The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-30
DEATH TOLL
OF THEATRE
DISASTER 1Oo
One Hundred and Thirty
Three Injured = Rescuers
Still Struggling with Wreck
age Caused by Collapse.
RESCUE SLOW, TEDIOUS
tBy Associated Press)

10 los today with the death in q hos
pital of Miss Mary A, Forsyth, a resi-
dent of Washington.
With a total of JOS dead and 133 in
jured removed from the ruins of the
theatre. the rescuers were still stTug-
CLING with the heavy wreckage LEFT
when the Snow-laden roof of the stTuc-
ture collapsed during the showing OF
a comedy feature bill Saturday night
Brig. Gen. Bandholtz. commandant
of federal troops in the District, in per
sonal charge of the rescue work. said
! it might take another "a hours before
! ii could be definitely said there were
no more dead or injured in the wreck
age of twisted steel and concrete
which yet remained TO be cleared away
] of the mass that was hurled down
without warning on the pleasure-seek-
/ ing hundreds below
Expect Few More Dead
! II was believed however. that the
section row being explored would Weld
/ few additions to the awful list of dead
/ and injured, it being near the front en-
/ trance and under the part of the bal
cony which held up when the front OF
| it crashed down 10 the theatre pit un-
der the impact of the falling roof
! a party of the rescuers early today
! had been struggling for hours to re-
! lease from the part of the wreckage
now being overturned one man be.
j lieved to be yet alive, although i'm
prisoned under the mass for nearly
So hours.
! The great weight of the steel beams
and concrete which crashed with the
roof have in many instances made the
rescue of victims harrowingly slow
and tedius
/ City eaUed in Grief,
! The capital CITY was bowed in srtrf
today to learn the full extent of tls
/ tragedy with the recovery of victims
1 yesterday and last night This WAS
the more intensely shared by the rest
of the country because of the consia
cradle number of visitors. who suffer
ed in the catastrophe. Presiden1
Harding in a statement last night.
said the tragedy had left him the
same inexpressible sorrow which has
come to all of Washington, and which
will be sympathetically belt through
out the land
A three fold investigation Of the
cause and circumstances of the col
lapse of the theatre roof was in pros
pect today. In addition to an eXhaus-
tive inquiry ordered by the board of
commissioners of the district and an
other to be started Immediately by
the grand jury, Senator Capper. OF
Kansas, member of the District OF
Columbia committee, announced that
rs soon AS the senate convened h3
! would introduce a resolution calling
for an investigation of the tragedy.
The senator said he had received re-
ports that the building code of tho
District had been violated in more
than a few instances during the rush
of construction resulting from the
rapid increase Of population here after
the war declaration.
Makes Fight for Life.
Edward H. Shaughnessy, second as
sistant postmaster general, who was
among the II listed as seriously in.
! jured. was still making fight for
life today at the Walter Reid hosp
tai His wife and two daughters also
were injured. but not so seriously.
| Among those prominent on the list
of dead as it stood today, was former
r Representative A j. Barchfield. for
merly of Pittsburg, and Mrs. Virginia
F'arraud. sister of Minister Bianchi, of
Guatemala Most of the dead still lay
early today in the basement of the
nearby hristian Science church 10
which they were removed for identiii
j cation Many of the fatally injure
also were taken there. later to swell
the total of victims.
All Theaters Closed.
Mrs. Shaughnesy suffered a frac-
tured rib; Ruth, age 10, had both arms
broken, and Myrtle, the other daugh-
ter, was bruised. All are at the Emerg-
ency hospital President Harding sent
Brigadier-General Sawyer, his person
al physician, to the Walter Reed TO
make direct inquiry about the condi-
lion of Mr.. Shaughnessy and 10 in
quire about government employees
c;.ught in the theatre who are under
treatment at that hospital.
I. With the announcement of an in
, vestigation by the district commission
ers orders went out closing all thea
/ tres until the snow had been cleared
= from the roofs and inspectors had
, made an examination OF the struc-
, lures
: Officers said that until an inquiry
; I'D been made the direct cause of the
collapse of the Knickerbocker roof
could not be determined.
mo man can tell at the present
time just what was directly respon
sible for the collapse of the roof
: said Building Inspector Healy.
i The inspector could not recall pre-
> vious case of the collapse of q build
, ing in the District of Columbia direct
! ly as result of the weight of snow
. on the roof.
Every Part Expired
Ry day break today the searchers
had explored almost every part of
! the debris strewn structure without
finding any more bodies. The list of
dead remained at los. and it was be-
lieved that any additions would come
from the list of injured. several of
whom were in serious condition.
Colonel Charles Keller, u. S. A. en-
gineer commissioner of the district
, of Columbia. took charge of the forces
/, at the theater site as the military
. gave way to the civilian forces. Ma
!. rines rushed to the theater faY,
hours after the crash Saturday night
!, were withdrawn before dawn. and col
Continued OF rage Tgelye.,