The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-03-01
CENTRAL HIGHS
AUDITORIUM IS
ORDERED CLOSED
Cannot Be Used as Thea.
ter Until Fire Equip
ment Is Installed.

| central 1tlSn SchoOl udltOrlum
was closed last night for use here
alter AS theater. following a con-
ference between the District Com
missioners and Fire Chief Watson
Plans calling for a 100 per cent
Increase in facilities of the building
| inspectors Office and general in
creases in salaries for employees ia
this depa tment were forwarded to
Director OF the Budget Dawes yes
terday in the form of a supplemental
iestimate bin by Engineer Commis-
sioner Keller.
The Central High auditorium was
closed upon recommendation Of Fire
Chief (Watson yhorePorte.I that fire
protection equipment required Of
tfeaters was not provided at the
school hall. This equipment in
cludes a steel curtain for the stage,
water sprinkling system and fire cX-
tlnGuisherS. The Board of EduCa-
tiOn was notified by the Commits
ected to be provided in the near
future.
Auditorium In Demand.
Central High School auditorium
has been extensively used during
the last two weeks. particularly
since the close of the seven thea
ters. for musical and stage pro.
ductions under the auspices Of civic
and public societies. The perform
ances scheduled for the auditorium
yesterday afternoon and night were
permitted to run.
Thirty-three men. including three
additional technical experts and
five new field inspectors. are asked
in the supplemental estimate for
the building inspectors office, re-
sponsible for safe construction of
all District buildings.
by this increase Engineer Com
missioner Keller believes he may
reorEanize the building depart
ment to prevent any repetition of
the knickerbocker Theater dis
aster, which cost the lives of
ninety-seven persons a month ago.
Would Have Avoided Crash.
1t is the plan of Col. Keller to
place the three new civil enCinee,s
asked in the bill in the field inspes.
ton of structural work of the
larger buildings. This inspection
is now in the hands of office en-
gineers and cOmputors and field in
spectors not fully qualified to pass
on detailed engineering problems.
Had this force of three civil engi-
neers been working at the time the
knickerbocker Theater was erected
Col. Keller believes the crash would
have been made impossible.
In asking for general increases
in salaries for employees of the de-
partment, including an increase of
$1,000 year for the building in
spector. John p. Healy. Col. Keller
hopes to raise the standard of
qualifications for employees of the
building department and bolster
this bureau to a degree which will
make it one of the strongest en-
gineering organizations in the ma
tion.
Increases in salary are called for
m the supplemental bill for the
civil engineers employed to check
over plans for building permits,
The chief officer in this division
under the reorganization scheme
would be given a salary of s2,5OO
year, instead of $4,000. Two as
sistants would be given $4,000 a
year and the other three engineery
SoNh' Is cOQ-
sidered one of the most important
in the building inspectors depart
ment by COL Keller. Salaries of
three engineers now in this bureau
range from s1.soU to $4,000.
Salaries Vow Low.
Higher qualifications would be
manded of the engineers and also
from the field inspectors under the |
new salary scale. Nine men would |
be hired as field inspectors at sal
aries OF $3.50 a year under the new |
scheme and one assistant in this de- |
partment at s1,So0. The latter |
figure constitutes the highest SAL |
ary now paid in this bureau. How |
ever, three of the five field inspec-
tors now have salaries lower than |
$3.50. These men are charged |
with inspecting all buildings in the |
course of construction, Their re-
ports are to Indicate whether build |
ing regulations are being followed |
and competent construction meth |
ods are being pursued.
Other provisions under the re-
organization plan for this depart
ment call for an increase in salary |