Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-27
AGREAT SNOW STORM
NEW YORK CUT OFF FROM THE
OUTSIDE WORLD.
Telegraph Poles and Wires Borne Down By
Weights OF Ice-EnorD'ous Losses
Business Suspended.
rBy telegraph TO the DIspatch.i


Nrw YoRK, January 2e.--A storm which
set iu at IL o'clocklast night and continued
until noon to-day was the severest of the
season thus far. About six inches of snow
fell, and it was Of the wet. clinging kind
90 that il fastened itself TO everything
| it touched. loading trees until they were
shorn Of their branches or fell PROSTATE,
with their trunks snapped of as though
they had been mere twigs, and clinging 70
the electric wires until they gave way un-
der the pressure and broke in all direc-
tions, or until the poles on which they were
strung, breaking under the enormous
weight, fell across streets and against
houses, blocking all traffic on the formerand
threatening death aud destruction to the
latter. At daylight this morning the work
of devastation had commenced. and it con-
tinued until the snowfall ceased at nooh,
when wrecks Of trees and telegraph poles
were to be found on every street, while IT.
regular festoons of wire we're hanging on
every hand. and detached lengths of wire
were strung on every sidewalk.
no SUCH DEVASTATION SINCE 'SS.
No such work of devastation has been
known since the great blizzard of March,
f! 1888, and il is O question If that memorable
storm was more serious in its effects upon
the telegraph poles and wires of the city.
Early in the morning telegraphic and
| telephone connections were broken, and
| while the snow did not offer bar to rail-
road traffic, the PROSTATE poles and fallen
wires prevented the running of cars on
many streets, end even the Elevated rail-
way trains were compelled to move eau
tiously and wereofte brought TO q stop
by wires that had fallen across the tracks
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS CRIPPLED.
The police and FIRE departments were
especial sufferers. All wire connections
| between the various police stations and
central Office we're broken andrecourse was
had 10 messengers. The fire department
circuits were generally broken, and as no
alarms could be sent out excepting on very
few circuits, patrols of fremen were es-
tablished throughout the city. Men were
sen I to repair damages at once, and these
two most important city departments will
soon have their telegraph services restored.
DARKNESS nS PROSPECT.
The same may be said of the telegraph,
telephone, and eleCtric-light companies,
all of which had their full effective force
engaged all day. Many quarters of the
city would be wrapped in Cimmerlan dark
ness this evening but for the fortunate
circumstance that the moon is nearly full
and supplies in part the lack of electric
in any portion of the city, excepting
in some sections in the Harlem
district. Early this evening Acting
Superintendent-of-P Byrnes issued
q general order calling upon the police to
use extraordinary vigilance during the
night, as the criminal class might be dis
posed TO take advantage of the disastrous
condition of affairs and commit depreda-
tions upon life and property. Up to tins
writing no intelligence has been received
of any disastrous fires or overt acts.
SOME OF THE AcCIDENTs.
A partial list only can be given of the ac-
cidents caused by the storm. About 9
o'clock this morning seven huge telegraph
poles on Fourth avenue between One-hun-
dred.and-twenty-fr and One-hundred-
and-twenty-fifth streets were broken off
close TO the ground, falling with great
crash into cut of the New York Central
railroad, effectually blocking the track
Fortunately no train was passing at the
which left tho Grand Central depot at
o'clock had o narrow escape as it came
laundering out of the YOrkyille tunnel
lust as the accident occurredand was stop
ped by signal at One-hundred-and-
nineteenth street. 1t was nearly two hours
before the wreckage was cleared away and
traffic on the road resumed. Early in the
morning an immense tree that stood IN
front OF 2l0 east Broadway fell into the
street narrowly escapinga car loaded with
passengers. In its descent it struck the
telegraph-wires and carried down lot of
poles. ALI the telegraph-poles on Seventh
avenue from Forty-second TO Fifty-ninth
street went down early in the day, cover
ing the avenue with wires and fragments
of poles The heavy poles on Fitty-ninth
street from Eighth avenue to Eleventh
avenue suffered the same.
BIG BUILDINGS ENDANGERED.
One of the poles would have crushed the
entrance to the porch of the Roosevelt
Hospital but for the sustaining strength of
the wires running to the next pole, which
fell in the opposite direction. The pole at
the corner Of Fifty-nlnth street and Ninth
avenue fell upon the. elevated station at
that point and partially crushed it, but
hurt no one. At o'clock in the morning
line of Western Union eighty-foot poles
fell with crash in Fifty-ninth street.
carrying not less than $50 single wires and
two cables two inches thick with from
forty to seventy-fve wires in them, to
the ground. The crossbats scraped the
sides of the brownstone fats on the south
side of the street as they fell, and shook
the buildings to their very foundations.
The fall made sound like thunder, start
ling people blocks away. Many of the
enormous poles broke into three pieces
and the crossarms were shattered. Inc In,
that until near midday ingress and egress
were impossible.
POLICE REPORTS SLOW.
Police reports are coming in slowly, only
sixteen ont of thirty-fve precincts having
sent reports to Police Headquarters up to
Up. Nj.
Mayor Grant has ordered the police
throughout the city to see TO 1t that cleo
trie currents be not turned on the various
wires until the Board of Electric Control
shall certify that the wires are safe. The
dangerous condition because OF the wreck
age was the cause of the order.
In consequence large portion OF the
city will be in darkness tonight. Several
poles fell against the Union-Square Hotel,
| Fifteenth street and Fourth avenue, doing
some little damage TO the building.
The entire line of poles on the west side
of Park avenue from Fifty-ninth street to
Seyenty-ninth street went down, encum-
bering both the street and the sidewalk.
. The poles on OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
fifth street between First and Third ave-
nues and between Ninth and Tenth ave
nues ere down. The aS6ris blocked the
One-hundred- d-and-twenty-h -hfth-Street cable
road for several hours.
A sTREET-oAR HORSE KILLED.
At an early hour this morning a tele-
eraph-wire broke in front OF No. lis
Chambers street and fell across an electric
light wire and diverted its current. The
wires fell on the horses of q Fifth-avenue
car and the deadly current killed one of
them instantly.
Two or three fires caused by electric
light wires were extinguished with trltiing
damage. m
The whole story of destruction will not
be known until tomorrow, although 1t Is
believed that providentially no human
lives have been lost.
TEE WESTERN UNION BADLY CRIPPLED.
The Western Union is badly crippled by
the storm, all its wires being down but
three, those being on the western circuit,
connecting Albany, Rochester. Buffalo, and
Chicago. The work of repair will take
several DAYS, and the company will suffer
more tomorrow because of more business
than to-day. One thousand men will leave