The national leader., 1889-06-22
JOHNSTOVN RECOVERING.
improved Prospects for the
People Of the Flooded City.
Business Resumed. and the Work
OF Restoration Progressing.

Johnstown, Penn, is steadily recovering
from the effects of the terrible flood. The
estimate OF the loss of life has been reduced
to between 5000 and 40OO The amount of
money subscribed throughout the country
or the flood sufferers is over So, 100000. A
ecent dispatch from Johnstown gives the
ollowlnS details concerning the resumption
Of business and the work of restoration and
. relief:
The first real work under the supervision
OF the State commenced this morning at
o'clock. The whistle at the Cambria Iron
and Steel Works was the signal for the men
to commence, and about fifteen hundred start
ed in with their picks and shovels The ear
ly morning Was warm and cloudy. As the
morning advanced the weather grew warm
er, and by 10 o'clock the sun was shining
brightly and every one on the ground was
hard at work. During the morning a crowd
ofmen in some manner secured an entrance
TO the town and wanted to inaugurate
strike among the worl1men. James Nc
Knight, of Pittsburg, of the State contract
ors went to General Hastings, who is in full
charge at Johnstown and demanded protec-
ton for the men. A detachment of mill
tia from the Fourteenth Regiment were de-
tailed to the place and they drove away all
the men who refused to work. This caused
General Hastings to issne an order to the sol
hiers not to admit any one to Johnstown
proper without an order.
The business men of the town seemed to
have awakened to their senses, and this
morning number of them were preparing
to start over again in business Two grocery
stores were started near the Pennsylvania
railroad freight station. Both places were
doing land office business and this encour-
aged other merchants to start up, and the
probabilities are that inside of a week at lat
est 100 stores viii be in operation. Already
two BARRIERS shops and one JeWelry store
have been opened
General Hastings said 1" As vet I do not
lnow how many men are at work, but sup
pose there must be 1900 at the least calcula-
ton. We intend to put as many men to work
rs can be worked properly. do not suppose
we want more than 5000 and it will be an
easy matter to get that many men. do not
want to employ any one but Pennsylvania
men, and would like to get as many Johns
town people at work as possible They are
the ones that need the work. a false impress
sion has broken out to the effect that the
boroughs here are under martial or military
law. This is O mistake. The State has
charge Of the work, and the only thing the
military is doing is guarding the property.
We will clear away all the debris ON the
streets and level the town off. do not know
yet whether we viii clean out the cellars of
the houses, but if had my own way would
lU. Il
clean out the places and give the people clean
foundation to build on. Beside, there is not
the least doubt that there are a number of
bodies in these cellars and they should be
taken out"
General Hastings has now gotten every
thing down to system There will be but
one morgue and hospital and one headquar-
ters. Everything has now been centralized,
and it is easy to get at the facts.
CAPTAIN Seers, of the United States Army,
one Of the Corps of Engineers at Willets
Point, and Captain Burbank, of the West
Point Engineering Corps, have laid out the
different boroughs i'll five districts and COM
petent men have been appointed to take
charge of each district. Captain Seers, in an
interview, said: II am only here to advise
General Hastings and do what | can to help
him. | think that inside of two weeks the
three or four thousand men that will be at
work will succeed in putting the town in very
good condition and l think inside of month
Johnstown will have almost recovered from
this terrible shock"
The general opinion among well-posted
people here is that the loss of life will be be-
tween 5000 and 1000. 1t was generally given
out that Johnstown and boroughs adjoining
had g. population of 35 900 people, but this is
a very high estimate, and conservative peo-
pie put the population between 5000 and
2S 600. Colonel Rogers, who has charge of
the registration, states that from all he can
learn the population only amounted to about
5000, and this accounts for 10000 people
supposed to be lost
The reports sent out from hero to the eff
feet that II, 600 to Is, 600 people were missing
were based upon the supposition that there
were 5000 inhabitants in these boroughs.
To-day was the second day since the nood
that Johnstown was not deluged with rain.
The people are making heroic efforts to clean
ont their houses to fit them for habitation.
Neighbors have combined to help one another
to reset houses, on their foundations and to
remove the accumulations of drift and rub
hish which bar entrance to their doors. The
saver mines are all awry and the cellars are full
Of water. There is need for engines to pump
ont tbe water as early as possible Syphen-
ino has been tried, but with no success, as
the ceIlars are much lower than the ground
The Cambria Company started out corps
of surveyors this afternoon to locate lines of
demarcation for the rebuilding and repair of
their demolished plant
The first decisive step toward putting
Johnstowp's business men on their feet again
wac made to-day, when about two hundred
rnarcbants who had survived the food. MANY
If tham without dollar, met Adjutant
Gane,.aI Hastings this afternoon, and were
eSs,,,ad that they would be re-established in
b,rS;,o- - On long credit. Both Pittsburg and
PL;1aSoI,,bia wholesalers have offered Johns
+n1.,.o ,,sa,.cbants this business courtesy upon
tbo e,,n.oaas+;on n.ea Of General Hastings.
T6a sSss,eort of the Bureau of Transports
+io,, 1-h9cI died with the Citizens Relief
Con,ro;t+ea was presented to James B. Scott
toldav r. shows that from June to II, in
elusive 1902 people were given free trans
nortation ont of Johnstown. Out OF these
S72 were over the PennsyiVanla ana ~ oae5 o,ed