Evening Star Newspaper, January 28, 1923, Page 3

KNICKERBOCKER DISASTER! OCCURRED ONE YEAR AGO Deaths of 97 and Injuries to 100 Caused Congress Probe, Grand Jury Indict ments and Rigid Building Inspection._ One year ago today. at 9 o'clock in the evening, the entire roof of the Knickerbocker Theater, a motion pic- ture house at -1§th street and Co- lumbia road, collapsed without warn- ing. Ninety-seven men, women and children were elther killed outright or died later; those with injuries, many of them serious, numbered over 100, Nearly every escape, and there were many, bordered on the miracu- lous. A blinding snowstorm, the worst since 1899, that had already raged for many hours and piled the streets and sidewalks high, made more ter- rible the disaster, the greatest ever experienced in Washington, and more diMcult the work of rescue. The same snowstorm had caused the playhouse to be less than half full. Otherwise the death list would have been much longer. The th ter's clientele was composed almo: entirely of persons of intellzct and some of them of promineace. the sort that a com- Te afford to spare, he horror and zrief of the National ‘apital was echocd all over the United States The Work of Raecue. The heavy roof, with its extra load of many cubic vards of snow. drop- ved as if on a hing ped entirely from the uprisht walls, burying the dead and livinz in a twisted mass of steel, stone and con- crete Rescue work, participated in by the police and fire departments, soldiers. ailpry, marines, mechanics from the uvl vard, workmen employed by ontractors and civilian volunteers, hegan at once. 1t lasted throughout the night aud all the following da The last body was extricated frem he ruins at & p.m. Co-operating in the were the Red Cross, my, the Boy _Sco he deep snow impeded all alike. Man power used at ‘irst; later mechanical nees were brought nto play The ambia road rescus work the and others. tian Science Church at Co- and Euclid street v turned into a combined morgue and tirst-aid tion. There sorrowing relatives and friends came to identity their loved ones. There and in nea ¥ physiciuns’ offices and private omes lives were saved and sufferers made comfortable. The entire nelgh- tornood acted as a unit in doin averything within its power. Was ngton is proud of the part s citi- zens played that night. Probe Is Started. It is not the purpose of this article, however, to open fresh wounds by counting in detail all that took place. No one has forgotten it; no one-can forget it Steps_were immediately begun to scertain the cause of the tragedy ind, if possible. to prevent any recur- vence. Investigations as to the con- \ition of theater structures in other Uitles were at once ordered The first supposition, and the natu- ral one to the uninitiated. was that he weight of the snow caused tl 0of's collapse. This was soon super- seded or interwoven with theories SPECIAL NOTICES. SI0 THERAPIST, ELECTRO-THERA- chronic and cute cascs given careful ¢ graduste nurse. 1324 20th st. 07 TP 3. BLIGH, FRO: nfectionery store at 72 Al claimants against said firm will ir bills to P. F. Carley, 617 FRANK A, HAS REED _TO <ell i bakers licatessen husiness con- ducted by him at 521512 M(. Pleasant st n.w. to Peter Somars -et al. Persous having iaims agaiust said business will present xame 1o vndersizned by January 29, 1923. BURTON &_CONDIT. _Rond_building FURNITURE REPAIRED AND T ed at your liome; will go anywhere. Rox 198-P. Star offi 2 WANTED—TO BRING A LOAD OF FUR nifure to Washington from RBaltimore. Wi mington and Philadelphia. SMITH'S TRAN! FER_AND STORAGE CO.. INC. THE HOME BUILDIN OCIATION, OR- ganized 1853, pays 5% on your savings of $1.00 ‘month or more. Now ix the fime to_start an sccount. Ask about it. Treawnrer's office, 2008 Penna, ave. n.w. Wm. T. Gslliner. presiden 0. W. Linkine and Wm. K. Reeve. vice presidents; James M. Woodward, secretar: Richard E. Claughton. treamurer. WANTED-“A__VAXLOAD . OF "FURNITURE FROM PITTSBURGH, FER. 1st AND 3rd; FROM JOINSTOWY, PA., FEB. 1st TO 3rd: WEEKLY SERVICE FOR SMALL LOTS AND FROM BALTIMORE. GT PHILADELPHIA AND N THE BIG 4 TRANSF! A Address ER COMPANY, INC, - Pa Parti h ST, N\ MALN 2150, Leaky Roofs From Snow and Ice COST MONEY, WORRY AND TROURLE, but i cam end 1t al) fa & hurey by simply calling up the old RELIABLE ROOFING EXPERTS “F 35 years. Wash. Loan Grafton & Son, Inc., & et sig ROOF RE TILE, éLAi:; I SR e THINGS WE DO: —General Auto Repairing. —Top-making. Painting. —Reliable work, fair prices. R. McReynolds & Son Specialists in Painting, Slip Covers and Top: 4231425 T, st mowe Main 7228, THE WHITE DOOR 0N NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE. Deliclous home.cooked foods o ord: tries, cakes and breads of all kinds. catered for. Luncheon, 12-2:30 M. 7298. 17 Dupont Circle. = Biggs Fois HEAT In Heating.” Coal-Saving Heating' Plants Biggs’ Steam and Hot-water Plants are big heaters and small fuel con- sumers. Hundreds of homes owe their com- fort to them. Reasopably installed. The Biggs Engineering Co., WALREN W. BIGGS, President. _1310 14ih et nw. el Fraok. 