The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-01
UNDER SOMBER CLOUDS.
Two Hundred Prisoners Set to
Work on the County Hos
pital Ruins.
RELIEF FOR THE DESTITUTE
A Calamity of the Moscow Character
Narrowly Aperted at Rail-
road Station.

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, May 31.-Grand and
Florissant avenues, the main thorough
fares to Bellefontaine and Calvary GENE
teries, were covered to-day with a con.
tinuous stream of carriages following the
victims of the tornado TO their last resting
places. The appearance of the hearses in
the sad procession alone punctuated the
points where one funeral party ended and
another began. There was sunless sky
and the somber clouds dripped misty
rain, as il Nature was weeping at her own
dreadful work. Fitty-one OF the victims
were buried to-day in this city and thirty
nine in East st. Louis.
The work of searching the ruins has
gone steadily on. Two hundred work
house prisoners were set to work upon the
ruins of the City Hospital. Health Officer
Stsrkloff is still OF the opinion that num-
Der of bodies are under the ruins, and the
work was pushed with vigor. Up to 6 P. N.
no bodies were found. Lack of laborers in
East ST. Louis hampered search work.
The labor agitator is abroad in that city
and his infamous work has had its effect,
as in some cases 81 an hour was demanded
jor searching the ruins.
Three patients died in st. Mary's Hos
pital in East ST. Louis to-day. They were
John Kelly, Mrs: Ellen Hennessy and
Adolph Hsnschel. Most of the work there
is directed to searching the ruins Of the
Vandalia freight depot and other build
ings about the eastern approach to the
Eads bridge.
All the railroads have placed on sale
"tornado-rate" tickets at all points within
radius of $50 miles of St. Louis, and to-
day there are $1,000 strangers here view
ing the ruins.
Relief work has been systematized.
Rev. DR.. w. W. Boyd, chairman OF the
committee, says $500 deserving applicants
received assistance to-day. The fund for
this purpose this morning footed up SOL
56s. The mails are beginning to bring sub
scriptions from the whole country. While
the demand for help is great, it is still be-
lieveG that the citizens of this city will be
able to care for all without appealing for
outside aid.
The criminal eIaggeratlon of damage
done to large buildings and hotels by
newspaper correspondents is to be investi-
gated. Not one large hotel in this city
suffered even temporary inconvenience.
The convention auditorium, which was
represented to be obliterated, was slightly
damaged. Contractor Mcclure repaired
the Gailding in few hours, and tomorrow
it will be turned over to the Business
Mems League. ready for occupation.
The city is rapidly recovering from the
shock of the disaster, and very soon the
storm will be only date in local :history.
The only addition TO the death-list to-
day was Carlo Ajonero, a peddler, who
died at the Alexian Brothers Hospital at
9P.M. There are three unknown corpses
at the City Morgue. The steady shower
to-day found hundreds of families unpro-
tected save by hastily constructed lean
tos against the few remaining walls
Some were provided with tents.
Three hundred of these were sent up
from Jefferson Barracks to-day. The
Provident Association, the Business Mems
League ard the Public Relief Committee
have provided for $50 families, each re-
ceiving food sufficient for two weeks, and
such shelter as could be secured. All the
transfer and express companies have
hauled free the few belongings of the
sufferers who secured rooms.
Attendance at all the churches was an
usually large, and the services were
memorial in character. DIR. Schuyler
dean of Christ Church Cathedral, held a
special afternoon service, at which large
sum was contributed to swell the relief
fund. The two services at Pilgrim Con-
gregational Church yielded nearly $1,000
Contributions were made in all the
churches and pledges made to continue
the relief until the need ceased.
Arrangements have been made by every
society, church and guild in the city for
benefit entertainments.
A panic was prevented tonight at Union
station by the prompt work Of the special
detail of fifty policemen. The 80, 900 out
of-town visitors who had viewed the ruins
gathered at the station about O'Clock
The Midway, the grand hall on the second
floor, the waiting-rooms and every passage
way were packed with humanity. 1t was
impossibl bic TO open the gates.
Assistant Chief Kelley marshaled a
SQUAD of men at the Twentieth-street en-
trance and began forcing the crowd
through the baggage-tram way to the train
sheds 1t took half an hour to relieve the
pressure Women tainted children
screamed and men fought. Three women
were injured and eight children were
separated from their friends. There are
probably a thousand strangers in the
lower half of the city tonight wandering
helpless in the dark ruins.
- - anna Pnn