The morning times., 1896-02-21
COOLEST OF THE WINTER
Mercury Lowered Its Own Record
Late Last Night.
FIVE DEGREES ABOVE ZERO
This Goes the Year Three Degrees
Better and Shows That the Prov
erbiai Backbone Has BeenSttffened.
Much Suffering Among the Poor
Caused by the Intense Cold,

This is a record breaker, speaking of the
| present winter.
The weather is the subject under dis
cussion.
When the thermometer registered eight
degrees above zero on January S, and then
came some nice, calm garden making
| weather, creduIous washingtonians were
apt TO conclude that the backbone OF winter
was broken.
But when they read this mornings Times
and see hereby that early yesterday local
Thermometers, atleastthe big reliable one at
| the weather bureau, stood at five de-
grees above, they will be confirmed in an
| opinion that that backbone is liable to
hump itself in unexpected places and at
unexpected times. And the wind going
at something like thirty miles an hour.
makes il feel all the colder. 1t is colder,
in fact. here than it has been at any time
before this season.
The weather bureau people are congrat-
ulating themselves that they made such a
| perfectly correct prediction OF this zephyr
| of chill.
| on Wednesday the storm, which had de-
veloped III the lake cgion. moved eastward,
and the cold wave developed in the rear
| as the storm moved toward the coast. The
storm passing over, the Geld wave extended
east and south. II is not necessary to say
that it was plainly developed in Washing
| ton, but it's said now.
JUST a PRECURSOR.
There was a sporadic blast of chills Il few
days ago, which did not do much but
serve as preparation for this one, which
| is all right for actual cold.
/ The wave now being endured with such
awful discomfort came from a source In the
| Upper Mississippi valley where it was thirty
degrees below zero. and its real severity
reached here last night.
There was a steady fail from noon We'd
| nesday, when the local temperature was
| forty-five. 1t has been n decline without
an instants upward tendency, with the
wind doing a steady thirty-mile gait.
The forecast is. in effect. that there will
scarcely be a perceptble change in the mer-
cury's position today, but the wind will
be slow. ten miles an hour, so that pedes-
trians will find today much pleasanter
than yesterday.
1t was that swift wind which hit hard.
The tail OF the cold wave will come and
disappear tonight. Right now we are in a
nice part of the hiGdquarter. The warming
up has begun in the place where the wave
came from, and the balmy breezes are fol-
! lowing The same track of their refrigerated
predecessors.
WARMER ON SATURDAY.
The warm wave will come Saturday some
time. same as the cold one came, but it
will not be too warm. though decidedly il
moderation as compared to this kind OF
weather. Washington's birthday parader'
may find comfort In this prediction of
mildness.
While cold waves are certain improyers
| Of sanitary conditions, and a re welcome Il
some on that account, at the same time the
dark side of the picture is intense. An
II wful degree of suffering is entailed TO the
poor by the prevailing cold The demands
upon the charitable Institutions were sadly
increased yesterday.
There seemed to have been no prepare
tion for the severe weather. 1t came as a
torture to those in poverty. The sufferings
of great many in Washington were
greater than at any time during the season
aud many pitifuI tales were told, which
were unfortunately all too true.
Good people, intent upon relieving tht
actual suffering they saw, were busy yes
tcrday. There was much work for them to
do-more than they had even family real
| iZcu NbGtd De
HERE IT BROUGHT MISERY.
In many homes there was neither wood
nor coal. Mothers and children were many
who did not feel the grateful warmth oi
sufficient fire 10 comfort them yesterday
Cases were many of almost frozen little
Z ones, who received relief from good, steady
workers of charity.
There is more such work to be done Not
alone fuel, but clothes, shoes and food art
needed. 1t may be warm tomorrow but
ii is cruelty cold today, with many pool
people in this city. The picture is q sac
: one.
t Cold weather has a natural, constitu
tional tendency to nirth and good feeling
but with far too many in Washington to
day it will have the veriest extremity oftht
4 reverse.
2 Inquiry at the office of the superintendent
4 of Charities disclosed the fact that there ar
: many worthy applicants for charity there
Y coming at the rate of fifteen per day, anC
that their needs are supplied with grea
/ difficulty, owing to the lack of means.
The constant demands upon the offic
] during the present cold spell, the secretar
says, has almost exhausted the small ba
ance of the appropriation made for tn
purpose.