St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-26
GOTHAM IN GLOOM.
The Metropolis Is Visited by
the Greatest Storm Of
the Year.
ToIoopro ToIonhonn and
Telegraphy, Telephone and
Electric Light Wires Fall
by Thousands.
The Great City Without Light
and in a Maze Of Con-
fusion.
New Jersey and Other Neigh
boring States Touched by
the Storm.


which set in at II o'clock last night and !
continued until noon to-day was the |
severest of the season thus far. About |
six inches of snow fell, and 1T was of the
wet, clinging kind that fastened itself |
to everything 1t touched, loading trees
until they we're shorn of their branches |
or fell prostrate with their trunks |
snapped off as though they had been
mere twigs, and clinging to the
electric wires until they gave
way under the pressure, and broke in |
all directions or until the poles on |
which they were strung fell, crushed by |
the immense weight. The poles fell |
across street aud against houses, |
blocking all traffic on the form
er, and threatening death and |
obstruction to the latter and their in
mates. AT daylight this morning the |
work of destruction had commenced, |
and it continued until the snowfall |
ceased at noon, when the wrecks |
of trees and telegraph poles were
to be found on every street, while ir-
regular festoons of wire were hanging
on every hand, and detached lengths of
wire were strung on every sidewalk.
No such work of destruction has been
known since the great blizzard Of March,
1888, and it is question if that men,
orable 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
vt Oft fO rai traff
PROSTATE Poles
and fallen wires prevented the running
of cars on many streets, and even the
elevated railroad trains were compelled
to move cautiously and were often
brought to stop by the wires that had
fallen across the tracks. The police and
fire departments were especial sufferers.
All wire connections between the var
iOus police stations and the central Of
fee were broken and recourse was had to
messengers. The fire department cir
cults were generally broken, and as no
alarms could be sent out excepting on
very few circuits, patrols of firemen
were established throughaut the city.
Men were set to repair damage at once,
and these two most important of the
city departments will soon have their
telegraph service restored. The same
may be said of the telegraph, telephone
and electric light companies, all
of which had their full eff
fective force engaged all day
Many quarters of the city would be
wrapped in darkness this evening but
for the fortunate circumstance that the
moon is nearly full and supplies in part
the lack of the electric lights, none of
which were working in any portion OF
the city except in some sections In the
Harlem district. Early this evening Act
ing Superintendent of Police ByrneS is
sued general order calling upon the po-
lice to use extraordinary vigilance during
the night, as the criminal class might
be disposed to take advantage of the
disastrous condition of affairs and COM
NIT depredations against life and prop
erty. Up to this writing no intelligence
has been received of any disastrous
fires or overt acts. A partial list only
can be given of
The Accidents.
caused by the storm. At about 9 o'clock
this morning seven huge telegraph
poles OH Fourth avenue, between One
Hundred and Twenty-frst and One
Hundred and Twenty-fifth streets,
were broken off close to the ground,
falling with great crash into the cut
of the New York Central railroad. ef-
fectually blocking the track. Fortu-
nately no train was passing at the
time, but the train for Peekskill,
which left the Grand Central depot at
O'Clock, had a narrow escape as
1t came laundering out of the Yorkville
tunnel lust as the accident occurred and
was stopped by signal at 10th street.
1t was nearly two hours before the
Wreckage was cleared away and traffic
on the road was resumed. Early in the
morning an immense tree that stood in
front of No. 2lO East Broadway fell into
the street, narrowly escaping car
that was loaded with passengers.
In its descent it struck the
telegraph wires and carried down
a lot of poles. All the telegraph poles
on Seventh avenue, from FOrty-secOnd
street to Fifty-ninth street. fell, cover
ing the avenue with wires and the frag-
mentS of the poles. The heavy poles on
Fifty-ninth street, from Eighth avenue
to Eleventh avenue, suffered the same
fate. One OF the poles would have
crushed the entrance porch OF the
Roosevelt hospital but for the sustain
ing strength of the wires running
to the next pole, which fell
in an opposite direction. The
pole at the corner of Fifty ninth street
and Ninth avenue fell upon the ele
yated station at tnat point and partially
crushed it, but hurt no one. Al 1880
o'clock in the morning line of West
ern Unionseighty-foot poles fell with a
crash, carrying not less than $50 single
wires and two cables two inches thick,
with from forty to seventy-five wires in
them, to the ground. The cross bars
scraped the sides of the
Brown Stone Flats
on the south side of the street as they
fell and shook the buildings to their
very foundations. The fall made a
sound like thunder, startling people
for blocks away. Many of the enor-
nous poles were broken in three pieces !
and the cross arms were shattered.
The houses were SO blockaded by the
wreck that until near midday ingreSs
or egress was impossible. Several
poles fell against the Union
Square hotel, Fifteenth street and
Fourth avenue, dong some little
damage to the building. The entire line
of poles on the west side of Park ave-
nue., from Fifty-ninth street to Seventy
ninth street, went down, encumbering
both street and sidewalk. The poles on
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street,
between First and Third avenues and
between Ninth and Tenth avenues, are