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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1913)
THE MORNING OKEGOXIAX, WEDNESDAY, MAKUU 36, 1V13. INDIANA ONE VAST STORM-SWEPT SEA MEN WHO ABE DIRECTING RELIEF WORK FOR VICTIMS OF EASTERN FLOODS. Plight - of Indianapolis Pre cludes Giving of Aid to Outside Districts. 3 SEE THAT ,PURVE Shur-Ons Are the Glasses You Want COLD ADDS TO SUFFERING Hi BHBaMHnaianannn MaaaaaannaianwMaavnnsTCaaanaMa 1 i 1 1 1 i i o IJH p!; v Militia. Aids Police In Patrolling Stricken District Situation In Smaller Towns Is Border ing on Desperate. ronttnu4 From First PsO state la held out by the Government Weather Bureau. "Rain and colder" is the forecast for tonight and tomor row. Besides higher water, untold suffering to the homeless will come with the drop in temperature. Rescue work' is being carried on by volunteers, police, firemen and the state militia and every place where there is a dry home, it has been thrown open to the flood refugees. Htym Streetcars Stop. ' Indianapolis is In the grip of its worst flood. Streetcars stopped run ning at noon, at which time the water and gas plants were forced to suspend Two electric U?rht plants are operating, but may be compelled to close down Seven thousand persons were driven from their homes here by the over flow of the White River. Eagle Creek and Pleasant Run. They are being cared for by charitable Institutions and in private homes. The militia is patrol ling the flooded district aiding the police. City authorities late today called for volunteers -to aid in protecting -the threatened levees. Mayor Shank asked the board of public safety to appro priate $2000 for the relief of flood sufferers. Parts of Fort ' Wayne, Lafay ette. Richmond. Marion, Terre Haute. Muncie, Rushville, Koko. mo. Peru, Connersville, Petersburg. . Newcastle. Frankfort. Anderson. Tip ton, Noblesvllle. Hartford City. Klwood, Bloomlngton, Shelby vine, Logansport, Portland and Innumerable smaller towns are under water with many of the residents driven from their homes and others living on upper floors. Aid ( aatot Reach Sufferer. From many of these places frantic appeals for aid nave been received, but lack of transportation and crippled wire service forced the submerged towns to rely on their own resources. The helplessness of the state and city to aid the outside sufferers is the more accentuated by the hopeless straits In which Indianapolis finds Itself. Judging by the condition here the situation of the smaller towns must be fast approaching the desperation stage. At Lafayette the Wabash River, ris ing a foot an hour, has passed mil pre vloua high-water marks. There a huge bridge went out, carrying two and possi bly more persons to their deaths. Ice land T. Woolery. a student at Purdue University, as drowned while trying to ' rescue two of the men who were caught when the bridge was carried down stream. West Laay ette la wlth- out water supply and the. town where the university Is situated is totally cut off from the world. The total loss at Lafayette Is estimated at $1,000,000. Thousands are homeless. Richmond, on the White, tonight Is In darkness, the electric light plant having been flooded. More than 20 bridges In Wayne County have been torn down, and travel In and out of Richmond Is at a standstill. A hun dred persons were driven from their homes. Veararesosse Boats Swinped. A half million dollars damage was done by Klatrock River at Rushville. when the stream swept down upon the town, submerging the entire business and parts of the residence districts. Fire bells warned the people of the on rushing water, but In many Instances only fast work with boats saved many from death. In many of the streets the current was so strong that It swamped all boats that ventured Into It. Thous ands are homeless and those whose homes are not flooded are confronted with a problem of housing and feeding the refugees. An appeal has been made for state aid there. State militia patrollng the streets of Kokomo last night and today command ed persons who homes were threatened to move to higher ground. More than ITiOO are homeless, with water and gas plants Inundated. The city tonight Is without lights or fire protection and the property loss Is more than $1,000,000. Dyke at Mnalrc Breaks, Schools and all business has been sus pended. Wildcat Creek there Is a quar ter of a mile wide in the heart of the city, five feet above the previous high water mark. The dyke at the water plant in Mun cie broke late this afternoon and the employes fled for their lives. This left the town without fire protection. White Rtver, with the floods coming from up stream, is steadily encroaching on the town and more persons are being forced to abandon their homes. Just after a train had passed over it the Big Four bridge there collapsed and a Chesapeake & Ohio bridge also was destroyed. Schools were dismissed and nil trac .tion lines and most of the railroads there are at a standstill. Branch Stream Is Torreat. Ureensbranch at Anderson, ordinarily ' a little stream, is a raging torrent. Thousands have been forced to desert their homes. Water burst through a wall Into the municipal light plant and in a few seconds was nine feet deep. the employes