500 population, prohibits sa
loons, licensing only cafes and res
taurants, makes proprietors liable
to arrest in the case of drunkenness
on, their premises, and places a tax
of 20 per cent on all liquor stocks.
A stiff fight in the diet preceded
the passage of the measure, ;,the
"wet" forces presenting lengthy ar
guments against, as one of them
phrased it, compelling the Poles to
drink hair tonics as they do in the
United States. - -
The "dry" victory is attributed
largely to the activities . of seven
.women deputies. ' v
Omaha-"Y" Quartet Will
Give Concert in Plattsmouth
Plattsmouth, Neb., Jan. 29. (Spe
cial.) Plattsmonth chapter of De
Molay has arranged to bring the
Omaha Y. M. C. A. quartet here
for an evening's public entertainment.
Note to Reparations Commit
. ioii Requests to Re AUj
lowed to Stop All Cash
Payments During I922r
Plan to Negotiate. Loan
Hf Tba Assort! rim
Berlin, Jan. 29. The German note
to the reparations commission, in re
MKiuse to the commission's demand
fr explanations of Germany's al
leged inability-to meet its obligations
for January and, l ebruary, request
that Germany be relieved of all cash
payments in 1922. It also asks' for
k. general reduction in cash payments
and an increase in payments in kind
The note suggests that the; allies
take measures to restore Germany's
internal and external credit;, apd
thereby facilitate the floating; of a
big international reparation Joan. It
announces that -GermanyS will rainc
an internal loan in 1922. independent,
ly of the foreign, in order' to reduce
the floating debt. .
Plan Tax Increase. '- !
It is pointed out that the allied ex
perts at the Brussels conference jn
1920, recognized that German direct
taxation was incapable of further
augmentation, but that nevertheless
bills were before the rcichstag to
provide further- increases in property
tax, as well as taxes on capital and
corporations. .The turnover tax will
be increased from 1JJ to 2 per cent,
and the" coal tax from 20 to 40 per
cent. The burdens on production
and consumption will be increased,
and the increased customs duties will
be collected on a gold basis.
In- explanation of- Germany's fi
nancial position, the note states that
energetic 'measures will , be - taken
against- the . removal - of capital
abroad and the evasion, of taxation.
It explains " that -. railway " rates,
compared -with prewar .conditions,
have been increased 19 fold for pas
sengers and 32 fold for freight. The
postal and telephone' rates we're in
creased 21 fold. ' ,
... , . .To Increase Prices, r ;.;,
, - The food ' subsidies for 1922 will
amount to ronly 1,000,000,000 - paper
marks, as compared with 2,250,000,000
previously; The price ;of bread will
shortly j be increased by 75 per cent
A system for insurance for the un
cmployed' at the expense of employ
ers and employes will be-introduced,
to replace - the existing - relief - sys
tem ; .;;,,.), i '". : i. ... '
The ordinary budget -shows, : with
a revenue ot lUJ.zuu.uuu.uuo': marks
and expenses Wf 86,700.00a)00 marks,
a surplus' of 16,500.000,000' available
for-reparation payments. $ - With the
object of rduCingthe;' floating. 'debt,
the ' government :will -raise? an. 'inter
nal loan this " year -aparfirorn tne
compulsory: loan-'-already ' agreed
; (Turn to Pace Twit,' Column Three.)
Business Houses at Kimball
to Close for Ewbank Funeral
Kimball,'. Neb., Jan. . 29. (Special
Telegram.) The body of John Ew
bank arrived today,: from Thermo
polis, N. Y., where he died, from a
stroke of apoplexy. He was one
of the pioneers of western Nebras
ka and Colorado, and owned severol
ranches. He was prominent in many
enterprises, '.also a director in the
Citizens State bank here. He was
66 years old. - The fuhertal will be
held Tuesday . afternoon. . All-busi
ness houses ,will be. cIoseA.auring
the funeral. .: .L". L. -'"
Snow Following Rain-Falls "
Most of Day - in ' Beatrice
Beatrice, .Neb.,' Jan." 29. (Special
Telegram.) Following a light rain
Sunday morning a wet snow fell in
this section of the -state most of the
day. The moisture will.be benefi
cial to the winter wheat. ., -
Rahin Pie and Yeast,
Wailrett Say a, (Uvea
Effects of Alcohol
Without trafficking with bootleg
Srrs or laying one's self open to ar
rest for violation of the liquor law a
person in Omaha can enjoy the con.
d'tkm Mr, Volstead intended to pre
vent. Here Is the recipe, according to
a waitress in a South Side rutay
rant: tat a piece of raisin pie and a cak.
of yeast, drink a pint of water and
then pull your chair up to a hot
stove or steam .radiator. In 0
minuics. to tf-t the kick, get up an I
try to walk around the chair.
