The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-01-30
Investigation of Cause of
Collapse of Roof Start
ed and Authorities De-
termined To Ascertain
If Neglect of Duty Is
Responsible

Responsible
Washington, Jan. 30.-Tha death
total from the Knickerbocker theatre
disaster of Saturday night was
brought to los today with the death
in a hospital of Miss Mary Forsyth, a
resident of Washington.
Washington, Jan. 30.-With a total
of 107 dead and 1873 injured removed
from the ruins of the Knickerbocker
Motion Picture Theater up to an early
hour today, the rescuers were still
struggling with the heavy wreckage
left when the snow-laden roof of til ,
structure collapsed during the show
ing of a comedy feature bill Saturday
night. Brigadier Gen. Bandholtz,
commandant of federal troops in the
district, in personal charge of the rej-
cue work, said it might be another
twenty-four hours before it could be
definitely said there were no more
dead or injured in the wreckage of
twisted steel and concrete which yet
remained to be cleared away of the
mass that was hurled down without
warning on the pleasure-seeking hun
dreds below.
1t was believed, however, that the
section now being explored would
yield few additions to the awful list
of dead and injured it being near the
rear and under the after part of the
balcony which held up when the front
of it crash down to the theater pit un7
der the impact of the falling roof. A
party of rescuers early today had been
struggling for hours to release from
the part of the wreckage now being
overturned one man believed to be yet
alive although imprisoned under the
mass for nearly thirty-siX hours. The
great weight OF the steel beams and
concrete, which crashed with the roof,
have in many instances made the res
cue of the victims slow and tedious
The capital city was bowed in grief
today to learn the full extent of the
tragedy with the recovery of victims
yesterday and last night This was
the more intensely shared by the rest
of the country because of the consid-
cradle number of visitors who suffered
in the catastrophe. President Harding,
in a statement last night, said the
tragedy had left him with the same
inexpressible sorrow which has come
to all of Washington and which will
be sympathetically felt throughout the
land"
A three-fold investigation of the
cause and circumstances of the col
lapse of the theater roof was in pros
pect today. In addition to an exhaus-
Nv h0
commissioners of the district and an
other to be started Immediately by
the grand jury Senator Capper of
Kansas, a member of the senate of
District Columbia committee, an
nounced that as soon as the senate
convened he would introduce a resoIu-
tion calling for an investigation of tie
tragedy The Senator said he had re-
ceived reports that the building code
Of the district had been violated in
more than few instances in the rush
of construction in the rapid increase
in the population here after the wars
end.
Edward H. Shaughnessy, second as
sistant postmaster general, who was
among the fourteen listed as seriously
injured. was still making a fight for
life today at the Water Reed hospi-
tai. His wife and two daughters also
we're injured but not so seriously.
Among those prominent on the list
of dead as it stood today was former
Representative A. j. Barchfield, for
merly of Pittsburgh, and Mrs. Vir-
ginia Farraud, sister of Minister BIZ
anchi, of Guatemala. Most of the dead
still lay early today in the basement
of the nearby Christian Science
church to which they were removed
for Identification. Many of the fatal
ly injured also were taken there, la
ter to swell the total of victims.
By daybreak this morning the
searchers had explored almost every
portion of the debris-strewn structure
without finding any more bodies. The
list of dead still remained at 109 and
it was believed that a few additions
would come from the list of injured
several of whom were in a serious
condition.
Col. Charles Keller. U. S. A. en-
gineer-commissioner of the District of
Columbia, took charge of the forces
at the theater site as soon as the
military gave way to the civilian
forces. Marines, who were rushed to
the theater a few hours after the
crash Saturday night, were with
drawn before dawn and soldiers from
Fort Mayer, who had struggled
through miles of snow Saturday night
to reach the scene, began leaving.
All dead and injured had been re-
moved early today from the Chris
tian Science church nearby, a large
structure which for more than thirty
six hours had served as clearing
house for victims of the disaster
Edward H. Shaughnessy, OF Chi
cago, second assistant postmaster
general, who, with his wife and two
children, was injured in the crash,
was described today as in a serious