The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1889-06-13
Turmoil and Confusion.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ia, June I2.-1ne
borough of JohnstOwn and the sur
rounding towns are now under mill.
tary rule. At O'Clock this morning
General Hastings took charge and sol
diers were placed on guard duty at all
tie commissary stations and morgues.
A slight rain has been falling all
morning ana the city presents the most
dismal appearance. Everything is tur-
moiI and confusion, and little or no
work is being done. For the first time
since the work was commenced the
men seem tagged out, and are not in a
hurry to get to work. However, all
the men at the morgueS and the relief
committees are still hard at work. The
suffererers were at the cOmmisSary
stations as early as usual this morning
and stood around in the rain several
hours before they were served. They
have the same distressed look they
have had ever since the flood, and as
days roll by they do not seem to liven
up any. In fact the people here, that
is the residents, are just commencing
to realize fully the terrible ordeal they
have gone through. The excitement
has kept them up until now. but since
the excitement has been dying out they
if "A number of suicides do not follow
it viii be something remarkable.
For the first time since the calamity,
the people are commencing to talk OF
their financial losses, and this seems to
worry them as much as anything
else, and to Say that vast number OF
the former merchants are diSheart-
ened. is putting it mildly. On all sides
you will hear these merchants eXclaim:
- =
from this, we have lost everything"
The PittsbuTg wholesale merchants
who are here are trying to comfort
them, and are offering the old mer-
chants some very elegant inducements
TO start up again. a circular has been
received by these men from several
PittSburg merchants offering them all
the credit they want. All the laborers
employed by Booth and Flynn. and all
the volunteer and other workman were
paid off at the club house this morning
by the finance committee. Over 4 GOO
men surrounded the place and
| it was with considerable difficulty that
| they were paid. A number of them
| forgot their numbers, and it caused no
end of trouble. The pay roll altogether
| amounts to about $9O, 900.
General Hastings states that the
work of clearing away the debris under
mence in earnest tomorrow. James
Mcknight of Pittsburg, has been Sc
| lected as one of the contractors, and he
| will have 1000 men at work tomorrow
morning. An Altoona contractor and
two other contractors from the eastern
end of the state have also been selected
| to do work for the state. The contract
ors sent here from Maryland by Gov
ernor Beaver have been left out in the
1 60 ns,A
work, but when they came here they
did not have a hundred men, and
wanted to go into combination with
| James Mcknight. but the latter re-
fused and the Maryland gentlemen
went home Sadder, but probably
| wiser men. Hastings, in an
| interview this morning said: Il
have now taken charge OF this work
| and it will be work in earnest and not
| fOOlishneSS is past, and l intend to
push it through to a finish. no mat
| ter who it pleases or displeaSes.
have been placed in such a position
that l can proceed expeditiOusly and
/ I propose to do it. You can hear lots
| of criticism, but we will not listen to
l anything of that kind. / am about
tired of all this tomfoolery. and we
want here business men to work on
| DuSIu0SS principles. nave
detoiIed soldiers to every place
possibly can; and intend to
get all the work out of them
that is possible. The state has to pay
for the work, and if it is in my power
intend to see that it is done as it should
be. To-day we will do little or moth
ing. This is, of course, on account OF
the changing of the rule and the wei
weather. BY tomorrow we will be al
work in earnest, and at least three
thousand men will be employed. One
thousand workmen leave New Yori
this afternoon. and at least five hun.
bred will be sent from Pittsburg.
have given the employment of the meI
into the hands of four contractors, anC
will hold them responsible. I have NJ
idea how long it will take to clean ar
the place. but am afraid there will b
little left of the governors millioI
after the work is done"