According to the waitress, nunv
patrons of the restaurant have stand
ing orders for raisin pie and a yeast
lake. Up to date not one has been
arrested for having liquor on the Ivp
and the restaurant proprietor is not
looked upon as a bootlegger.
Governor Faces
Hardest Fight of
Career on Gas Tax
Rescue Workers Fight Desperate
Battle, Regardless of Own Risk;
88 of Bodies Already Identified
List of Identified
Dead and Injured in
Theater Disaster
Discussions of Bill on Eve
of its ' Consideration hy
Lower House Reach .
.- Fever Heat.
Lincoln, Jan. 29. (Special Tele
Cram.) Governor McKclvie face.'
the closest, hardest fight of his ad
ministration tomorrow afternoon t
2 when his gasoline bill to put the
burden of road-building on the user
of the roads, the automobilists, will
be considered by the lower house.
' Neither the administration leaders
nor administration enemies were
sanguine of victory tonight as dis
cussions of" the bill reached fever
btat. Both sides said they had a
"fighting chance."
Factions Cause Trouble.
Administration leaders asserted
they were not forced to contend with
arguments against the tax so much
as with a group of factions which
they enumerated as follows: .
Nonpartisan leaguers fighting
the gasoline tax in Nebraska,
while their brethren in North Da
kota passed .such a bill when in
power, and declared it was the
only equitable" tax devised to pay
tor .road building. ; '
Members - who --in -most cases
have consistently voted against all
tdministration proppsals.
Members nursing boomlets for
governor, attorney , general, sec
retary of state and state treasur
er. '.-.,.
- Members who fear resolutions
adopted by certain bodies against
'the gasoline tax.
Members who believe it is a sales
tax and not an excise tax.
Griswold for Tax.
, There is an exception to this, bow
ever, in the person of Representative
Dwight Griswold of Gordon, prob
able candidate for state, auditor, who
is -for the ' irasolifie tax. He said:
"Forcing an automobilist to pay for
roads ethey use will be nationwide
in four-or five years and I'd rather
go home and explain why I am for
it than why. I was against it, be
cause the gasoline tax is certain to be
more popular as time goes on.
Administration leaders are cbmbat
ing the adverse resolutions propa
ganda by pointing to the fact that
in the last few days, resolutions for
the gasoline tax have been passed
after the people learn it is not an
additional tax, but a tax that will
take the burden of rbadbuilding from
the property owners and place it on
the automobilist.
Cite Signers' Carelessness.
Then, friends of the administration
are telling of the usual carelessness
with which a man signs a petition
or resolution which doesn't cost him
any money, and repeat the story of
every member of a community who
sighed a petition to hang the best
citizen in the town at sunrise.
Governor McKelvie issued the fol
lowing statement tonight:
"Some who may vote against the
Shackleton Dies Enroute to South Pole
Sir
Ernest Shackleton . Ex
pires on Steamer on
Way to Ant
, arctic.
By The Assocluted Prnw. "
Montevideo, Uruguay, Jan. 29. .
Sir Ernest Shackleton, British ex
plorer, died January 5, on the steam
ship Quest, on which he was mak
ing another expedition into the Ant
arctic. Death occurred when the Quest
was off the Gritvickcn station.
The body was brought here on a
Norwegian- steamer and will be
taken to Europe.
Capt L. Hussey of the Quest will
accompany the body.
Prof. Gruvel and other members
of the explorer's party will continue
the expedition.
Sir Ernest Shackleton was born in
1874. He was a third lieutenant in
the British Antartic ..expedition in
1901 and in 1907-9 commanded an
expedition which got to within 97
miles of the South pole. He made
his third quest of the pole in 1914.
The expedition in which he was
engaged when he died was to have
covered 30,000 miles of uncharted
sections of the South Atlantic, the
Pacific and the Antartic seas.
On board the. Quest, a little 200
ton ship, Sir Ernest sailed from Eng-
Sis:?;
r The Ao.latr4 rrMa.
