Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1913)
The Lonp City Northwestern J. W. BURLEIGH, Publisher. LOUP CITY, - - NEBRASKA 200 PEOPLE DIE AT OH EARLIER ESTIMATES OF LOSS OF LIFE TOO HIGH. FLOOD WATERS SUBSIDING Real Property Loss Will Probably Ex ceed $53,000,000. Loss From Fire Is Heavy. South Dayton, O.—Dayton's loss of life probably will not exceed 200. Th.s estimate is based upon a personal canvass of almost 100 of Dayton's leading citizens, men of unquestioned judgment and reliability, who have been engaged in relief and rescue work in every section of the city ever since the rising waters mvaueu tue business section. The property loss purely tangible and real will probably exceed $50,000, 000. This includes damage to real estate and public works in those parts of the city where these forms of prop erty are most valuable; to automo biles stored in two leading garages, and other personal property, . much of which was owned by the more prosperous residents; to manufactur ing, mercantile and jewelers’ stocks, which were swept away, and to pub lic utility plants and equipment. The cost of rebuilding miles of asphalt streets and walks, which literally were ripped from their beds, also is included. Ureatest loss in ixortn uaKoia. The loss of life was contined al most entirely to North Dayton, in habited by foreigners and laborers, in West Dayton, which comprises dis tricts of a more substantial charac ter; in Riverdale, in Dayton View and other residence districts, there was almost no loss of life. Several lives are known to have been lost in the business district, but none of the ru mors that human beings had perished in the fire which swept two city blocks would stand the test of search ing investigation. In fact, a score of cool headed men who were in some of the buildings, and others who watch ed the fire from across the street, as sert positively that every occupant of the burned buildings escaped. The flood assumed dangerous aspects Tuesday morning before most people had started to work. Consequently the loss of life in Riverdale, North Dayton and West Dayton was oc casipned when dwellings, mostly of light construction, were swept away and shattered by the swiftly moving current, leaving the occupants, who , had fled to safety in the second ^'stories, to fight for their lives in the I water. There are not more than thirty such houses in Riverdale and possibly seventy-five in North and West Day ton. Many houses were moved from their foundations, but remained up right and their sheltered occupants remained until they were rescued. Two Allens Executed. Richmond, Va.—Mumbling a prayer and crying half audibly that he was ready to go, Floyd Allen, a lawless product of the Virginia mountains, whose refusal to accept a short prison term for a minor offense led to the wholesale court murder in Hillsville one year ago, limped to the death chair in the state penitentiary Friday eleven minutes ahead of Claude Swan son Allen, his son. The sentence of the court, held up for six hours while desperate and dramatic efforts were being made to save the condemned men by eleventh hour appeals to Lieutenant Governor Ellison, speedily was ordered to pro ceed when Governor Mann hastened back to Virginia to take charge of the situation. The prison superintend ent, acting within the law, had agreed at 2 o’clock in the morning to defer the execution, giving Attorney Gen eral Williams an opportunity to pass on the constitutional right of Lieu tenant Governor Ellison to interfere. But the son of Governor Mann reach ed his father in Philadelphia by tele phone less than an hour after the de lay had been ordered and the gover nor was back in Richmond at 11:30 oclock. Fremont Helps Omaha. Fremont, Neb.—A visit of a com mittee to Yutan, representing the Fre mont relief workers, convinced it that the needs there are not as serious as in Omaha, and the balance of the Fre mont relief fund will be turned to the Omaha committee. Zanesville Loses Four. Zanesville, O.—With communication being slowly restored rumors are rife of loss of life, but there are only four known deaths in this city as a result of the flood. Dies of His Injuries. Grand Island, Neb.—John Syneck, aged 28, a bi>tkeman on a Burlington freight train, fell from the rear car of a string that was being switched in the local yards and several cars passed over him. Both legs were cut off and death resulted. Train Service Improves. Chicago.—There is a marked im provement in train service with the flooded zone in Indiana and Ohio. Some have resumed regular schedule. Relief Commission Appointed. . Lincoln, Neb.