barely escaping with their live. More than 10 homes at Marion are filled with water to the second floors through the breaking of the Mississlne wa River levee. At Tipton, a hundred families were driven from their abodes and much suf fering is resulting-. Nohlvsville reports White River there higher than In 33 years and It is said two persons were drowned. One hun dred families are homeless. The big hydraulic dam north of the town is threatened and persons living below it have been told to move. Water Approaches Public Square. The Uttle and Big Blue rivers broke the leeves at Shelbyvtlle, and the water has reached within a block of the public square. The water and light plants are out of commission, schools were dismissed and the city commandeered all wagons to aid in taking out families whose homes are under water. Two tuindred feet of the Big Four tracks have been washed out. The surround ing lowlands are covered with water. Locansport is cut off from railroad and telegraph communication by the t'heel and Wabash rivers. Two deaths by drowning are reported near there. Reports from other towns by the aloxen are reaching Indianapolis. They are all of one Import "the town is tKoded." Thousands are homeless, aid is neded immediately and fear Is en tertained for what the next 24 hours ii;v in atore. ' ?' . if " " it 1 ' ( I r - i AT 1.KKT MAYOR IBW SHANK. OF IXDIAXAPOI.ISt AT RIGHT (ABOVE) UOVKRNOR J. 91- COX, OF OHIO (BELOW) UUVKKJUK a. M. RALSTON, OF l. DIAHiA TROOPS CANNOT AID Torrents in Streets Keep Sold iers From Hamilton, 0. ' RESCUER LOSES HIS LIFE Cries for Help Are Heard but Lack of Boats Prevents Even Attempt at Rescue Hamlet of 100 Is Wiped From Map. HAMILTON, Ohio, March 30. The Chawploa Coated Paper Compaay, a B2.0O0.000 rauen, took fire early tala toralnar aaa It In at the merer the Hamee. aa aU fliflitktlD( la oat or the ameotloB. The arlare of the lire helps soatewhat la reacne work. HAMILTON', March persons are Known 10 25. Twelve have been drowned, while It Is believed over a score or more are dead aa a result of the flood of the Miami River that swept Hamilton today, and Is rushing throuKh the streets tonight to a depth of from three to six feet. The- known dead are: c. mckob- erts, O Dell, Herman rieman anu Dr. Leon Iutzl. Iutsl lost his life trylns to save others. Tonight the residents are gath ered In the principal buildings of the town, which Is In darkness. Three companies of militia from Cincinnati arrived in South Hamilton tonight, but owintc to the swiftness of the currents in the street have not been able to detrain. Cries for help can be plainly heard for blocks In every direction, but the lack of boats prevents even a sem blance of rescue work. The same correspondent reports that Cokotto, a hamlet with a population of 00. has been wiped o(t the map and the fate of Its inhabitants is unknown. 2C00 ARE BELIEVED DEAD (Cnt1nu((i From First Pjc- eft the city without water and physic ians declared there was great danger of typhoid In the use of the flood water. There are no boats in Dayton which can breast the current and those on the outside early gave up any attempts to reach the business section. How many houses have been swept away and how many occupants were arried to their death cannot be learned until the waters recede. At Wyoming street, on the South Side, where the National Cash Reg ister Company centered Its efforts at rescue, many saved their lives by creeping on a telephone cable, 100 feet above the flood. Those willing to risk their lives in the attempt to rescue found themselves helpless in face of the water. Seventy thousand of Dayton's popu lation. It is reported, are homeless. The National Cash Register plant, on a high hill, offers the only haven In the South End. Three women be came mothers In the halls of its office building tonight. Main street near Apple street was one of the concentra tion points. In the woodworking de partment of the National Cash Register Company boats were being turned out at the rate of 10 an hour and. these were rushed to where the waters had crossed Main street in a gully. At first linemen crept along the rabies carrying tow ropes, to which the flat-bottomed boats were attached. When the flood became so fierce that the boats no longer were able to make way against It. men and women crept along the cables to safety. Others, less daring, saw darkness fall and gave up hope of rescue. But the waters crept up and the strength of the current was far too strong for the crude punts, though they were the best that could be made in a hurry. Trip after trip was made and hundreds of the refugees were taken from this stretch of houses. Fire Jontpa Mala Street. Then came the path of the flames starting at Vine and May streets. It Jumped Main street and the houses on the other side were soon aflame. In the middle of the street were a few frame houses that had been washed from their foundations. These were twirled about tor a time and as though to aid In the passing of the section by fire they were cast into the path of the flames. Persons hurried from their roof tops, where they had been driven by the flood, to the roof tops of adjoining houses. Then the sun went down leaving a desolate, weird light from the