The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-01-30

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fatal disaster at the knickerbocker
theatre. Capt. J. H. Hills, of the
army, was one of those who pleaded
with the rescuers to work fast. Both
Captain and Mrs. Hill were caught in
the wreckage.
I'VE are pinned beneath heavy tim
bers," said Capt Hills to men who
were working with axes to set them
! free Il am injured he continued,
I but | don't know how. | am getting
/ numb Maybe some bones are brok-
en- Mrs. Hills is here with me. We
can not last much longer. Thank God,
we didn't bring the baby with US"
/ Captain and Mrs. Hills live at the
) Brighton hotel and have one child.
I Frantic calls for aid went out as
soon as those in the double-walled
4 structures realized what had happen
ed These two three-floor wings form
the offices, a store along the Eigh-
I teenth street front, and house the
stairway and the approaches and exit,
both on that side and along the back
wall. and they were not involved in
the disaster, which was confined to the
auditorium itself. Later this store
and corridor became the first-aid sta
tions as the mangled victims were
dragged from the Wreckdge-
General Alarm Sent Out
Firemen fought their way through
heaping snow drifts in answer to a
general alarm. Police patrols flied
, with men churned and skidded through
the white muck, and in answer TO a
summons. marines from the barracks
clear across the city came at double
time, painting through the heavy go
t1,n rive
the cavalry was turned out and start
ed in truckloads to the rescue, only
to find the roads blocked with snow.
The men shoveled their way franti-
cally, but finally four mule teams from
the fort and from the engineers bar
racks were called in.
At the scene of the disaster there
was wild confusion for time. Those
who first made their way to the audi
: forum doors saw before them a dim
{ mysterious heap of wreckage family
: lighted by string of colored electrics
on the stage that still stood intact, and
the reflected glow from the leaden
) skies above the void where the roof
= had been. Minute by minute the
crowds about the door thickened. The
l crash of the falling roof had drawn
some who had relatives in that mass
} of ruin and melting snow inside. The
+. clang of fire apparatus brought other
5 hundreds, and until the marines came
e painting up the police were powerless
, to fight off the crowd
2 F'iremen plunged into the wreckage
2 with lanterns. Men with electric
2 torches came from all sides to aid. Il
was a daunting task they faced. They
, stood on the debris they must lift tC
S reach those dead or dying below
. On the Columbia roadside the single
y wall lowered menacingly above thei1
beads, stripped almost bare except fol
the high exit signs marking the way
cut of the balcony, now crumblet
wass below. Not window in the long
wall was broken.
Infinite Care Required
| With infinite care the resCuers be
gan work Every beam they touched
might let another mass of concrete
r down if it was moved too swiftly
T There were some groans in the dark
: ness below and no one knew how
= many men, women and children haC
> been crushed or trapped there. The
= huge slabs of the concrete from the
- roof, tore from their steel supporting
y Orders stood in crazy attitudes.
Z touch might send them topping.
~ But against every difficulty thu
n soldiers and, sailors and firemen anC
police and citizens toiled desperatel!
and a slow stream of dead and injured
began to trickle out through the door
ways. Nearly every house and stor,
in the vicinity became a rescue sta
- ton. Housewives made up pots o
coffee for rescuers and rescued a
! the night wore on.
On the Eighteenth street front
row CT parked automobiles stood
70 waiting for owners killed or hurt il
n the crash inside. They were hub dee
m in snow and only a narrow lane wa
e opened to traffic in the street Itself
ct as the street cars could not ge
Z" through because of the snow TIL
O. automobiles hindered the rescue work
IL They were picked up bodily b
" crowds of men and lifted out Of tn
le way.
ed Ambulances and private machine
gathered up the injured as they wer
brought out Finally a string of arm
|ambulanCes arrived from Walter Rec
hospital with sacks full of bandage:
~, Doctors came from everywhere, arm!
= navy and civilian doctors.
ne Work Through Night.
a. All through the night the work {
ln rescue went on. It was evident the
be nothing could be done for many {
n the victims until the weight of tn
'r- wreckage could be lifted. A call
1t the navy yard brought blue jacket
and hydraulic jacks and oXy-hydroge
Jets to burn through the steel beam
The Jacks We're lined UP under tn
edge of the fallen balcony. and lit
" at a time its weight was lifted Re
NJ cuers took their lives in their hand
n 10 creep under and release prsor
an there.
o., AS daylight came the task BEGAN
- easier. Engineer officers from ii
- army could see what must be don
They traced each twisted beam an
saw where it would be safe to cut an
where a steel girder might be dragge
out of the pile with safety to those b
low. Holes were cut through the wal
q and with ropes and tackle the SC
az diers and sailors heaved away, sill
is. Ling and filling in the mushy sno
M outside.
ia Meanwhile all Washington.
en- seemed, was heading for the seen
Ii With street cars stopped, every sire,
was black with strings of peop
Ii II. IN