Washington, Jan. 29 The identi
fied dead in the Knickerbocker
theater catstrophe arc:
Former Representative A. I
lURCHI-ELD, formerly oM'ilts
burgh, ..MISS HELEN' BARCHFELD,
Ins daughter,-
, AKCIIIK CELL, formerly of
meland. .V. J.
CHAUXCEV C. BRAINERD.
Washington correspondent of the
lirooklyn Eagle,
MRS. CHALNCEV C. BRAIN
ERD. WILFRED BROSSEAU. North
Adams, Mass-, student at George
town university.
GUY S. ELDRIDGE. Salt Lake
City, brother-in-law of Senator
Snioot of Utah.
OSCAR G. KANSTON', Chicago,
bis wife and daughters, Helen and
Anvln.
CUTLER LAFIX. jr., 16, Chi
cago. MISS NANNIE LEE LAM
BERT, formerly of Ashboro. N. C
JOHN" W. MURRAY. The
Plains, Va.
W. B. SAMMON of AYyommg,
student of George Washington mi
versity. W. L. SCIIOOLFIELD, Danville.
Va.
LAVERNE SPROUL..17. Chi
cago, nephew of Representative El
liott W. Sprout of Illinois.
C. E. STEPHENSON. Boston.
LEWIS STRAYER, Washington
correspondent of the Pittsburgh Dis
patch. II. CON ROY VANCE. Fred
ericksburg. Va. " t
MRS. H. CONROY VANCE.
Fredericksburg, Va. '
WILLIAM WALTERS. Brook
lyn, N. Y-, student at Georgetown
university.
MARY ETHEL ATKINSON. .
JOSEPH W. BEAL. .
WILLIAM G. BIKLE.
THOMAS R.- BOURNE:'" .
MRS. DAISY GARVEY
BO WD EN. '
ALBERT BUEI1LER.
WILLIAM M. CAN BY.
MRS. D. H. CO V ELL.
W. M. CROCKER. - .
VINSON W. DAUBER.
THOMAS M. DORSEY.'
MISS HELEN DORSCH.
A. C. ELDRIDGE.
MRS. ALFRED G. ELDRIDGE.
E. H. ERNEST.
MeC. FARR.
CHRISTIAN FEIGE.
JOHN P. FLEMING.
MISS MARY LEE FLEMING.'
THOMAS FLEMING. ?
G. S. FREEMAN-' K'
MRS. CLYDE M. GEARHART.
E. H. HALL.
DOUGLAS HILLYER.
WILLIAM G. HUGHES.
DANIEL K. JACKSON.
MISS ELIZABETH JEFFREYS.
JOHN M. JEFFREYS.
HOWARD V. KNEESI.
L. L. LEHLER.
LEROY LEHLER.
M. LEROY LEHMER.
Other Great Theater
Disasters Since 1835
Omaha Hre Leased Wire.
Lives
Date. Lost.
.1888
.1911
.1847
.1876
.1887
' The Quest, the vessel In which Sir Ernest Shackleton and party were trying to reach the South pole. The
noted explorer is shown in the insert. '
I
Ti A ATr. t-T VT f A XT
WYATT McKIMMIE.
JULIAN McKINNEY.
ERNEST E. MATELLIO.
MRS. NORMAN E. -MARTIN-DALE.
MISS AGNES MELLON.
MRS. JEAN M1RSKY.
MISS VERONICA MURPHY.
MISS VIVINA OGDEN.
D. F. O'DONNELL.
MRS. D. F. O'DONNELL. .
MISS LOUIS PITCHER.
MISS' HAZEL PRICE, ,
MRS. MARIE RUSSELL.
MRS. CORA C. SIGOURNEY.
MISS MARIE H. SMITH.
VICTOR M. STURGIN.
MRS. .GERTRUDE TAYLOR.
WILLIAM TRACY.
MISS GLADYS THOMAS.
CHARLES COWLES TUCKER.
MRS. CHARLES COWLES
TUCKER.
JACOB URDONG.
MRS. JACOB URDONG.
LOUIS F. VALLYNTINE. .
' MRS. LOUIS F. . VALLYNTINE.
' MISS MILDRED WALFORD.
JOHN L. WALKER.
M R'S. JOHN L. WALKER:
CAPT. WILLIAM R. WARNER,
quartermaster corps, U. $. A.
