The morning times., 1896-03-12

AS a consequence of this enormous meal /
and nlastication there is nothing but sIush- 4
thick, thin, slippery, grinding sIush all |
over Washington which is now running |
away in torrents by streets and sewers |
into the Potomac. Spring is out OF sight. |
and is doing some rat ther unpoeticaI liHger- !
ing in the lap OF winter
The sudden incursion OF the storm revo- /
lutionized the ways and means OF public I
and domestic economy, which are OF the |
semi-tropical style at this supposed vernal |
season. Spring buds were covered with |
the CLASSY coating of snow, peeping leaves !
were frozen, the too previous spring song OF /
Mendeissohn's sparrows was chOked off and !
men and women laid aside the regulation
goods for the robes Of winter.
Hence the umbrella and the oyercOat
and rubber goIoshes were resumed in place
of the parasol. the spring coat and the un-
assisted shoe.
SOME OF IT'S EFFECTS
1t kept all the little people within doors
with their noses flattened against the win
dow panes and signing for the sunlighted
parks OF the day before.
1t set the furnaces roaring again and put
u premium on hot air from the basement.
1t made the washerwomen swear as they
rugged up the clothes horses beside the
kitchen fire. and there was also some tall
swearing done 10y people who had lost or
given away their rubber canal boats.
Two hundred and seventy thousand peO-
pie went about Churning and yielding
snow into the most ineffabIe mess of the
season and they did it well. Last night
they had succeeded in leaving on the streets
a compound mass of snow and freezing
water, which would have done credit TO
the cow paths OF the Esquimaux and Pata-
gonians. II there is anything 50 rare
as a day in June il must be a day as
raw as yesterday In March. The mis-
fortune of it all is that as March must
have lamb to go out with, he must either
he disinterred or otherwise provided. or
March will remain with US 10 the end OF
the year.
FAIR WEATHER TODAY.
The storm has passed. however. and
today and succeeding days VIII be fair, at
least OF course. there VIII be slush,
and plenty Of it, but the sun will be in
evidence, and there is no rain in sight.
at least. so say the weather prophets.
Last night the trees and the telegraph
poles and lamp posts were coated with
day either, for their is cold wave coming
that VIII freeze up every thing. and the
world viii walk stin-legged FOR twenty-
four hours.
The storm of yesterday was one Of the
swiftcst that has swept across Washington
this season. 1t was what is known as a
gulf storm, and was born way down south
OF New Orleans, somewhere in the Gulf
OF Mexico.
BORN MONDAY NIGHT.
It started Monday night sometime, and
when il got around the first turn and
came bowling down the stretch, an ex-
press train was not in it for hUstling
| 1t swept up through Florida, Georgia,
| and North and South Carolina at the rate
| of fifty miles an hour. Then it took a
turn out to sea and washed up on the
| beach at Norfolk about 2 O'Clock yester-
day afternoon.
| The wind died out before the storm
| reached Washington, and the highest We
| locity was only about twenty-five miles
an hour, but out at sea a gale was blowing.
| Last night the storm center had reached
| Southern Long Island, and hurricane sig
mails were ordered out from Cape Hat
| teras to Ea stport, Me.
| Incoming steamers from Europe will re-
ceive the blast full in their faces and all
coastwise vessels have been warned to
keep In port Washington is the southern
! limit OF the snowfall and all south of this
| point there has been an exceedingly heavy
| rainfall.
| MERCURY TAKES A TUMBLE.
| The thermometer viii take a slide to
! second during the early morning and may
/ play ball around twenty-five degrees by
| daylight. This is q very low temperature
! fo- tGi' season. the normal being forty-twO
| degrees. This cold wave is prevalent
! throughout the south and in Atlanta il is
| eighteen degrees below the normal this
morning. For real cold weather though,
| one should go out into the northwest. Up
| in Winnipeg it is ten degrees below zero,
and ali this cold air is being drawn east
| ward into the track of the storm that has
| swept ~ the coast and left vacuum behind
| it. This Of course must be filled with some
| kind of breathing material and the great
| shivering northwest is being called upon
| to give up its store OF coldnesS and ship it
east for out benefit.
The sudden change In the weather yes
terday had the effect OF greatly increas
| ing the number OF applicants at the office
OF the Associated Charities and at the
| Central Union Mission.
] On arriving at HIS office yesterday morn
| Ing. Secretary Wilson, of the Associated
| Charities, at once instructed his agents
to relieve, as far as possible, oil the
cases OF actual suffering which might come
within their notice, trusting entirely 10
| the credit OF the asSocia tien for the
payment of all expenses incurred.
During the winter the relief committee
| have done all in their power, in quiet
! way. to raise funds sufficient to relieve
all emergency cases without making an ap-
peal to the public through canvass of the
city. In this they have not been entirely
successful as is shown by the present con-
dition of the treasury.
STARTED OUT POORLY.
In the early part of the winter the COM
mittee stated that with an emergency fund
OF about $4,000. it would be able to re-
lieve all those cases not aided by churches,
| lodges or other charitable organizations.
Had this amount been contributed there is
no doubt the committee would have been
able to meet all demands without again
appealing to the public for assistance.
The month OF March is always the hardest
OF the winter months among the poor. and
at present there is a great deal of suf-
ferlng and sickness among the poorer
classes of the city.
| During the last month nearly $4,000
families were aided by the association.
| The situation is, however, practically
unchanged, and the number will in all
probability, on account OF the incIement
| weather, be greatly increased within the
| next week