317. We Repair Roofs Right ~—40 they will withstand winter's enows and rains. Pree estimate R. K. FERGUSON, Inc. Roofing Dept.. 1114 9th st. Ph. M. 2480-2491. A New Roof With a Brush Let me spply one cont of Liuld Asbest s hiee st e Bl S Extivaate frec. MADL: ave. se. Linc. 4219, 5,000 BUILDINGS IN WASHINGTON OYRES Are Covered W'Ilh o Rose Roofing When Budag_s New Reof or Repairing T4 01d One, Call Us, W are always reads to estimite and, serve romptly. U PrOBPs ek BROS CO.. INC., 21202 Ga. Ave. N.W. North 2044, “CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church HATER DD e service with sermon by Dr. 1l musieal evening: St. rk's Cholr, & u‘h quartette, Tore Walten. celllst. . and later slip- | Salvation | advanced by technical men regarding faulty planning and faulty construc- ion. One outstanding fact, that was almost immediately noted and that has played a prominent part ever since in all the proceedings and transactions called forth by the disas- ter, was that the office of the build- ing inspector of the District of Co- lumbla was undermanned and over- worked. Today, one year afterward, is pre- {sented” a~summary of exactly what {has been done, legislatively, officially, legally and in a civic way, to prevent the occurrence of another such hor- ror. Washington ¥ often comforted by the thought that “out of evil good shall com, This is probably true in this instance. The year that has passed is not lacking ‘in positive re- sults. Many, however, are convinced that the negative results far outnum- ber the positive. The intention is to help each reader of The Star judge for himself. Preventive Measures Taken. | During the year four concrete I steps have been taken at the District building to prevent another such dis- aster. They are: A thorough inspection of all the- {aters. schools and other places of | public asscmbly. Remodeling of scven suditoriums ithat were deemed in need of struc- jtural change by the committee that inspected them. | A temporary sonnel of the office. Acquisition of needed equipment for the fire department and a decision by Chief Watson to establish a spe- cial_rescue squad of firefighters. | While these precautionary meas- ures have gone far toward reducing the danger of another such catas- trophe, the building .inspector's of- fice is still inadequately provided for. District officials and public-spirited citizens believe there i no more fit- ting way to observe the anniversary of ‘the Knickerbocker disaster than by reminding the legislators who hold the city's purse strings that most of the men who Inspect build- | ing operations in Washington are re- jvelving a basic salary of $1.360 a | vear. increase in the per- building inspection Allowances Small ht be well to remember on { this anniversary that the civil en- | gineers, or computers. who must {check the plans of highly competent architects, receive $2.000 and $1,500 | eack—one at the higher figure and {two at the lower wage. | Another thought _ that passes | through the minds of oficials of the { building office on this anniversary is the small allowance contained in the appropriation act for the transporta- | tion of inspectors in this era of un- | precedented building activity in all corners of the District., Five inspec- tors use their own automobiles in | covering their inspection areas, for | the upkeep of which they receive $26 {a month each. | The other inspectors are given car | tokens, but the amount of money the | 1t mig: Commissioners may spend for tokens | limited, and, ~consequently, in- | spectors do much walking between jrides. Even if the allotment for car tokens were larger, inspectors could not get to as many jobs on street cars as they could in motor vehicles. j _Following ‘the collapse of the | Knickerbock®r, Congress granted a { special appropriation of $20,000 for | the temporary employment of in- { ¥pectors and’ computers, and the ap- i propriation bill for next year carries {315,000 for temporary employes after i Jul | While these lump sum_allotments | have aided the building office to some | extent, the heads of that office know only too well that they cannot be !sure of retaining eflicient men when | those men know they are on a tem- porary roll. Sammed up in a nutshell, the need jof the building office. is for a re- [vision of salarles and provision for ! more permanent positions. Seven Buildings Close Within a few weeks Knickerbocker collapsed Lngineer Commissioner Keller appointed a committee of architects, builders and engineers, who inspected carefully the structural condition of theaters and public auditoriums. |7 On the report of that committee seven places were closed while alter- ations, directed by the Commission ers, were being made. At the same time, District officials went carefully [over’ all public schools, with partic- ular attention® being ‘pald to fire hazard, The Knickerbocker experience dem- onstrated to Chief Watson the neces- sity for equipping the fire depart- ment with acetyléne