Evening star., 1922-02-05

Being the architect, the steel work
did not come under my direct SUPER
vision, but was the province of q
ter in charge. However. the changes
were entirely within my knowledge.
The changes in design did not involve
any change in the quality of the steel
itself"
When asked whether or not the story
ceiling of the theater recently and
was camoufiaged by putty and paint
was true the architect replied that any
such story was absurd in the extreme.
1.-THE ceiling could not have been
reached without erecting a scaffold and
it would have been impossible to
erect scaffolding in the main hall Of
ceiling without closing the theater for
at least four or Ave days, since the
construction of scaffolding in SO high
a room would have taken considerable
time. in addition to the time required
for painting and plastering. This work
several hundred dollars. No record of
such an expenditure is known to the
theater management, nor was there any
time since last summer when the theater
was closed at all, much less for so
long period as would be rquired to
accomplish such work. l cannot under
stand how such q story became broad
cast. 1t is obviously without founda-
tion."
1t was asked If cinder concrete was
used structurally in the construction OF
the Knickerbocker Theater, and Mr..
Geare stated that cinder concrete.
being the lightest material which will
f1reproof, was used only on top of the
structural slabs for the purpose of
forming hips and valleys on the roof
to shed water toward the rain con-
ductors. Cinder concrete was also used
in the balcony on top of the structural
slabs for the purpose of forming the
steps to which the seats were fastened,
he said. "Such use of cinder concrete
is common practice in building con-
struction,' he continued. land was not
used for the purpose of economy but
for the purpose Of decreasing the dead
load and making less weight for the
structural members to support. There
cinders were used in the main support
ing structural slabs"
Trust Seats Of Steel.
Reports which have been pub
lished, stating that the trusses hold
ing up the theater roof were laid on
no support other than hollow tiles
are erroneous" the architect contin-
ued, there was no truss in the build
ing that did not rest on a secure steel
seat. The main roof truss rested on
steel I-beam eighteen inches high
and about ten feet long, which. as
shown by photograph. has never
been dislodged in the slightest bit
from it's original position and is in
perfect condition today. The steel
seats on which the truss rested were
each supported by tiles filled with
Hx-hich fnrrfa6 1Oli6 fOnn /.
dation. In my opinion. the theory
that these supports we're not suffi-
cient to carry the weight imposed
upon them were erroneous. since each
Of them is in its original position
and was not dislodged."
use of faulty cement in the building,
Mr. Geare said: ''The cement used
was one Of the well known brands of
portland cement which is used in i'm
portant work, and to my direct
knowledge, the specifications, calling
carried out, and no faulty construc-
tion along this line was installed. To
my mind, the report that cement in
a deteriorated condition as soft as
plaster and capable Of being crum-
bled in the hand was circulated by
some one inexperienced in building
construction who mistook one mate
rial for another"
Mr.. Geare was most emphatic in
his denial that he has in any way i'm
piled that the responsibility for the
Knickerbocker disaster is in any way
attributable to those connected with
the construction of or operation of
the theater. Mr.. Geare said: 'If
there has been any newspaper talk
the fact that / have formulated a
theory for the Knickerbocker catas-
trophe which will clear every one of
any possible blame it is also un-
founded. I have not told any one
heretofore that I had any theories
whatsoever. I Immediately placed all
plans and records at the disposal of
the public, and all information, to-
gether with my theories on the ques-
ton, will be available at the proper
time for the investigating committee.
but until such time shall withhold
any opinion which I may form.
Words have been put into my mouth
already that I had no conception of
and never uttered. Implications have
been published that would tend to
show that I was trying to shift any
share Of the responsibility. This has
been far from my thoughts at all
times since the disaster"