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Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1922, Page 4

THE WASHINGTON TRAGEDY. As the details of the collapse of the cinema theatre at Washington become known, the extent of the appalling nature of the tragedy becomes more and more evident. Residents in the northern portion of New Zealand may find it difficult to envisage the circumstances connected with the disaster, but those wjio have a, personal knowledge of heavy snow stormo will readily conceive not only how the roof was unable to stand the strain of the enormous weight of the snow, but also how the rescue work was impeded by its encumbering action. Situated in one of the finest residential districts of the city, this theatre has been the scene of the most serious disaster in the history of Washington. Here were assembled from five hundred to a thousand people of all classes, enjoying the picture show while a snow storm raged outside. Suddenly the roof collapses, and hundreds of those present are either killed or injured, while the blizzard adds to the terrors of the scene. Such a dire visitation cannot but evoke an intense and worldwide feeling of sorrow for the fate of the victims and sympathy with their relatives, as well as admiration for the heroic efforts of the rescuers. It is one or those calamities which evoke the best feelings of human nature by reason of its peculiar circumstances, and many, like President Harding, will be unable to find words to adequately express their sorrow. Bright and useful lives suddenly cut off in the mi of their active careers; whole families wiped out in an instant, and hundreds afflicted with possibly life-long injuries. It was truly an awful tragedy that leaves us wondering about the “revolving fates.”