torches, jacks, oxygen - tanks and a score of other mplements used in rescue work. Through the Commissioners he suc- ed in obtaining a supply of these things from the surplus stocks of the War Department. At the same time he had transferred to partment from the Army a motor truck carrying a 36-inch searchlight to illuminate the scene of a fire or wreck. The chief is now engaged ting up a rescue wagon, which will be ‘manned by a crew of firemen trained in handling rescue apparatys. Representative Willlam D. Upshaw of Georgia, whose nilece died as a result of injuries received in the theater collapse, several times en- deavored to get Chairman Focht of the House District committee to in- troduce a bill authorizing an ap- rropriation for the rellef of depend- ents of_those who lost their lives in the Knickerbocker disaster. Ac- companied by dependents of some of the victim: Representative Upshaw was glven an informal hearing be- fore several members of the House District committee, but no action was ever taken on this proposal. _An organization composed of sur- vivors and_their relatives, known as the Knickerbocker Relief Associa- tion, was' formed here in the early summer to further the proposition of securing relief through congres- sional action. At one time it was announced that it would probably seek an injunction to prevent Mr. randall from erecting another the- ater on the same site on the ground that Bn old wall of the Knicker- bocker ‘would be used. Its latest iacllwty Wi tonnaire asking for data to serve as 2 basis of a memorial - sressional relie Aoy n_the Senate a resolution was - fered by Senator Capper of Kansas January 30 last, authorizing and ?irecllinx t}!(e Senate District commit- ée to make a searchin - tion ot "the Knickerbooker tar i Gy, including the operations of bullders, contractors and bullding inhspectors. This reeolution was reported favor. ably by the committee to audit and control the contingent expenses of the Senate, and a number of speeches were made in connection wish it. It was decided, however, to walf on action by the District Commissioners and the grand jury and came of the resolution. " Inspection Funds Imcreased. Spurred to action by, the Knicker- bocker disaster and the Subsequent inspection of all theaters, which oc- j casioned additional work 'for the oi fice of the building inspector, Con- gress supplied additional funds for the building inspection force, as fol- lows: March 20, after the in fit- In the deficiency act of 1922, it gave $30,000 in adidtion to the regular appropriation of $35.690 for the fiscal year 1922. This was speci- fically for additional temporary build- ing inspectors. Fore the fiscal year 1923, In the de- ficiency act of July 1, 1922. the sum of $20,000 was given in addition te the regular appropriation of $37,690 for the entire building division. For the fiscal year 1924 the House gave $55,200 for'the building inspec- the fire de- ! as the issuance of a ques- | nothing ever; _ It Shall Not Be Again. - (Dedicated to the victims of the Knickerboel ‘Theater disanter, Washington, D. C., Jani- ary 28, 1922.) Ye deeply niourned, for” whom wau Horror too dread 'for breath: . Whose hour of pleasure, ‘bravely ‘Ame, your of ‘death; The price at which that hour you bought;~ It was not paid in vain. Tou have not giren your lives for Baught— Tt sball not be againi~ Bomepd J And yo who, still in suffering’s power, Must pay ‘a_fearful foil Bearing the scars of that dread hour In body and in sou Tn_this find ye a comfort though Your guffering 1s not. vaf You do.not bear your scars sught— . 1t shall not be ‘again! ‘wrought t, n: for And ye who bow in agony Q'er loved ones maimed or dead. And feel there can no. comfort be. Lot this lift up sour hesd: The crawn they have so dearly bought They do not wear fn vain; our angulshed prasers are oot for maught— ¢ shall in! st TRMA DEATON. 628 West Jones street, Ralelgh, N. C. tor's office, which 1s an increase of $600. These increases were not made sole- 1y and entirely to correct- the condi- tion of an inadequate force empha- isized at the time of the.Knicker- bocker disaster. but to meet the I ICTEIBIng demands upon the bufdi inspector's office due to the buMding activity throughout the District, it was emphasized when these appropri- ations were being made. Grand Jury Acts. { The grand jury began an gxhaunu\el inquiry into the cause of the collapse orl the roof of the theater following the Te- turn of the coroner's jury February 14. | Engineers of the Army and Navy co- | operated with Maj. Gordon, United ! States attorney, and furnished a paper model of the building, which was used during the Investigation. The grand jury, April 3, reported an indictment | for manslaughter agwinst Reginald W & Geure, architect ; Join H. Ford. fabrica tor of the ironwork: Julian R. Down- | man, inspector of the building inspec- tor's office; Don M. Wallace, foremun for the building contractor, and Richard | G. Fletcher, in charge of the cement and | tile work on the building. The grand jury ignored