—Judge W. I. Redick of Omaha has been appointed a mem ber of the relief commission by Gov ernor Morehead in place of Mayor Skinner of Ralston. P. L. Hall of Lin coln takes the place of G. W. Potts on the commission. THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST IN FLOODS INJHIO AND INDIANA Appalling Disaster Caused by Bursting of Dams, Which Let Raging Torrent of Water Loose Upon Helpless Cities of Two States. DISEASE EPIDEMIC IS NOW BIG MENACE Swollen Waters Fall in Flooded District, and Fear of Sickness Is Added to Horror—Loss of Life in Dayton Not So Great as First Reported—603 May Be Dead in Co lumbus—Scores of Towns Add to Toll of Death. STORY OF THE TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE IN BRIEF Revised estimates of the loss in Dayton give ground for hope the dead In all sections affected by the flood will not exceed 2,000 and may go be low that figure. Daring investigators who penetrated the flooded section revealed hundreds of persons safe who were believed to be lost. At other points than Dayton the death list has grown. There was far heavier loss of life on the west side of Columbus than was thought. One estimate placed the number of dead above 600. Apparently authentic reports from Piqua indicated twenty dead. At Peru, Ind., the authorities estimated the death list would reach at least 150. From Hamilton, O., fifty persons were reported drowned in the collapse of a hotel. Twenty-five deaths were reported from Troy, O.; thirty at Middletown and five at Massillon. Latest reports from Zanesville arc that 150 lives are believed to have been lost there. Cincinnati, March 29.—Reports from Dayton and other towns give a more hopeful view as to loss of life. While the death list is appalling, it is now thought that the figures will not reach anything like the first reports. Explorers who penetrated to the sub merged districts say that many hun dreds thought to have been lost have been found safe, but in a serious plight from exposure and hunger. Revised estimates in Dayton give ground for hope that the death list there will not exceed 2,000. Even this figure may be cut down considerably when the facts are known. It is thought that the North side of Dayton list will reach 300. ' The militia report that looters are at work. Shots frequently were head from every direction. Militiamen say four men have been shot, as no one on any mission is allowed east of the Penn sylvania railroad tracks. The militia say a score of persons suspected of being bent on looting have been arrested. An ex-policeman caught coming out of a deserted home is in prison. May Be 600 Dead at Columbus. Early figures from the West side of Columbus placed the loss of life at 600. There has yet been nothing to change these figures. The loss at Piqua is now placed at 20; at Hamil ton, 50; Troy, 30; Middletown. 25. Peru, Ind., citizens insist that 150 are dead there. Relief trains surround Dayton and other points in the Miami valley on all sides. It is thought that rail com munication will be completed today and that all may reach their points of destination. Washington is sending a number of relief trains carrying food,"medicines and army equipment for housing and caring for the homeless. Pestilence Now Greatest Danger. Pestilence is the greatest danger to be feared now in the flooded dis tricts, and local, state and national gov ernments are working hand in hand to combat this grave peril. In Chicago the various relief funds have passed the $130,000 mark and will be swelled enormously by the con tributions today. Stations Filled With Supplies. At the stations where clothing and provisions are being handled the work ers are swamped with supplies. Train after train load will be dispatched to the flooded sections. Reports from Fort Wayne state that the situation there is well in hand and that the authorities say they can get along without outside aid. The Ohio river is reported as rising fast. At Evansville. Ind., the flood has reached a stage of 39.5 feet, a rise of 4.5 feet in twenty-four hours. People living in the bottom lands have been warned to get on higher ground, and steamers are carrying them from their perilous positions. Is Still Critical. At Zanesville, Ohio, the situation is still critical. The waters of the Mus kingum and Licking rivers are still rising. Six hundred houses are re ported as swept away and food is needed. Middletown, Ohio, reports having had communication with Miamisburg, a town of 8,000, which it was feared had been totally destroyed. Conditions are bad, but the dead number only 25. Heavy floods are reported from points in New York state, in the Adi rondacks. Hudson river and Mohawk valley sections. Glens Falls, Schenec tady and many other towns are flood ed. Bridges have been washed away and loss of life is reported. Every stream in western New York is also reported out of its banks. Reports .rom Chillieothe, Ohio, place the dead at 25. Linton, Ind.. says that 16 persons drowned at Howesville. Ten deaths are reported from Sharon, Pa. Twenty dead were found among the refugees in the court house at Peru, Ind., victims of exposure. Seven births also are reported. Contagion has ! broken out and the sick have been ! quarantined in a section of the build ing. The spirit of Dayton asserted itself today when President O. B. Smith of its chamber of commerce asserted that Dayton could cope with the situation and would be able to recover from its ! disaster. The sun is shining bright on Day I ton today. The fires have practically burned out and rescue work will be possible today. The ruins of the Fourth National Bank building still blaze fitfully, but the Beckel house, reported burned with hundreds of ref ; ugees, is unharmed. Floods Are Receding. Indianapolis, March 29.