The Washington herald., 1922-02-03
From a Worker in Blue.

To the Editor. The Washington Herald:
I don't know whether i should
do this or not. as it's the first time
1 have ever made attempt to ex-
plain my thoughts to any news
paper and may make a failure of
it, SO before / start / ask that you
help where you will know 1t Is
needed.
/ would like very much in some
way to get a lot of things Off my
chest in regard to what happened
at the Knickerbocker Theater last
Saturday evening. l am just one
of my rich uncle's sailors and he
has been good enough here in the
past few months to give me a shore
job. so am working in the Bureau
of Navigation and living in the city
and, as 1t happens. out near the
place of the accident. So l man.
aged to get over there shortly
after 10 p. nj. Saturday. / worked
in civilian clothes that evening till
5 o'clock Sunday morning. when I'll
admit that lost my nerve or somer
thing. l had to get out anyway.
That's a bad thing for a sailor TO
say i know. / didn't lose my nerve
so much, as I was just sick through
and through. i went home and
tried to rest but was unable, so at
noon Sunday / returned in uniform
and worked till IL o'clock Sunday
night. i can't explain how horrible
ii was. When you work as the SOL
diers and Marines did in that awful
grave. and if one don't get an idea
out of it somewhere or one big les
son, why I think there is something
wrong. l helped put dead men and
women on the stretchers. j made
lines fast to huge pieces Of cement
and plaster. while the boys dragged
them away, dug out a body. only to
have someone say in a quiet voice
here's another one"
/ would not attempt to lay the
blame on any one person. but from
what I've seen of the building and
from crawling in under and around
the ruins I am very much of the
opinion that 1t certainly was a
piece of poor workmanship on
somebody's part. and any man that
can say that the roof of that build
ing was perfect and the snow was
the only reason for its falling in is,
in my, opinion. saying 1t because he
don't know what he's talking about
or else to protect someone else.
say that that building was built In
a hurry and was very poorly con-
structed. was put up to make mil
lions and not to protect the people
that were to sit in il and enjoy
themselves. To my notion it's an
outrage against the real honest
American people to think that the
almighty dollar Is getting to be
worth more to certain people than
lives. As the theater was built in
1917 I would just like to know how
much profit the people RESPONSIBLE
for the building, the ones that
built 1t. actually made. I'll bet they
would be ashamed to tell the pub
lie. for a roof as weak as that one
much of that s100.000 II is said the
building cost. I realize that my
opinion WON'T amount to much one
way or the other. for sailors don't
mean much to anyone anyway. and
/ expect 1 am making a big mistake
in trying to get a few things of
my mind in regard to the theater
accident If the people that couldn't
get in to help or even the millions
that were not present. could have
helped take a few of their own
kind from under that supposed to
be 100 per cent roof. they would
ind time for a thought or two in
regard to just how little we really
are. and maybe some of them
would be thinking different today
rand think more about doing the
right thing and playing the game
i instead of money. money. They
will be worshipping 1t in a short
time: it'll be a new religion.
Lust a Mnrd nnw for the neonlt