the charge against the other four men held by the coroner. The men were arraigned almost im- mediately. They gave bail and were given time to prepare an attack ugainst the validity of the indictment. Motions to quash the indictment wers filed in which it was claimed that tnere existed no joint responsibility on the five men, us predicated in the indictmen:, to see that [the building was so consiructed that {t would not fall. It was also con- tended that the law does not require a subcontractor to see that the work of the other subcontractors preceding his portion of the construction has been properly performed. A After lengthy arguments occupying ! several days for and against the indict- ment Justice Siddons July 24 quashed the charge against the flve men and ordered the dismissal of the indictment. United States Attorney Gordon has noted an appeal fo the Court of Appeals and the matter is there awaiting argu- ment. The hearing on the appeal will | probably be reached in April. Fifty-eight death suits and four suits | for personal injuries, aggregating $755.- | 000, have been filed on the law side of | the court as the result of the disaster. | Mrs. Sadie Breslau places her injuries | at $100,000, and her husband, Bernard | Hreslau, wants $25.000 for the loss of | | Jurles at $10.000. The other suits have | been flled by legal representatives of persons who were killed. Each asks for | 0, the limit placed by the law on | jury resulting in death. William J. | th ‘sued for the death of his sister; | Josephine T. Lyman for the death of her husband: Willam T. Martindale for | jthe death of his wife. | One suft in equity is pending. Mary | Young, Willlam J.” Forsyth and Jose- | phine T. Lyman asked the court to in- | quire into and enjoin the consummation of the sale of the theater property from | the Knickerbocker Theater Company to | Harry M. Crandall personally. The sale | was made at auction last June and Mr. Crandall borrowed $150,000 and is ar- | ranging to rebuild. H Tollowing organized requests by | business men in the vicinity of 18th street and- Columbia road that Mr. | Crandall rebuild “at once” on the site | of the ill-fated Knickerbocker, the Crandall interests anpounced that, “in Ylew of bopular demands.” ghey would | begin the erection of a new motior pic- | ture house, to be known as the Am- bassador. This announcement brought | forth protests and condemnation from | various clvic sources, especially from | am organization formed primarily for preventing the construction of an- | other playhouse on what it empha- | isized had become hallowed ground. The outburst of opposition, appar- ently, had its temporary effect, for no visible action further in this connec- tion was taken for some weeks by the theater iInterests. Eventually, how- ever, additlonal urging by business men of the locality resulted in a definite public announcement that the | Ambassador would start immediately. | Stress was laid in the announce- ! jment, which was issued quite recent- | 1y, that the theater structurally would be withdut paw, and that its exterior | would differ In appearance from its unfortunate predecessor. Plans, it was pointed out, were being carefully checked over by the municipal build- ing inspector, and the point was em- { phasized that the bullding would be of the steel frame type, this frame forming the support for the roof, { which ‘will not be of a heavy type. | Special attedtion was being pald by | the engineers in providing for extra strains, due to foreign causes. such as vibration, etc., it was explained. The announcement permanently dis- pelled hope on the part of many who had relatives or friends in the disas- | ter that the site would be turned into | a park or other form of memorial, | with, perhaps, a bronze tablet crected there, on. which would be inscribed names of the ninety-seven victims whose lives were snuffed out by the theater collapse. The memorial project i concerted action by those interested, | and also, it is understood. because of lack of funds with which to carry it out. | Work of Red Crgas. | An organization which played a iprominent part a year ago today and tomorrow in looking to the welfare both of the victims and of the ges- cuers who were putting in hour atter | hour of toil in the cold and darkness | was the Red Cross. i The Red Cross specializes in dis- aster relief work, and the District | chapter, in all its branches and corps, covered itself with glory. Its quota in the recent annual member- ship drive styled “roll call” was 45,000 new or renewed members, not an exorbitant number here in the National Capital. This means, at the normal rate of a dollar per member- ship, 45,000 members. 