—The floods in central and north central Indiana are receding, with the effect of expos ing facts of desolation and suffering i beyond precedent in that region. The death roll in the stricken cities has not yet been made up. but the needs of the living and the dangers of disease and epidemics due to exposure and bad water are being revealed in every message that adds details of the situation. In Indianapolis hundreds of refu gees from the west part of town are being cared for in Tomlinson hall. The prospect is that the loss of life will be less extensive in the capital than first reports indicated. Peru in Bad Shape. Further light on conditions in Peru came last night in a telephone mes sage from C. D. Emmons, manager of the Northern Indiana Traction com pany, who is stranded in that town. He said that twenty persons have been found dead among the refugees in the court house there. “They are moving the people from the courthouse in boats and it was found that twenty of the refugees had died from exposure,” Mr. Emmons said. He added that smallpox and diphtheria had broken out among the hundreds of persons packed into the courthouse. One corner of that build ing was quarantined and all the res cued persons suffering from contag ious diseases were removed to that confinement Lieut. Gov. O'Neill, who is at Peru, telephoned to Indianapolis denying the report of pestilence. Mr. O’Neill said he knew of twelve or thirteen dead, that the toll would be greater, but could hazard no guess as to its size. Horrors Beyond Telling. State Senator Stephen Fleming, who had charge of the relief train sent from Fort Wayne to Peru, returned to Fort Wayne, telling a story of harrow ing suffering and of possible great loss of life. “It will be impossible to estimate the loss of life in Peru,” he said, “and the horrors cf the situation there are beyond telling. There may have been fifty persons drowned and there may have been 600. Many people still in their homes in the inundated city, frightened at repeated capsizing of rescue boats working to and fro among the stricken homes, positively refuse to accept assistance, and al most crazed by their fear, insist upon remaining in the houses, although many of them are standing in water on the second floors of their homes. “Sewage from the courthouse is ab solutely cut off, and filth collecting there is adding to the suffering from exposure through many cases of di sease.” Looters Are Shot. Cincinnati, March 29.—With the re ceding of the floods in Dayton and other submerged towns in Ohio and Indiana, scores of looters have ap peared and are being summarily dealt ! wTith by the police and militiamen guarding the property of the flood vic 1 time. Communication was re-established with Dayton and other towns today. Reports from Dayton are that many I sh°ts were heard fired within the j flood z°oe early today, and these were I taken to indicate that the guardsmen This is a scene on the raging Miami river at Dayton, O.. where hun dreds of lives have been lost in the floods. are carrying out their stringent or ders—''Shoot to kill.” A number of looters captured in Dayton were brought before the chief of police. Ordered to Kill. "Don't bring these fellows before me," he is said to have ordered; "kill them.” No one is permitted to pass east of the Pennsylvania railroad tracks, the established guard line. West Indianapolis also is practically under martial law' because of the ac tivity of looters who commenced op erations as soon as the receding floods permitted them to prowl. Looting has been reported from Peru, Ind.. and from Piqua, Middle town and other Ohio cities. That the looters are being shot down is be lieved, but for obvious reasons the facts are suppressed. Are More Cheerful at Dayton. West Dayton, O.. March 29.