fire showing as from one isolated spot against the sky. The first to seek safety by sliding his body alonpr the telegraph conduits was a man. Then came four women. The first of the women was Mrs. Luella Meyer. She is a widow, with a son In knee breeches. Her son got out on the wire with the agility of a cat and was soon across. But Mrs. Meyer when over the bollina torrent swayed as though faint and slipped. The crowd stood by with bated breath. Rv a luckv chance her senses came back to her. She could grasp one of the wires. Hand over hand she was able slowly to pull herself to the near est pole, where she rested before again makincr the trial. This time she did not falter, but when she was picked up by the rescuers at the farthest pole she was limp and near exhaustion. Babe Saved In Plllotv Slip. Then came the two more women and under the advice of the people stand ing on the safe ground they kept look ing up and were not subjected to faint ness. Then came a young man and his wife. The wife he sent first and when sbe reached safety she refused to get Into the ambulance without her baby. Another five minutes and her hus band had been brought out to safety. He had the baby in a pillow slip and the youngster celebrated his first ar rival to the ground by a lusty yell. Others followed to safety. The worst of the flooded districts in cludes all of North and West Dayton, ail of the downtown sections, the south side as far as Oakwood and all of the residence suburb of Glendale. The district has a normal population of more than 50,000. Marooned People 'Without Food. Rescuers and those at the hospitals said an estimate of 5000 dead might be as accurate as an estimate of 100. At the edges of the inundated dis- tricts the water ran frbm eight to ten feet deep. That . would be 20 or 30 feet down town. While those ma rooned in office buildings and hotels are in no Immediate danger of drown ing, there is no food or drinking water for them. Those In the residences, however, are In constant danger both by flood and fire. First the frailer buildings swept Into the stream, many showing faces or heads of women and children peer ing from the windows. They were followed by more substantial brick buildings, until It became evident that no house in the flood sone was safe. Houses as a rule were washed but a few blocks before disintegrating. The body of one woman floated down the stream only a few feet from the watchers at South Park street. The body caught on a guard rope, but was swept clear and was gone before it could be recovered. The flood came soon after daylight this morning, after the residents had spent last night in terror. The maiu levee of the Big Miami broke at Webster street about o'clock. An hour later the water was through in a dozen places and a wall of water ten feet high swept through the main street Just above the Junc ture of the Big Miami and the Mad River and where the water of Still water poured into the Miami the flood reached its height and rolled into the business section, a wall 20 feet high. The Dayton News was soon under 20 feet of water, the flood rose to the sec ond floor of the Algonquin Hotel and all along May street occupants were driven to the rafters. What happened to them slnca no one on the outside can tell. Looting Begins Early. House looting began early in the night, and while local militia are on duty, they are wholly incapable of handling the situation. Incidents without number are nar rated of persons in the flooded dis tricts waving handkerchiefs and other wise signalling for aid being swept away before the eyes of the watchers on the edge of the waters. Many of the rescue boats were swept by the current against what had been fire plugs, trees and houses. They were crushed. How many died in this way no one knows tonight. Canoes and rowboats shared the same fate. What life exists In the district that the water covered la in constant danger and helpless until the flood subsides. There are numerous unconfirmed re ports of men shooting their families and committing suicide when they saw escape from flood or fire impossible. SOUTH LEBAVOX IS CVT OFF Rivers and Creeks South of Dayton Swell Hourly by Heavy Rain. LEBANON, O.. March 25. South Lebanon Is cut off from Lebanon by a Bookkeepers, Stenogra phers, dressmakers, office men and on ice managers, engineers, salesmen, sales women, advertising men, ministers, lawyers, doc tors vou need perfect- fitting glasses, if you need any. H Our examination ' will show the kind'of lenses, if anv. needed. We'll make those lenses as they should be made. ah We'll tmt them in a Shur-on Mounting, ad- iusted onlv as we know how to adjust Shur-ons. IT The result will be in creased efficiency for you because snur-ons are com fortable, convenient, neat in appearance and give your lenses full value. I Your salary depends on your efficiency. ' Your efficiency depends on your eyesight. Your eyesight depends on having correctly made and fitted glasses. Thompson Glasses cost $2.00 or more. THOMPSON EYE SPECIALIST. Second Floor Corbett Building, Fifth and Morrison. 