1t has, how- jever, in' hand as the result of this roll call, but = little over $33,000. Officlals of the District chapter also point out that many of the reserve supplies kept on hand for such catas- trophes and used so freely on that { terrible occasion have not been again aised to normal and in some cases |are depleted. The chapter is actually {less ready to cope with a similar |situation here than it was a year ago. Furthermore, it has fot as many vol- unteer workers as it needs to make surgical dressings and other supplies and comforts 5o invaluable at such a, time. The blizzard that tied up traffic, stopped street car service and caused all Washington to walk, a year a; today, left one good resuit in its wake | —it taught the District government the need for a well defined system of snow removal. ‘Without sufficient fumds or eq ment, the street cleaning department ‘was unable to open up traffic lanes through’ the deep snow. When the city finally thawed out, District offi- cials set themselves to the task of preparing against being tied up in snow In the future. 7 Snow Plow Work. The first step yas.to purchase #fx additional snow plows for attach- ment to motor trucks, making a total of ten plows in the street cleaning department, The next move was to arrange with the police to turn out these trucks in the middle of the night, when snow h.{hll ‘to- fall, so- that the falling flakes would not become too deep to n\n.-r by daylight. - . A list ‘of the- truck-plow_ drivers jerence {at pubiic auctlon after €0 | tising until November 12, | which nelther | wagner, {highest. and not the lowest, bidder, THE- -SUNDAY., STAR, WASHINGTON, ‘D. 'C., CRANDALL DENIES: | MANY ALLEGATIONS| Declares Charge of Attempts _to Evade Liability in The- ater Crash Is False. EXPRESSES HIS SORROW ( Says He Would Gladly Give All if Vittims Could Be Restored. Malice Toward None Who Sue. IN MEMORIAM. On this, the anniversary of the appulling disaster that befell the Knickerbocker Theater, 1 wish to pay a tribute of sorrowful and tender memory to those who lost their lives; and to join my prayer Wwith those of other citizens of Washington for the rapid recov- ery of those who at that time suffered physical injury. 1 wish also to express heartfelt Sympa- th for those whose loved ones were taken from them, numbered among which were nine own organization. Our today bleed with the same un- controllable - grief so many fecl. HARRY M. CRANDALL. of our hearts Denying allegations ‘which /have been made in the past year with ref- to his connection with theé Knickerbocker Theater, which scol- lapsed a yvear ago today, Harry M. Crandall last night issued the fol- lowing statement: “As a result of such a disaster as that which ocourred at the Knieker- bocker Theater on Janua 28, 1922, it is but natural that within the statu- tory period the personal represepta- tives of those who died and many who ‘suffered Injuries would feel it their duty to institute legal proceed- ings for damages in the event that the law should find it appropriate to fix responsibility upon any person or corporation connected with the enter- prise so unfortunately stricken. “These Contests will, of course, be determined in court in accordance with the law of the land; and while 1 personally feel not in the slightest degree responsible for the terrible catastrophe, I unhesitatingly declare that if the sacrifice of anything 1 now possess or may cver hope to acquire would avail to restore those who have been taken away, my sincerest wish would have been accomplished 1 cannot, however, pass unnoticed the fact that in the complaints which tions indulged in; so I belleve it is my duty to myself and to the public to set right the facts by this state- ment. “1. It has been alleged that the Knickerbocker company has en. deavored to evade financial Mabilit Ly the sale of its property to me for the sum of $£10. This is not true. The sale of the property was made much news- paper aml verbal advertisement. The [bidding at the sale was spirited and | I purchased the property, after full opportunity for all bidders to be recognized, for the sum of $177,500, and paid in full therefor. Revenue stamps commensurate with this amount of purchase were appended the deed, which was recorded. Originally Cost $59,000. “This amount was much more than 1 expected it to cost, especially so since the property had originally been purchased hardly six years prior thereto for the sum of $59,000. The auction sale was not held until three months after the disaster had curred, and the dissolution of the Knickerbocker company did not be- come effective after alequate adver- 1922, near- ly twelve months subsequent to the accident. At the time of the dissolu- tion not a single suit for damages had, been filed in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbla; and be- fore the dissolution both the ‘coroner’s jury and the grand jury of the Dis- trict of Columbia had held exhaustive hearings and made their findings, in of said tribunals in any way held me or any one con- neoted with the Knickerbocker com- pany responsible. Surely these facts refute and should clear the public mind of the reckless charge of fraudulent intent in the transfer of the property. Attended Often Hims: Further, 1 understand it is charged that 1 operated this theater with the knowledge of its weakness. Thig is far from the truth. I had in my charge an investment of $250,000 1 never refused to expend any mone: that tended to add to'its stabilit My family ahd that of each of the executives of the company, together with myself and each of the execu- {tives were constant attendants at the theater. So far were we from even suspecting the slightest® weakness in the structure that many thousands of dollars were spent to promote the convenience of the public in the in- stallation of marble stairways and other improvements but a few months before the collapse. All of the exec- utives of the company took pride in the fact that much of the money to add convenience and comfort for its patron Chase Highest Bidder. 