MRS. WILLIAM-R. WARNER.
MRS. CHARLES M. WESSON,
wife of Col. C. N. Wesson, ordnance
department, U. S. A.
IVAN J. WHITE.
MISS MARGARET DUTCH, Lu
dington, Mich.
MISS M. C. BIKLE. -
MRS. VIRGINIA FARRAUD.
sister of Minister Bianchi of Guatc-
mala. ' '
List of Injured.
- Among the injured in the Knickcr-
(Tnrn to Pafe Two, Column Four.)
Theater.
Banquet, Oporto ...
Bologne, Russia
Carlsruhc, Pctrograd.
Conways, Brooklyn .
Exeter. England
Flares, Acapulco, Mex..l909
Iroquois, Chicago ."..'. ."719.03
Italian Hall, Calumet,
Mich 1913
Lehman's, Pctrograd ..1836
Opera Comique, Paris.. 1887
Rhode's.- Boyertown, Pa.1908
Ring, Vienna 1881
Valcnce-Sur-Rhone, F'ce.1919
Villareal, Spain .'. 1912
Canonsburg, Pa .1911
Front Street tlreater,
Baltimore ......... .,..1895
"200
120
200
295
200
250
575
72
700
75
170
640
80
80
26
23
The Weather
land last September on what was to
have been a two-year voyage.
The voyage had as it objective;
not oily occanographic research,-but
I - - . -:" -v '.
t
the exploration of a petrified forest
and the location of a "lost" island i
Tuanaki the adjacent . . waters or
wbich had not been ; sailed lex more
than 90 years. .
Sir Ernest for his distinguished
services was made a knight in 1909,
Various-societies have, honored him.
' ' V . I '
. ; '' ''
Forecast. "
Nebraska Unsettled weather
Monday and Tuesday, with probable
snow; colder in east portion Mop
day. -
Hourly Temperatures.
5 . m.
6 . m.
1 a. m .
s. m.
m. m.
10 i. m.
11 a. m.
It noon..
...ai
...s?
...St
...as
...as
...s;
...38
t p. m....
S p. m.. .,
S p. m....
4 p. m.,..
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Over Hundred Others Known to Have Been
Injured in Collapse of Knickerbocker
Movie Palace at Washington.
Victims Caught Without Warning When Roof
Falls Under Weight of Snow Most of.
Dead Crushed Under Balcony.
Hy the Aaaoclalnl I'm.
Washington, Jan. 29. Ninety persona are known to have
lost their lives in the collapse, last night, of the snow-laden
roof of the Knickerbocker motion picture theater. Rescue
workers, fighting a desperate battle through dark and day
light, "had recovered that number tonight. More than a hun
dred others are known to have been injured.
Of the dead, 88 had been identified at dark tonight. The
large majority of both killed and injured were local resi
dents, although many came recently from other places. Ex
ploration of the ruins went on unchecked after dark, but
those in charge believed few additional bodies will be found.
Without regard to their own risk, soldiers, marines, sail
ors, police, firemen and citizen volunteers had fought their
way beneath the wreckage over practically the whole floor
space of the auditorium.
The exact number in the theater when the steel and con
crete span of the roof buckled and fell under its three-foot
load of snow probably never will be known. The stories of
perhaps a hundred who got out uninjured have been report
ed. These account for a few more than 300 in the audience
that was roaring in laughter at a filmed comedy when the
roof fell on them, like a blanket, carrying down the front of
the wide balcony in its crash.
Storm Kept Many Away.
Normally, the theater lias had
every seat filled at that hour and
nearly 2,000 persons was it capacity.
The same unprecedented snowfall v
which brought death to the venture
some few, kept the many at home.
Street car traffic had been abandoned
and streets and sidewalks were all
but impassable.
There has not been time for of-,
ficial inquiry as to the caue of the
disaster.- The ruins disclose, how
ever,. ihJt the mass - of-stecl-hcld
concrete that formed the roof came
down. The crash swept the supports
from tinder the balcony, apparently,
and this hinged down at an angle of ,
45 degrees, adding to the tangled
wreckage on the floor below.
The building stands in an acute
angled corner at Eighteenth street
and Columbia road, northwest, the
heart of the most favored residence
section. The narrow niche of the
stage on which the screen was hung
was backed into the corner angle,
while to the; left from the stage the line
of the auditorium wall runs straight
for some 200 feet down Eighteenth.
