Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-01-30

TELLS STORY Of
CATASTROPHE IN
MOVIE THEATER
Florida Congressman Who
Was in the Balcony at
the KniCkerbOCkerr De-
SCribeS the Disaster
ESCAPES UNAIDED BUT
CANNOT SAY JUST HOW
Ducks As a Piece of PIaS-
ter Starts to FALL Men,
Women and Children
GrOan and Call for Help,

tBy The Associated PrCss)
Washington, Jan. 90 (by the
Associated Press Am avalanche
of broken plaster. bricks. snow,
splintered wood and twisted steel
beams catapulting on the audi
ence while the orchestra nlayed
and comedy film ground out.
is the description of the Knick-
erbOcker theater disaster given to-
day by Representative John II.
Smithwick of Pensacola. Fla. He
was in the balcony when the roof
collapsed under its weight of
snow. He escaped unaided-just
how he cannot recall--with more
or less serious hurts
Plaster Begins to Fall
"The orchestra was playing
music and a comic film was run
ming" he said in his bed, band
aged and with his face and hands
covered with cuts. Suddenly
there was a sharp crack. I saw
great fissure running across the
ceiling, right over my head. The
plaster began to fall, all over the
theater it seemed to me. While
| was looking up a great piece
right over my head started to
fall. l ducked, crouching, invol-
untary, l suppose, down between
the seats, The piece struck the
seat where l had been sitting. The
force was broken by the seat. but
it pinned me down.
THE noise was awful. 1t
was Il great roar. II was SIM
ply indescribable. L never can
forget It.
''ln the midst OF the roar
ing were sirieks and cries of
women and children and a
few shouts of men. There
and, worst of all, the means
of those in terrible pain. Ii
was awful. | can't describe 1t.
| see II all the time, those
poor children and men and
women crying and grOaning.
There were only q few of us
in the balcony. Luckily there
weren't more The balcony gave
way and crashed soon after the
ceiling began to fall onto those on
the lower floor. They were caught
the worst.
Balcony Falls.
"I guess there was a lapse
Of maybe twenty seconds, hardly
more, before the balcony fell.
Funny, but it kind of twisted. as
its supports gave way and it
swung down on those below 1t
didn't go straight down, just kind
Of sideways and slanting.
II don't know how I got out
from where l was crOuehing un-
der that chunk of plaster. l real
ly believe it weighed 500 pounds.
And l think I moved that plaster
with my shoulders. Anyway, |
crawled out between the seats to
where | saw a small hole in the
plaster above. 1 forced myself up
through that hole. Then 1 crawled
out over the snow and plaster,
over the tangled debris. to the
doors on the Eighteenth street
side.
ACROSS the aisle when the crash
came was a little fellow never
saw him again and I wonder if he
is dead--who laughed and rOared
at every especially funny part Of
the film. l don't know what be-
came Of him or the others in the
balcony.
THE plaster fell first in chunks.
It was just like an ice pond break
ing up. The ceiling didn't give
in one crash. 1t seemed to break
up everywhere. That let in the
snow.
Conscious All the Time.
TITS queer, but l was conscious
all the time when l was pinned
down by that great piece of cell
ing. My mind, when l saw the
ceiling falling, and afterward, was
Just as clear and collected as now,
| knew | was ,.urt some, but
didn't know how badly. It seemed
my time had come. | lived a year
pinned down between the seats.
1T wasn't until I got outside
that l noticed blood falling from
my face and, hands. I got out my
self, No one helped me. I crawled
over the broken seats and plaster
and snow to the door. On the way
! 90 W i SOull1a ItlIbW tNIHS HAL
curled up moaning and crying for
help. I leaned over to lift him
and then everything went black.
The next / remember, l was at the
door, wiping the blood from my
eyes and mouth. I don't know how
l got out. l didn't see any other
injured ones as I crawled. I cant
remember about that part of it.
Anxious TO Get Home.
MY only thought then was to
get home before I should die NY
chest panied me, my back seemed
broken, my face was dripping with
blood. All I wanted was to get
home and tell my wife and little
girl what had happened. l thought
I was going to die"
Representative Smithwick, who
lives about a block from the thea
ter said he staggered home with
out oyercoat or hat through the
snow. Physicians found him suf-
fering from shock. bruises ami
possibly internal injuries.
Il think it was q miracle that |
came out alive,2 he said. but
think of those poor children and