3. 1 have also heard it asserted that I was president and general man- ager of the Knickerbocker Theater when it was formed. This is also a serious errow, as I was not president of the company, nor did I finance it or have any money invested in it in its inception. The company was financed by local interests, and 1 was retained 4% general manager solely because T happened to be conversant with the practical knowledge of the motion picture business. I- know, however, that every’effort was made to secure the best talent and results in the awarding of the contracts for the construction of the house. The con- tract itself was awarded to Frank L. who happened to be the and it was awarded to him because of his reputation as a capable and prac- was filed in police headquarters, and the watchman at the street cleaning stables was intructed to call Morris Hgcker, superintendent, whenever snow began to fall after midnight. The first opportunity to use the system occufred Wednesday morning of last week. Snow started falling at 2 am, agd the watchman tele- Phoned Mr. #lacker. The superin tendent waited until 3 o'clock and notified Detective Sergt. Fred Corn- well, In charge of police headquarters, ut the plows. 0 o Tieomen went to the homes of the truck drivers and aroused them, and before daylight five of the motor ws were in_operation. Pl en truck driver had in his pocket a fixed route {o follow. At the outset each truck takes a street on which car fracks wre laid, pushing in to the curb the snow. thrown to the roadway by the street car track sweepers. After uncov- ering the car track streets the trucks move on to other principal arteries of vehicular traffic.* e Another result of the big storm of last year was the enactment by Congréss of 2 law intended to compel all property owners or occupants to clean their side- walks_within the first eight hours of daylight after snow stops falling. Upon failure of an owner or occupant to comply with the law the District is directed 1o clean the sidewalks and fle sults in the municipal court to recover the cost. plus a penalty of $25. The same law dirscts the District and federal authorities to clean the side- ‘walks in front of all bulldings and reser- vations owned by the city or the United Senate Votes ill to Honor ' 79th Division A memorial to the men of the 79th /Division, A. E. F., who lost thelr lives during the war, would be erected at’ Montfoucon,' France, under the terms of a bill passed by the Senate yesterday.’ The 79th Division, was composed for the most port of men drafted in the District of Columbia, Mary- land and Pennsylvania, and was - under the command of Maj. Gen. Joseph Kuhn, It did gallant servic® at _the battle of the Argonne. The bill passed by the Senate yesterday was introduced by Sena- tor Reed of Pennsylvania. It authorizes the 79th Division A: sociation to erect. the prpposed memorial and to place on it & reproduction of the distinguished service medal. The blll now goes to the House for action. ' tical builder, irrespective of the que tlon of-cost. The theater liself had actually been in operation about three months before circumstances so shaped themselves that I was called upon to reorganize the company and purchase it from the financiers who had originally launched it. Did Not Superintend Work. ' “4. It has also been stated that I superintended the construction. This assertion {s without foundation. T have not and’ never had any knowl- edge which would equip me for this line of work, and I did not undertake to either superintend or construct the building. B “5. Report has come to me that some withou} knowledge of the facts sume the filing of suits has’ aroused my bitter resentment. rtunity of assuring those who have ] ideas that | have not the slight- i malice toward anyone concerned any suit. The only cmotion that th catastrophe has inspired in me is one of unconquerable grief that such a fate should have befallen friends and patrons of the house which bore, even in part, my name. Life-Long Resident. “6. T trust the public will be mind- ful of the fact that I have been a life-long resident of Washington; that T have developed a chain of theaters by my life work that made my name more or less a house- hold woid; that I realize fully my responsibility in connection there- with to the Washington public; that it has always been my purpose to so conduct my business as to discharge to the highest degree the obligation which I have keenly felt I owed the people of Washington who have so }loyally rallied to my support both b fore, during and subsequent to the KnicRerbocker tragedy. They may be assured that from that purpose and responsibility 1 will never swerve. HARRY M. CRANDALL. e |“Florida_Special,” Now in segric other thra’ train at | modasions'as desired tixement i hoice of 4 and nccor 1418 H st. o.w.