The Mena weekly star., 1922-02-02
FALLING THEATER
 ROOF AND DEATH
Million Dollar Washington Playhouse CoIlapses Under Tons of snew' Catching 300 Under Deiuge
 of Concrete and Steel.

Washington, Jan. 29.--The organ was playing last night. more than five hundred persons were watching acet Rich Quick Wallingford" at the million dollar Knickbocker theater' Someone looked up, saw the center of the roof sagging under tons ef snow. shouted warning, and then, as the audience tried to learn what was happening, the roof fell thru the darkened theatre. A cement balcony followed, and with it part of the west wall. .
 snbdued talk and laughter that hsa greeted the comedy of the pie ture were changed to cries of pam. About three hundred persons were hurled under snow and steel and con- crete. Probably one hundred are dead.
 Snow Hampered Rescuers.
 persons outside the theatre, which occupied a whole block, at Eignteenth street and Columbia road, rushed to telephones. Five alarms were sent to the fire department. The streets were under nearly three feet of snow, following the worst storm ot the eity's history. Some of the fire ap- naratus was caught in the snowdrIfts and never reached the theatre. The crews of others set to work to get out the injured and rush them to hos. pitals. Then the fremen resumed their work.
 No warning was given as the walls crashed. the roof breaking in on the heads of the audience and crushing seats and occupants as 1t fell. 1t was more than an hour before the res cuers. using gas torches to cut thru inc accumulated mass of steel and concrete. reached the section where # was believed most of the dead and injured were.
 AS fast as the bodies were taken from the wreckage they were hurried to hospitals for examination. NO at tempt was made to examine them at the scene of the disaster. Every ann bulance, fire engine and police patrol in the city vas at the scene.
 The roof first began to give way ipst above the balcony. It swung dewn touching the heads of the frirhtened patrons, seemed to hesi-- tate a moment in it's deadly drop and then buckled and fell fiat on top of the orchestra seats
 A Scene of Horror.
 The theatre, situated in the center of Washington's fashionable north west section, presented scene of horror an hour after the roof fell be- meath weight of snow heavier than any to which 1t had been subjected since it's erection.
 The roof. to those unable to push thru the police line, seemed to rest almost on the floor, scarcely more than a foot and half separating the lower-most debris and the floor level. The ruins were covered with snow from the roof. Standing up thru the wreckage, however, stark and ragged were once supporting pillars.
 Bremen and soldiers hastily rushed from Walter Reed Military hospital from Walter Reed Militaray hospital and barracks endeavored to find an opening in the ruins, but heavy steel and concrete defied their efforts ex- cept when re-enforced with picks and gas and acetylene torches. Moans of the injured rent the air together with the harsh commands of the fire chiefs and the military.
 Notables in Waiting Throng.
 Many were aroused by the ciang- ing of fire gongs as fire apparatus was rushed to the scene from every fire station in the city.
 Those beyond the fire lines included men and women known thruout the country, senators, representatives, ambassadors, ministers and society leaders. Numbers of those behind the lines had friends whom they believed to have been attendance at the thea ter when the crash came, and they appealed to those maintaining the lines either to let them thru or give them some news of the dead or in- jured.
 The building was owned by Harry H. Crandall and was regarded as one of the most beautiful in the city. IL was used often for afternoon lectures, attended by society folk
 No one seems to know exactly how many people were in the theater. 1t has seating capacity of two thou sand and was one of the chief movie theatres of the city. Estimates are that about five hundred were in the theatre. Of that number about thres hundred are said to have been within range of the falling balcony.
 Ruth Posely, 19-year-old girl was brought out to all appearance!