Evening star., 1922-01-29


physicians who went to the scene. He
described the discovery of DIR. Brous-
seau, one Of the badly injured. sitting
upright. with the head of Tracey, one
Of the dead. lying in his lap. He also
found two men, whose names he was
unable to give, hanging from the bal
cony by their feet. their bodies crushed
in the ruin.
J. II. Davidson. fireman. of truck
company No. 2. while working in the
ruins OF the balcony heard his name
called. Looking for the source of the
cries, he saw DIR. and Mrs. Hall, 2601
10th street, buried under debris. He
injured.
Navy Yard Workers Called.
1t was after midnight when the
rescue workers sent in q hurry cali
for men at the Washington navy yard.
With their equipment for cutting
through steel, all armed with heavy
sledge hammers, forty men were i'm
mediately dispatched in trucks to the
theater.
Their addition to the force of res
cue workers brought the total well
up over 200. By this time marines,
soldiers, police, fremen and doctors
from every part of Washington, aid
ed by a number of priests and clergy,
who had been given hyperdermic
equipment to administer to the suf-
fering, were working among the
ruins.
Scores were being received at the
Emergency Hospital alone. one of the
many institutions caring for the suf-
ferers. Every available home nearby
also sheltered some OF those suffer-
ing from shock and slight injuries.
Pitiful Scene.
Here is a picture, one of many seen
at the ruins. At the east entrance to
the theater, pinned under a two-by-
six-inch iron beam, supported by an
iron girder lay a fourteen-year-old
boy, moaning,<still conscious and call
ing feebly for help.
For hours six firemen and three
civilians, H. L. O'Neil, A. T. Steck and
George H. Maynard, worked to re-
move the boy. He couldn't give his
name audibly. He was moaning
feebly. and his white, pinched face
urged his rescuers to their task.
Afraid to move the supporting girder
lest the iron beam fall on the boy,
they tried to dig under the boy. inch
by inch, using the greatest care. All
the while the boy watched, pleading
with his eyes. Early this morning he
had not been removed.
The general confusion incident to
guarding the ruins of the theater
from the crowd was increased when
members of the police and the motor
CORPS began dispute as to authority.
and a fight ensued. 1t was also re-
ported that the police and firemen dis
puted the authority of the military
guard for a time, adding to the gen.
eral mix-up.
The District Commissioners last
night issued an order that no NOV
ing pictures in the District would be
allowed to operate until the snow
had been removed from the roofs.
Inspector Sullivan, acting chief oE
police. has notified all captains in
the various districts to enforce the
ruling.
Calmly speak to RescucRs.
Capt. J. H. Hills. United States
Army, and his wife were buried be-
meath the debris on the 18th street
side. Although badly injured, both
were talking calmly to their res
cuers, hacking away at the twisted
steel and concrete which covered
them. Neither had been taken away
at an early hour today.
Coroner hewitt announced he would
hold an inquest over the bodies of
the dead.
Many Others Believed Dead.
= f.. Kennedy and w. H. Brown of
No, 10 precinct were placed in charge
of the improvised morgue in the
Christian Science Church. They both
did efficient work under difficult cir
cumstances.
DIR, William Comstock Wilson, 1777
Columbia road. was one of the first
to arrive on the scene. ;, He immedi-
ately deived into the work Of admin
istering first aid and help of every
sort and was assisted by DR.. Grimes
of the Peoples drug store, across the
street from the theater, and DIR. Ment-
eel of the 7th and E branch Of the
drug store.
At 2:S0 o'clock this morning DR..
Wilson, who has been in the theater
yirtually every minute since it's COL
lapse, said he believed at least
seyenty-five people were trapped un-
der the debris and of this number it
appeared to him forty were dead.
Troopers Called to Help.
One hundred and fifty troopers from
Fort Myer were called upon to aid
In the rescue work. ~ +. .5..5.