The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-01-26
DYING OF COLD AND HUNGER
TERRIBLE STATE OF IFFIIRS PRE-
 Y1LLING IN THE WEST.

spread Suffering and PrivatiOn-Thou-
 sands of Persons in Want in Chicago and
 Other Large Cities-No Signs of Warmer
 Weather to Bring Relief.
 Chicago, Jan. 25.-The people of Chi cago, in bodies and as individual citi- zens, were aroused to-day to take gen. erous action for the relief of the two- score thousand destitute inhabitants of the city, whose suffering for want of fuel food and clothing has reached an extreme stage as result of the terri ble cold wave.
 The highest temperature to-day was 10 degrees below zero, and tonight the mercury is moving slowly down again, with no hope of material relief held out. Mayor Swift issued proclama- tion this afternoon, appealing to citi- zens to contribute supplies to prevent the starvation and freezing of unfortu- nate thousands.
 He urged the subscription of $100,000. Before the proclamation was issued contributions to the fund came pouring into the mayors office, while various offers of provisions, clothing, coal and wood were received on a liberal scale. The board of trade and other organiza- tions started to raise relief funds, and the churches and Salvation army be- gan making extensive arrangements to help in the charitable work along these special lines. Soup houses and shelters ,x-in ha tob ,toi long as necessary.
 The city will buy food and fuel and distribute them on demand through the agency of the police department. All police stations have been thrown open to the homeless, and tonight every one was crowded.
 The mayors proclamation is the first of the kind to be issued in twenty-five years. The worst and most numerous cases of suffering were reported from South Chicago and Kensington, where thousands of men have been laid off at the steel mills and other establish ments. No case of destitution reported remained unattended to tonight. Much damage was done in the suburbs to telegraph and telephone wires by the cold
 St. Louis, Mo-, Jan. 25--At z o'clock this morning the temperature was ex- actly zero. At noon three degrees above was indicated, and at 5 D. m. four degrees above was the reading. This low temperature followed sharp ly upon long season of mild wealth CT and found thousands of people un- prepared. The demand upon the asso- ciated charities for food and fuel was never greater.
 Twenty-two frost bitten victims were treated at the city dispensary to-day, and three amputations were necessary. Hundreds of homeless are sheltered at the police station. The river has not yet closed here thought it is full of floating ice, which endangers shipping This evening all trains due from points west and southwest are late. All were delayed by snow blockade.
 Special dispatches show that no sec tion west or south of this city has es- capped the blizzard. For the first time in mans memory ice formed for short time over lower White river in Arkansas to-day. Snow is reported in / west l lSIIllSSSe0 dHu SOuLutIH IlIlIlOIS. The great fruit section of southwest Missouri and northern Arkansas has { especially suffered and nothing can save the crops A fall of snow that would have saved the wheat fields of Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska did not come with the cold wave, and predic- tions of disaster to the cereals were i frequent on change | Kansas City, Mo-, Jan. 25.-The cold est weather this winter has prevailed during the last twenty-four hours in | this section of the southwest. There is no snow, but high, freezing wind has added to the suffering Great damage to live stock is reported. An average of 4 degrees below zero is reported in Kansas, with no prospect of immediate | relief.
 Milwaukee, Wis, Jan. 25.-This morning the mercury here recorded 20 degrees below zero. The relief organ izations of the city are overwhelmed with applications for help, and there is much distress that cannot be allevi- ated.
 St. Louis, Mo-, Jan. 25.-The cold wave which reached here Saturday night continued to-day. The suffering among the poorer classes of people is intense and last night over 400 unfor- tunates were sheltered at the police l stations.
 Reports received to-day show the cold wave extended south to Texas and west to the Rocky Mountains In western Missouri the mercury dropped 60 degrees in twenty-four hours and 1 dispatches received from all parts of the state indicate that great damage has been done to the wheat crop and much of the early budding fruit has l been killed.
 Throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and in northern Texas the temperature | fell from 30 to 70 degrees in thirty-six | hours, and in the latter section light snow has fallen.
 i In western Texas the storm reached the proportions of a blizzard and se- were loss on the cattle ranches is ap- prehended.
 Reports from Kansas are to the ef- | feet that the cold wave was the most severe of the past two years. l Omaha, Jan. 25.-The temperature to- | day is 13 below zero. Throughout