Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-17
THE COLD WAVE
A Sudden Drop in the Mercury in
the District.
WILL CONTINUE DURING q(NIGHq
Those Who Suffer From the Low
Temperature.
TONIGHT
r E CORDS ELS EW II E r E

The promised cold wave struck Washing
ton yesterday evening and for nearly
twentyfour hours the people of this city
have been shivering as if the mercury had
frozen tight in the bulb. Men who have
lived in the far northwest speak slight
fngly of this as cold wave, but it is a
noticeable fact that they turn up their
coat collars just the same and show ten
dency to get into the corner where the
stove or radiator gives forth a genial heat.
They seem about as willing as a native
Washingtonian to fill up on hot Scotches
to keep out the cold.
According to the weather sharps up at
the weather bureau this present cold snap
had its origin out in Manitoba region
that causes Washington more trouble
put together. 1t started on its deadly
course last Saturday morning, at which
time the thermometers to the north of
Minnesota registered all the way from
~ TO ~ degrees below zero.
The Drop In the Thermometer.
With such good start it did not take
the wave very long to reach this helpless
end unprotected city. According to the
records its power began to be felt late
yesterday afternoon. In the morning the
mercury in the official thermometer stood
at r. AT an early hour this morning it
had gone down to degrees above zero, a
drop of Sc degrees in twenty-four hours
This is about as big a drop as was re-
corded anywhere and means a sudden and
considerable accession to the discOmfortS
of the city. Those who were dilatory and
let their coal bins get low. thinking to
replenish them today, found it no easy
matter TO keep their houses warm last
evening. TO the hundreds who could not
afford to buy fuel under any circum-
stances the sudden change in the tempera-
ture means more than mere discomfort. 1t
means absolute suffering, and the appeals
Tor relief made upon the various charita-
Die organizations were more numerous and
pltlful today than they have been at any
time this winter.
Sufferers From the Cold.
The point to which the mercury went
this morning is about as low as IT has gone
since the cold weather set in Backed I'D.
as 1t was, by a pretty strong north wind
there were lots OF places more com fortable
than the exposed street corners. Street
car drivers, GripTen and motorr1sn, as
usual, got the worst of it. The policemen
could get in the lee IF q corner building.
put the men on the front platforms of the
street cars were exposed to the chill all
day long, and nothing but mammoth nit
Tens and warm muffiers kept them from
being frostbitten. The grip cars as ru,a
We're otherwise completely deserted even
lne most persistent smokers prafarriag to
throw away their cigars or cigarettes and
get inside the trailer, where they could
keep reasonably warm.
Already another warn wave is reported
20 nave set in on the heels of this cold one
but 1t will be couple of days before it can
ne expected TO reach this city. and in the
meantime the weather bureau PROMISES tina r
Things will stay about as they are though
there Is TO reason to think it will get am
colder this tine. There is no prospect Of
mo" IN eight though, of course, there is
no telling now what NAV bannen whom ,ba
backbone Of the cold wave gets sna1tered