To the right, the wall follows the
slow curve of Columbia road for
about the same distance and at the
far end, paralleling the stage front,
the back wall completes the audi
torium proper also about 200 feet
in length. . .. -
Crowd Grooped Below Balcony-
The space stood roofless a moment
after the first hissing sound of the
breaking roof gave warning above
the music of .the orchestra. There
is only one surviver thus far who
has told of having heard that ' warn-
ing and seen the first powdery hand
ful of snow sift down over the head
of the orchestra leader in time to
escape. From his seat well forward
on the main floor, he raced for the
doors at the back. A blast of air,
expelled as the. roof came down,
hurled him out through the doorway
to safety. - .
Most of the bodies were recov
ered from the floor o fthc oifc be-'
neath the wreckage oi-the bahSohy
or from, the front of the balcony.
Persons on the main floor had
grouped themselves just below the'
front of the balcony. They were
back far enough to see well and most
of the front and back rows were
empty. , .- : -
At the point they had chosen, the
danger proved to be double. Fewl
of those seated there could havj
escaped. Even if the falling cori
crete siaos ana sicei worK ot tle
roof missed them, the balcony frpnt
came down on the first wreckage
with crushing weight. The gleam
ing brass rail of the balcony front
lay spread over the wreckage of the
roof, 15 feet below when rescuers
reached the scene. .
Those in . Back Escape.
All those farther back on the
main floor probably escaped. The
beams that supported the back end
of the balcony did not let go their
clutch on the wall. The wide sweep
of seats they supported tilted down
until the wreckage, below took the
weight of the front end then stood,
covering the back rows of the main
floor like a -tent. .
The front rows of the balcony
were ground to . a twisted mass.
There was no wood in the structure.
It was all steel and concrete but
the enormous weight of the balcony
was sufficient to wind the tortured
beams into fanmstic shapes.
Here again, chance played a part
in reducing the number of victims.
The front rows of the balcony, four
or five tiers deep, were known as
"reserved" seats. They were priced 1
above the succeeding rows. With
the small attendance last night, prob
ably only a few had paid,-thc extra
prices for these seats, preferring to
sit further back in the balconv. And
many of those behind scrambled up
(Tuns, t Vase. Tw Colore lour.)
r ...
President Expresses
Sorrow Over Disaster
Washington, Jan. 29. (By A.-P.)
President Harding issued the -following
statement late today, on the
Knickerbocker theater disaster:
." "I have experienced the same as
tounding shock and the same inex
pressible sorrow which has come to
all of Washington and which will be
sympathetically felt throughput the
land. If I knew aught to say to
soften the sorrow of hundreds who
are so suddenly bereave', if I could
say a word to cheer the maimed and
suffering, I would gladly do so.
"The terrible tragedy, staged in the
midst of the great storm, has deeply
depressed .all of us and left us won
dering about the revolving fates.''
Capper to Ask Probe
of Theater Disaster
Washington, Jan. 29. (By A. P.)
Senator Capper of Kansas, a mem
ber of the senate District of Colum
bia committee, announced tonight
that when the senate reconvened he
would introduce a resolution calling
tor an investigation ot the Knicker
bocker theater disaster and also of
all buildings constructed here since
the beginning of the war.
Senator Capper said reports had
come to him that to a more or less
degree the building code of the Dis
trict cf Columbia had been violated
during the rush of construction fol
lowing the increase in the city's pop
t.lation after the declaration of war.
Two Tiny Tots Found
Peacefully Sleeping
Under Theater Debris
Washington, Jan. 29. (By A. P.)
bleeping peacefully- beneath the
debris in the wrecked Knickerbock
er theater, two girls, 4 and 6, were
found today by rescuers, 10 hours
after the roof had fallen. Appar-
netly neither was badly hurt. They
were taken to a hospital without
identification.
Four hours earlier, a 5-year-old
girl was found unhurt, seated be
tween the bodies of two women.
Her life evidently had been saved
by her falling between the seats and
the protection given her by the two
bodies.
The last person to be taken from
the ruins was' Dr. Scott Montgom
ery of Washington, who was rescued
12 hours after the roof collapsed.
He was- pinned by his legs under
neath a beam which killed the- young
woman whom he had escorted to :
the theater. His condition is ex
tremely serious.
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