New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-03-14
BROOKLYN AN IDLE CITY.
UNABLE TO TRANSACT BUSINESS
TRYING TO GET THR STREETS CLBAR-THR suBUR

:
terday, and the only means Of travel except or
foot was by way Of the Brooklyn Elevated Road
No street cars were rum and they viii not be able
to start before noon TODAY. even II tho storm
is not renewed The streets were nearly block
AIDED at many points, and wagons sleighs an(
street cars were frequently to be seen abandoned
in deep drifts. Little business was done in tn,
stores which open, and the thousands OF
employees who could not get to their places OF
business were not missed. Butchers. grocers,
and mil)z-dealers were unable to supply theil
customers. and undertakers could not conduct
funerals.
In the history of street railrooding in Brooklyn
there has never been SO serious DELAY and so much
difficulty in running street The last carr
In Fulton-st. ran at p. Monday and they
will probably be the first to resume to-day. The
Brooklyn City Railroad Company had over 1000
men at work yesterday shovelling the snow from
its tracks to enable snow rlow TO get
through. The snow was piled in great heaps
on either side of the tracks The loss to business
of all sorts will amount to many thousands OF
dollars A resident OF Brooklyn. seventy-six
years old said that this the most disastrous
snowstorm in his recollection that in 1885,
when the great fire occurred which burned SO
much OF the business portion of New-york city.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DRIFTS
The picturesque features Of the snow afforded
opportunity for amateur photographers yesterday
and they took pictures Of many OF the drifts and
the wreaths which hung from cornces and ele-
waited structures defying the laws Of gravitation
The inability Of customers and clerks and sales
girls to get to the large stores led the leading
firms to close their doors Only people who had
to buy provisions made any attempt to make pur-
chases Coal-dealers iound IL almost impossible
to fill orders One man paid Sl5 for u ton OF
coal for immediate delivery.
IL was estimated that upwards OF fifty dead
bodies are awaiting burial in BROOKLYN. and will
have to be kent until the streets 10 the cemeter-
les passable One funeral procession which
reached Holy Cross Cemetery in Flatbush on
Monday was showed up and the coaches and their
occupants had 10 he cared for at the liquor shops
near the cemetery
The great danger Of fire when the streets were
almost impassable for engines led 10 extraordinary
precautions the part of the Fire Department.
All leaves of absence were recalled and extra men
were kept duty ut the engine houses. efforts
and to keep them tbawed out for emergencies.
The engines and trucks will be able 10 make
little Roadway in the snow, so that Alarms will
be responded to by the tenders, and ladders in
wagons drawn by double teams To meet the
emergency the department secured 90 extra horses
from the street railroad companies. Only a
few small fires occurred during the day ycster-
day.
CARING FOR THE PRISONERS
Owing to the stoppage Of travel in the cars,
police prisoners were conveyed to court in patrol
sleighs. As the Black Maria useless in the
snow, Police Justice Walsh went to Raymond
Street Jail and examined the prisoners there
who were to come before him instead Of their
going to the Adans-st Police Court. The
public schools mainly closed yesterday,
owing to the inability of pupils and teachers to
get TO them. OnIy few Of the regular deliveries
OF mails were made, on account OF the difficulty
Of the lettcr-carriers making their rounds, and
IN collecting the mails they found many OF the
boxes frozen so that they could not be opened
tI.a n fhsluy
out those reported frozen. Few mails from out-of-
town were received.
Only one theatre in Brooklyn had performance
Monday night but several Others were open
last evening In cases where the performers could
not reach the city the doors remained closed.
Travel on the Brooklyn Elevated road was
kept up continuously, but several trains were de-
layed owing to the freezing Of snow between the
tracks and the guard rails Late in tho afternoon
all trains ran on schedule time. The telccra pb and
telephone companies suffered severely in the storm.
and out Of 400 wires At tho Brooklyn Central
Telephone station, 400 reported to be down.
NOTHING LIKE 1T IN FORTY YEARS
II has been six years since any of the street
:ar lines in Brooklyn have been stopped by snow
and then the stoppage occurred late on Saturday 1
night and early Sunday morning, and the public
was not greatly Inconvenience. Superintendent
D'Olcr, of the Brooklyn City Company, said yes
tcrday afternoon Tribune" reporter:
l-Aave been connected with the Brooklyn City
Railroad Company since it began TO run cars IN
654, and before that was stage driver, and
in forty years / have seen nothing like this. We
can't get snow plough through until the snow is
shovellcd from the tracks, and there is no place
TO put IL except TO pile 1t up on the sides of the
street. We have over 700 shovellers At work IN
Futon-st. The conductors and drivers Will all
lose the time that they are idle. We hope 10 get
in operation tomorrow, If the storm does not come
in again. All the men can get are at work |
shovellng."
On the other lines in the city similar efforts
were made to get into operation again The At |
lantic Avenue Company advertised for all the |
men who could be got The company had twenty |
cars abandoned in its various lines on Monday, !
and of them moved yesterday. No |
trains were sent out yesterday from the Long |
Island Railroad stations in Brooklyn and none |
arrived Two engines and several cars Of rapid |
transit train were snow bound in East New-York |
on Monday and were not moved yesterday.
Complaint was made Yesterday OF the failure OF
the City Works Department to take any steps to
clear the snow from the main thoroughfares. Men !
will be set at work to cart 1t of today The |
police reported many minor accidents but one
was found frozen to death in the snOw-drifts,
though II is feared that when tho melis
some will be found. John Coakley letter
carrier Of No. % Boerum place. found nm
conscious at Hudson and DeKalb ayes on Monday
night and was taken home large number Of
awnings and trees were blown down, and I'm several
Instances plate glass windows were broken.
FLATRUsH PEOPLE HAD HApD rIMg.
The suburbs of Brooklyn were almost completely
sut of from communications with the city on
Monday and yesterday. A desperate attempt was
made to maintain street railroad communications
with Flatbush on Monday and q car drawn by
ten horses sent out at a. IN. It was crowded
with people, and made its way with difficulty
TO tse Bridge. Its return trip the last at
tempt TO run car the Fatbush-ave. line
One of the passengers went back upon it to be
sure Of getting home while the rest had to remain
In the city over night
Efforts to get through with sleghs were I'M
by of the huge drifts at the
Plaza and Willnk entrances to Prospect Park
where the wind had free scope and piled up the
lew persons walked the road but the railroad
Rid not succeed in clearing the tracks. Bay
Ridge was also completely cut Off from Brooklyn,
md Coney Island could not be reached. The
telegraph wires begun working at Fort Hamilton
hut there trains and the snow
ay in drifts from ten to twelve feet deep.
The snow fell to the depth Of two feet on
L. IL. LII