—The sun rose bright and clear this morn ing on a happier Dayton. Prospects are for a decided subsidence of the flood waters and for greater rapidity and efficiency in the relief work. The weather has cleared and fear of pesti lence now is the chief worry for offi cials in charge of the situation. A lieutenant of militia said last night that~probablv 100 bodies had been lo cated in the central district, but that no attempt would be made to remove them yet. The state is paralyzed. Railroads, trolley, telephone and telegraph traffic is blocked and the cities in jvhieh hundreds of lives have been lost are cut off almost entirely from com munication with the rest of the world. Millions of dollars' damage has been done to property, fully 75,000 people are homeless and appeals for aid have been sent out to the Red Cross. In Dayton alone 30,000 people are homeless. Reservoirs Give Way. The four days' continous rain filled every reservoir in the state and a number of them undermined dams and poured their contents into the valleys. A wall of water seven feet high rushed down into Miami valley. The levees along the Miami river broke and the residents of Dayton along the river were forced to flee for their lives. The rush of water was so great, however, that houses were undermined and carried along in the swift current. Hundreds were drowned before they had a chance to seek places of safety. The water crept higher and higher, and finally it was thirteen feet deep at the Union station. Some parts of the city were under thirty feet of wa ter. 540 Dead at Piqua. In Piqua the river burst the levees, poured through the town and trapped hundreds of people in their homes. The swift current undermined the homes, and it is estimated that 540 were swept to their death. In Delaware, the Olentangy river be came a lake which covered most of the city. It is estimated that fully one thousand were drowned. People were left clinging to trees, roof-tops and telegraph poles, crying for assistance. Owing to the swift current in the river, the work of res cue was duflicult. Damage in Cleveland $2,000,000. In Cleveland, while no lives were lost, the damage will reach $2, 000,000. The Cuyahoga river swept through the manufacturing district in the flats, closed down hundreds of mills and left more than fifty thou sand workers Idle. The East Third street bridge was destroyed when a big steamer was swept from its moor ings and crashed into it Thousands of dollars worth of lum ber was swept from the river and out into the lake. Firemen were kept busy dynamiting lumber jams at the bridges. In Youngstown, 25.000 workmen were forced to quit work when most of the big industries were shut down by the flood. All bridges in the city are guarded. Fifteen Missing at Middletown. The big bridge over the Miami river at Middletown was swept away, fifteen persons are missing and scores of houses are floating down stream. Two companies of state National Guard have been sent to Hamilton to help preserve order. Five were drowned there. Larue, Marion county, sent an ap peal for help to Governor Cox. The town is inundated and people have sought refuge on the roofs of their houses. Nineteen Dead in Delaware. The number of known dead in Dela ware is nineteen, and from thirty-five to forty are missing. It is reported the mayor, B. V. Leas, is among the drowned. In West Liberty an engine and one car rolled down an embankment washed out by the flooded Mad river. The conductor was drowned and sev eral bodies were seen floating away, and it is feared a number of passen gers in the two cars were drowned. In Akron more than five hundred families are homeless, the rubber fac tories were forced to close down, rail road and trolley traffic is paralyzed and it is feared that the big state reservoir south of the city will break Only one death, that of a lineman, who was electrocuted, was reported Dayton Under Martial Law. Dayton is under martial law. Three companies of the Ohio National Guard are aiding the police in rescuing fam ilies from flood-menaced homes. The first direct word out of the city after the breaking of the levee was a long-distance telephone message to Richmond, Ind.. from Frank Purvi ance. an employe of the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction com pany at Dayton. Eight thousand per sons, he said, had been drowned there ''They're dying like rats in their homes; bodies are washing around thfc streets, and there is no relief in sight." Purvianee said. Telephone communication with Day ton was established for a few minutes, then was broken again. Purvianee said water stood twenty to forty feet in some of the streets. Situation Is Appalling. Frank Brandon, vice-president of Dayton, Lebanon & Cincinnati rail road, succeeded in establishing a telegraph wire from Dayton to Leba non. He said that the situation is ap palling and beyond all control. "According to my advices the situ ation beggars description," said Mr. Brondan. “What the people need most is boats. The water is high in every street and assistance late this after noon was simply out of the question. My superintendent at Dayton told me that at least sixty had perished and probably a great many more, at the same time assuring me that unless something that closely approached a miracle happened the death list would run considerably higher. i'We are rigging up several special trains and will make every effort pos sible to get into Dayton.” The greater loss of life is supposed to have occurred a couple of hours later, when the crest of the Rood reached the city. Levee Broke Early Tuesday. The first break In the levee protect ing the city occurred about six o'clock Tuesday morning. By noon the levee had broken in three places and the business section of the city was five to six feet under water. The river was then at the highest stage it has reached in 40 years and still rising. The suburbs of Riverdale, West Side and North Dayton, were entirely under water and in the downtown sec tion St. Clair, Emmett and Second streets were flooded. Governor Orders Out Troops. Columbus, O., March 26.