21 Tun' Practical Experience raging current that is sweeping farm lands south of here, entailing a, prop erty loss of thousands of dollars. All rivers and creeks south of Day ton to Lebanon are being swelled hourly by a heavy rainfall that has continued throughout the day and night- FORT WAYNE DYKES GO MORE THAS SO 00 HOMES IX SUBURBS SUBMERGED. Water Flowing Into Second Stories of Houses Council Provides Money for Sufferers. FORT WAYNE, Ind., March 26 More than S000 homes in the three low lying suburbs of Fort Wayne are sub merged this morning, the last to go under being Lakeside, which was pro tprteH bv dvkes alonff the St. Joseph and Maumee Rivers. The water is flowing Into the second-story windows of the homes. Last night the City Council appro priated 15000 for Immediate use in re lieving the flood sufferers. EFFORTS TO PASS FLOOD FAIL riioneton People Unable to Get Nearer Than to Dayton Suburbs. PHONETON, O., March 25. (Via tel ephone to Chicago) From this place, six miles north of Dayton, it is possible to reach to the edge of the tlood stricken city, but communication be yond that so far has proved impossible. Telephone communication has been maintained intermittently throughout the day. The wire chief of the tele phone company, however, is penned up in the top of a four-story building and can tell only of what he sees. Past this office, which is on one of the main thoroughfares, he saw car ried on the flood a frame house, on the top of which were a woman and a child. The woman was beckoning and crying for aid, while the child lay mo tionless at her feet. The house was carried over the dam and both the woman and child disappeared. Numer ous fires have burned throughout the day and several of the buildings have burned to the water's edge. Tippecanoe City, on the Ohio-Indiana state line, is reported to be half under water. International Motor Trucks Proved by Years of Successful Service ' Mack 77 Saurer tC8 Hewitt ryr A direct factory branch of the International Motor Company, equipped with factory facilities and a complete supply of parts, has been opened in Portland.1 Our patrons are invited to make free use of this enlarged service for the betterment of their transportation. What our new Portland Branch means to Oregon truck users It gives you the extreme of reliability service. When you buy a motor-truck your first requirement and final -dictum is reliability reliable in all kinds of weather and under all conditions. 1. You want trucks of proved reliability. a. You want to deal direct with a company that is financially responsible. 3. You want the salesman to speak with the builder's knowledge and authority. 4. You want, to know that some one who knows your truck is near by, should you need advice. Capacities: 1, IX, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7i mad U tons. 5. You know that parts must wear out and you want supplies on hand and convenient today, or many years from today. 6. You want to have replacements and emergency repairs made in the company's own plant in a real service-station equipped with "factory facilities." Body types for every transportation servica Call, 'fhone, or write today International Motor Company 21st and Washington Streets Sales and Service Stations : 'Phone, Marshall 440 General Offices : Broadway and 57th Street New York . Works: Allentown Pa; Flainfield N J iportsman and Telephone EVERY time a man wants to get away from all connection with the busy world, the tele phone is an important helper. The Local Service is useful in arranging his affairs at home and the Long Distance Service of the Bell System helps him to. decide where to go and what to take. By means of his Bell Telephone he can find out whether the fish are biting or the birds are flying, and whether guides or horses can be se cured. After he has been out awhile, if he wants to get word from the city, the nearest Bell Telephone is a friend in need. The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company Every Bell Telephone Is the Center of the System Efforts to so to the relief of Troy, Pinua and Tippecanoe have been un successful. ADMEN TO HEAR SPEECHES Addresses on Commission Govern ment to Be Jlade at Luncheon. This is Commission Government day at the Portland Ad Club and with George 1 Baker as chairman of the luncheon at the Portland Hotel at noon, two prominent speakers will ouUlne the essential features of the proposed commission measures that will come before the citizens at the next election. R. W. Montague will talk ,on "Respon sible Government," and W. F. Wood ward will talk on "Citizenship Su preme." This meeting is to be the first of a SOME REASONS FOE OPENING- AN ACCOUNT IN OUR Savings Department Deposits bear interest from the first day of the calendar month after deposit. Freedom from worry, due to the securities which the state requires savings deposits to be invested in. Prompt payment of interest at the end of June and December, or when the account is closed. Security Savings and Trust Company Fifth and Morrison Streets. CAPITAL AND SURPLUS $1,400,000 series that will encompass all of the expounding civic and busines.s clubs of the city, I charter. the provisions of the &EW.YORK This Trade Mark The Knox Die stands for all you can ask in hat style far more in quality than you pay. Knox always puts in something for good measure. At the Knox Agencies in All Leading Cities.