—Adver- | . Py eor |have been filed in court and publish- | 4 {her seriices'and the ‘expense incident have been fled In court and publih | [t e Ingurles, amary Young has fixed |{ Ve been made and misrepresenta- Marking the first anniversary of the Knickerbocker Theater disaster, the District of Columbia Chapter of {the American Red Cross has fgrmed ia disaster relief committee, with Dr. Ralph M. Jenkins as chairman, to jcope with similar situations in which help may be asked. Commissioner {Cuno Rudolph is honorary chairman |of the committee, which is divided |into subcommittees covering such phases of the work as hospital care and sanitation. medical and nursing service, cantegn, transportation and emergen: and housing. A ‘survey has been made of the ability of hospitals in Washington to care for emergency case: been found that 1.139 beds three ambulances are Emergency supplies have been con- centrated in the chapter headquar- ters, at 16 Jackson pldce, with an abundance of surgical and medleal supplies. Just a few moments after word came that the.roof had fallen at the Knickerbocker the Red Cross doc- tors were being called out and Red Cross nurses were answering the call | Medical and surgical supplies were being rushed to the snow-capped structure at 18th street and Columbla road, beneath which lay scores of dead, and warm outer clothing was rusaed to the scene. All the following day the canteen section of the Dis- ltrict chapter served coffee and sand- wiches at first-aid stations, and the health aids were on duty thirty-six {hours to assist.doctors and nurse: The District chapter is still several thousands dollars short of its an- nual roll call quota. Officials hope that the shortage may be made up by Washingtonians willing to donate on the first anniversary of the worst disaster this city has ever known. and thirty- available. fell through, It appears, for lack f | Spent In the theater was turned back' home 25 Awsorted flavers of th over made. “It's the candy the : ‘SUPER-leTx six-miles of improved street “The Triangle of T take this op- | has | ntie Coant | FUTURE DISASTERS| and it has| a moat delicious Oand: e i, Bl = e 2d) chijdren should eat. ©. G. BESANT, Wash. Bep, 90 Eighth 8t. §. E. and Cap. Tr. Co. JANUARY, 28 1923—PART 1. COUZENS FAVORS S ONED RALS Décléres He Has Open Mind, But Sees'No Other i “Solution: Dy the Associated Press. HILADELPHIA, January Senator -James' Couzens of Michigan, who before he went to the Senate at- tracted wide attention as adminls- trator of Detroit’s municipally con- trolled street car system, told the Philadelphia Real Estatée Board to- night that although he had “an open mind” on the railroad problem, it ap- peared to him that government own- ciship of the roads furnished “the {only solutjon.” |~ Making his first prepared public jaddress since he was appointed sena- tor, Mr. Couzens declared that cer- tainly the nation’s transportation un- der government ownership would not be “any more expensive to the public than it now is” Although a repub- lican, he said, he could not agree that government operation during the war was a mistake, nor had he found any proof of President Harding's recent jstatement that government control ! had brought about the present unsat- | isfactory situation. 4 Believes Congreas Should Act. “I have an entirely open mind as to ithe solution of the railroad problem,” sald Senator Couzens, “because I have not heard any one eay that the rail- roads are not a problem. Ever:; where, from every section of the country, the government is being jurged to do something in connectlon jwith the railroad problem. It is the duty of Congress to endeavor to solve it, because there is no other agency to do it. “Personally, 1 should prefer that the government did not have to take over the railroads, but we have not found any effective solution, and, { therefore, "it looks to me as though government ownership was the anly solution. This does not necessarily mean government operation, because if the railroads could properly expand and develop, and the government could control by regulation the man- agement, we might be able to get along without Gndue interference of | politicians. i Many Seek to Interfere. “I would like to point out, how- ever. that there are many worse in- werferences than the interferences of politicians. There is the interference of the bankers, who must get their ‘rake-off’, regardless of public serv- Ice or the treatment of the men who | operate the railroads. Then you know {how every manufacturer's organiza- 1 i immediately jumps in to