—"If our worst fearB are confirmed it will be necessary for us to call on the outside world for tents and supplies in order to make provision for the worst ca lamity that ever has befallen this state,” said Gov. James M. Cox in a telegram he sent to a New York news paper. The gevernor also informed the pa per that troops were ordered out for duty in the capital city and that the naval reserves were dispatched from Toledo to Piqua. The Dayton com panies are on duty in that city, he said. The Cincinnati companies, presuma bly. the governor said in his message, would be dispatched to Hamilton and Middletown, which lie in the Miami valley and which sent out distress sig nals. State Aid for Stricken. At the suggestion of Governor Cox a bill was drawn and was presented to the legislature today by Representa tive Lowrie, appropriating $250,000 for relief of the flood sufferers of the state. Irresistible Attraction. Briggs—"I understand that Gudger fell in love with the girl he married at first sight.” Griggs—‘ Yes; when he first saw her she was making a fat deposit in the savings bank.”—Boston Transcript. For Scorch Marks. To remove a scorch from linen, cut an onion in half and rub the searched part with it, and then soak it in cold water. The mark will then disap pear. I Attempt to Electrocute Fi*h Is Fatal Lancaster,.O.—While trying to kill I fish in the Scioto river by charging the water with electricity from a wire attached to the third rail of the near by tracks of the Scioto Valley Trac tion company, Dudley Carpenter and David Bobbitt were electrocuted. Proof of Self-Control. Self-control is what we show when a woman in a crowded street car pokes us in the eye with her umbrel la.—Florida Times-Union. Farmer Is Father of 37. Grand Forks, N. D.—Being the fa I ther of 37 children is the distinction borne by H. T. Hertzog, a farmer liv ing near Palermo, this state. He is seventy years old and looks no more than sixty, and has been married three times. Wedding Bells. Heck—“They say a ring around the moon is a sign of rain.” Peck—"So la a ring around a woman's finger a sign of reign.” Long Hatpins to Be Barred Here. Hartford, Conn.—Any woman in Connecticut who wears a hatpin pro truding more than half an inch from her hat will be liable to 30 days' im prisonment or $10 fine, or both, if a bill passes the legislature. Hen Lays a Green Egg. Baltimore.—A hen belonging to J. H. Seeger of Arlington laid an egg that was splotched with bright green. Seeger denied he was trying to "put ov%r" a nature fake. 1174 KNOWN DEAD Omaha’s Property Loss Will Ex ceed $10,000,000 as Result of Tornado ! UTTER DESTITUTION IN STORMS PATH REVEALED ft_ Actual Disclosures Rack the (Serves and Wrench the Meart-Strings of Those Who Behold Them. Omaha - The utter destitution that attends the complete demolition of hundreds of homes and the destruction of the personal belongings of the thousands who were domiciled there when engulfed in the merciless swirl of the tornado is made impressively conspicuous throughout the storm swept district. It had been anticipated by all who realized just what the tornado meant, yet its actual disclosure racked the nerves and wrenched the heartstrings of all who beheld. There were well understood causes that had delayed the grewsonte rev elation. Hundreds who had been tortured in the grip of the maddened ele ments had remained in a semi-daze for more than forty-eight hours, numbly realizing that they had been despoiled and bereft, yet failing to actively com prehend. Guided by kind friends and helpful strangers alike, they had been conducted passively to the shelter of neighboring homes that had opened for them, almost indifferent to the needs of the hour and but vaguely conscious of the demands of the morrow. But now they have begun to “pull themselves together” and to take account of the situation. Stunned, by the weight of the blow which fell so suddenly upon her, Oma ha is under the spell of a strange quititude, a reverent and subdued tribute to the awfulness of the dis aster. With almost every tick of the clock the name of another victim was add ed Monday to the appalling list of dead and injured, and the sadness was not