The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-05-26
DEsoLATlON

OESoLATlOrs s.~
Marks the Path OF the Floods-s.tl Scene
In tho Submerged Districts Hundred
: Homeless and Poverty-stricken-AF Fin,
Opportunity for tho Charitably-1nclined
ST. LOUIS, May 2s.-Gov. Fifer il
seriously considering the issue of /,
proclamation calling upon the peopl,
OF Illinois generally to contribute tx
the relief of sufferers by flood il
that state. Thousands of sucl
sufferers, including $50 at Belle
vile and $500 at Alton, ar
not only in need of assistance for tn.
present, but will in numerous cases b<
dependent upon others for weeks tx
come, owing to loss of crops and homes
and in some instances the loss O.
their farming land, which was swep,
away by the flood. Gov. Fifer will i'm
mediately obtain a census of the sui
ferers in each county where they have
taken refuge, in order to determine thu
exact number of persons who will b<
burdens upon the various communitie,
for some time to come and to form {
systematic plan of relief in which thu
people throughout Illinois will probabl,
be asked to cooperate.
The Mississippi and Missouri valley.
present melancholy picture of ruiz
and devastation. For a distance of /;
miles above and below here the valley
to width of from to IS miles, is ont
vast waste of muddy water. On every
hand the roofs and upper stories O,
farmhouses stand as melancholy land
marks of what were once prosperou.
farmers houses. Fences, barns ant
hayst:cks are gone, and the patient
work OF years has been destroyed in 8
single week.
10 add to the serious condition of the
beleaguered people, sickness has over
taken them to an alarming extent
They have been living in improvised
huts, tents and poorly constructed
buildings and, as result of exposure
to the inclement weather of the past
week, many families are suffering
from pneumonia and other sickness in.
cidental to cold and wet weather.
ALTON, ILL.,, May 23.-For the last
seven days the relief committee has
labored increasingly. Its members
dropped their business and gave them
selves up to the work of the rescue.
They have had at their disposal, freely
rendered by their owners and captains,
the ferryboat Altonia, the steam pleas
ure yachts Ramble and Piasa, and for
part of the time the st. Louis Post Dis
patch boat Percy Swain, together with
forty-fve skiffs rendered by Brancc
Dorset, and several scows and fiat
boats
The instant boat load of sufferers
steamed to the docks it was met by the
relief committee, who opened their
homes to the unfortunates and pro-
vided them with food. But soon the
homes were all filed, and the Y. NJ. C.
A. gymnasium and parlors were thrown
open as temporary quarters. Freight
cars, barns, public halls, the city hall
and all available shelters were turned
into homes for the sufferers. Food and
other clothing were freely given.
1t is impossible to estimate even the
loss, but the most serious
phase of the trouble is not so much the
actual loss to the growing crop as the
fact that the distressed farmers, with.
out cent ahead in the world and with
no credit, will have to be supported by
public benevolence until next years
crop is harvested, and many of them
are ruined forever and will need gen.
erous help to place them on their feet
again.
Sioux CITY, Ia, May 2S.-With few
days warm sunshine Sioux City will
begin to feel herself again. Almost
in the way of rebuilding homes
can be attempted until the flooded dis
trict becomes passably dry. At pres
ent mud reigns. Until Sunday it has
rained necessarily since the flood. Fri
day and Saturday were two days of
hail, sleet and wind, retard-
ing even the superficial salvage work.
A general roundup of the situation
places the dead at about twenty-five.
A careful estimate places the number
OF those rendered temporarily homeless
by the flood at 5000. The majority of
these have found shelter with friends.
The relief committee has probably 1000
app ications Oh file. The committee
will accept outside aid, which has been
offered from many quar-
ters. Mayor Pierce and other leading
citizens have favored the declination of
outside aid, but at public meeting on
Friday night were induced to reverse
their course.
1t will take many weeks to restore
order out Of chaos in the flooded bot
toms. The direct losses to property,
while over 81 900, 900 all told, are but q
fraction of the total indirect losses by
commerce. There is no
kind of business but will feel the blow,
and yet the people are hopeful, even
buoyant.
Viewed from any point, the flooded
districts are indescribably desolate.
Houses are lying on their sides and the
debris of things movable is strewn over
n surface of several square miles.
Fences, sidewalks and house supports
form general litter. Along the banks
~ Vic AOJu tOAo VI CAI Ia nave DccO
torn away, showing the terrible force
OF the waters that swept the valley
with fatal suddenness.
Sudden and overwhelming as was the
Sioux City flood, it's property losses are
small when compared with the general
food losses throughout the state and
country. This rain-soaked corn country
is in danger of at least partial failure
Of crops owing to the lateness of the
planting season. The total damages tc
farmers, to the railroads and to the
general business interests of the coun.
try will reach an enormous total,
FARM FACTS.
No GRAIN Of any kind can be shipped
from Russia till after the harvesting of
the next crop.
THERE is a scarcity of clover and grass