the fight any raise in rates or adoption of any rule or regulation which in any way af- fects their business. Every one wants the railroads to succeed at somebody else’s expense.” “Let me say to You that ‘he go jernment can waste considerable money through inefliciency and poli- tics, and yet produce service to the public in many activities at a less cost than can be done by private in- dustries that are not in the lime- |light, and that have so many ways |of covering up their cost through high salaries, extra compensation to directors, the purchasing of supplies from industries in which the direc- tors are interested, and from the ‘rake-offs' paid to the bankers who finance them.” Senator Couzens read a statement I e had jssued some time ago. quot- {ihg President Harding’s declaration in his message to Congress that “gov- ernment operation does not afford the and continued: “I note that he is silent on the subject of government ownership. Perhaps the President would agree that that would effect the cure. The President says it was government op- eration that brought us to the very order of things against which we now rebel, and we are still liquidating the jcost of that supreme folly, but I note the absence of proof to sustain that conclusion. Open-Minded on Conl. “It is not my intention to comment on the government's handling of the railroads during and after tne war, but simply to say that it would make interesting reading to show a com- parison of what the railroads did {during the war and what private in- dustry did to the government.” Coal transportation statistics were cited by the senator to show, he said, that the coal industry the government is being “importuned every hour of the day to take some action,” is closely relategd o the rail- roads.’ He denied numerous state- ments made in newspaper headlines that he had come out in favor of government ownership and concluded with a reiteratiog that he had an en- tirely “open min Ject ‘Who's 1117 Send him or her a Gude bouquet or plant. 1212 F.—Advertisement. 1 night’ 50r per - box pure and .,$ bus ’lincs now running " Massachusetts - Park Surrounded by Washington’s finest residential ‘section. Containing seven million feet of forest-covered land, with s. Includes what remains of Increasing Values” ' / between 'Connecticut, Massachusetts and Cathiedral ave- nues (Woodley Rd.). Over four million feet of land sold. Over' ninety homes from $15000 to $200,000 built: and under construction. Woode homes of brick and tile, w front; or if desired, we will ~substantial manner that has Park Office, 32d and C: Middaugh & | I | Booklet Mail d villa sites, lots and finished ith lots from 50 to 115 feet build your home in the same characterized our work since athedral Ave. (Woodley Rd.). Shannon, Inc. Builder—Exclusive Agent—Owner. Woodward Building, 15th and H Sts. Main 6935 tion or organization of other groups | about which § on the whole sub- | POOR LIGHTING HELD PERIL TO EYESIGHT Many, Washington - School Buildings Found Without Adequate llluminatfon. | | | i | SURVEY IS MADE PUBLIC| | Supt. Ballou Urged to Take Steps | Immediately to Obtain Im- { proved Facilities Poprly lighted public schools, the | potential source of serious defective vision for Washington's rising gen- eration, are more numerous in the District than first realized by school authorities, Statistics compiled by a special committee of school officers after a complete survey of the schqol system and made public last night by Supt. Ballou revealed that: Seven school buildingy are without artificial fllumination of any kind | while ‘one, ‘the Reservoir School, uses lantiquated ofl lanterns for lighting | purposes } Many T tely Lighted. { Eighty-eight of the buildings lighted by gas. only twepty-five them adequately™ |, Thirty are lighted by electricit but in twenty-si®of these the illumi- nation is inadequate The lighting committee. headed by Walter B. Patterson, di- rector of special schools, and in- cluded Selden M. Ely and W. S. Mont- gomery, recommended to Dr. Ballou that steps be taken immediately to jmprove the lighting facilities. It was estimated that it will cost $200,000 to electrify the buildings most needing better artificlal light Recommendations Made. In improving and extending the lighting facilities the committee rec- ommended that priority be given to the night school buildings in order of their needs and uses, to be fol- lowwed by the community. center buildings in order of the amount of their use; buildings wired but need- ing fixtures, buildings used by civie organizatfons in order of the amount of their use, buildings that for.g graphical or local reasons need at- tention, gas-lighted buildings and | buildings not lighted by. gas or ele I tricity. \ are of which,was | Those Given Preference. The committee suggested that Ifollowing_buildings be wired first | Henry, Wallach, B. B, French, St vens, Garnet, Lovejoy, Randall, Car- lwood. old ~Eastern 'High, i Tyler, ow, Birney and Phillips. 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