confined to the wrecked homes of the bereaved nor the bed side of the maimed. There was little attempt at the usual transaction of business in the city. The men whose livelihood de pends particularly upon their acumen and sprightliness, whose affairs call for an increasing pursuit of custom, and who have been known as faithful toilers in that interest, were sub merged in the wave of grief. They erosity of the untouched toward those who have suffered will Ions be a laurel upon the brow of the city’s citizenship. Snow Falls On Stricken Homes. A light fall of snow in Omaha that reached at least two inches in depth by morning, came late Monday night to add its part to the sufferings of the stricken ones in the tornado-swept section. The temperature Monday was below freezing and the chill went to the marrow of those who tried to work among the ruins of their homes in the effort to save a little from the wreck. Relief Offers Received. During Monday, when the storm's havoc became known throughout the world, messages of condolence and re lief offers came from many states and cities. Prominent among the first IN THE PATH OF THE OMAHA TORNADO The devastation caused by the Omaha tornado is graphically illustrated by this photograph, taken at Lincoln boulevard and Thirty-fourth street, directly in the path of the storm. gathered on street corners and in cafes, and their conversation was only of the calamity—of what might be done to alleviate the suffering. Representatives of tornado insur ance companies, building supplies con cerns and storage companies, who might be readily and rightfully ex pected to reap a rich harvest follow ing the assault of the wind fiend, found their work extremely distaste ful and were loth to press their point. Men of business importance were seen to walk the streets softly and with downcast faces, their thoughts everywhere but with their affairs. In the face of all the ghastly and terrible manifestations of a calamity which is attracting the attention and concern of the whole world, there is at least one bright lining to the cloud which hangs as a pall over stricken Omaha. The ready sympathy, the re sourcefulness, the kindness and gen Council Bluffs Hard Hit. With the telegraph and telephone lines still in very poor shape, it is definitely known that the death list in the recent cyclone disaster in this section of the state, in and around Council Bluffs will reach ttventy to twenty-five and the injured at least seventy-five. The death roll has. so far as telegraphic or telephonic service could be had, reaohed twenty and the list of injured anywhere from fifty to seventy-five. Council Bluffs suffered the heaviest Looters Will Be Severely Dealt With. Ix>oters or robbers who in time of disaster take advantage of the confu sion to steal from the unfortunate are finding their way hard in Omaha. The stricken districts are efficiently po liced by civil and military authorities and any person discovered robbing the homes or stores devastated by the storm will meet severe punish ment. Gov. Morehead Views Storm’s Path. A special from Lincoln Sunday night was that of President Wilson. Others were from Governor Sulzer of New York. Governor Dunne of Illinois, Chambers of Commerce in Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle. Spo kane, Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Des Moines. Des Moines sent a spe cial train of forty doctors and nuises early Monday to assist in every pos sible way in taking care of the af flicted. Solons Visit Omaha. Nebraska legislators, with scarce a half-dozen of the 133 missing, spent live hours in viewing Omaha’s tor nado-stricken district Chief Clerk Henry C. Richmond ciceroned the party and conveyed them in special cars to various parts of the city. The visit made certain a legislative appropriation do aid the city in the gigantic relief work which must be immediately undertaken. A bill to that end w-ill be introduced. loss in life, seven bodies now being laid out in the morgues in that city. Weston has two deaths, Gilliat has two, Neola four and Glenwood five. Numerous persons were injured at all of these places. Fourteen cases are being treated in the local hospitals one, Benjamin Benningholt of Duck Hollow, having passed awav early Monday morning at Mercy hospital shortly after being brought there N Krinski, his wife and five chi! dren were killed in the basement of their home. 1 brought Governor Morehead and party to look over the storm s havoc and «ee at first hand what should be done for immediate relief. After a trip through the the stricken district, the governor was much affected by the appalhng sights and asserted that he would ask the Nebraska legislature to appro priate a goodly sum at once to be donated to the cause. De Near Glenwood, la, Ben Dean and his three daughters, all grown, ar6 said to have been killed in their hotal which was destroyed.