The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-15
SITUATION AT WASHINGTON.
Effort to Clear the streets of snow
Few Trims RunnIng

I0adS mas reached the city to-day or up TO
1880 o'clock tonight. All the companies are
putting forth their best efforts, however,
and confidently expect to resume through
business north and south tomorrow The
Pennsylvania started a train for New York
at 4:3O to-day, and the Baltimore ES Ohio
and Southern expect to get one off tonight
The storm swept past Washington about
midnight last night, nd this morning the
sun shone bright from a clear blue sky on
city buried approximately three feet deep
IN snow. When householders awakened this
morning they found themselves banked in
ny huge snowdrifts. But, finding the skies
Serene, they started to work with energy
and cleared a way out, and by noon travel
afoot and in carriages was practicable,
though difficult. A single cable line rum
ming to the western end of the city was tho
only one in operation, the underground cleo
trio and horse lines being absolutely blocked
by the masses of snow filling conduits and
tracks. In places the drifts were eight feet
high The official Weather Bureau records
show that from Washington south the
weather conditions were Unprecedented in
the history of the service They show that
since Sunday Feb 5, thirty-five inches Of
snow have fallen in Washington, and of this
fourteen inches fell between Sunday night
and last night. There are no records in
Washington at all to be compared with IL is,
the snowfall being almost twice -hat of any
before known in this city. The temperature
yesterday was not as severe as 1t lad been
several days during the previous week. The
lowest point registered by the thermometer
yesterday was five degrees aoove zcIo early
in the morning. To-day it was rnder. the
8
teen degrees above at 10 o'clock this morn
ing.
RELIEVING THE POOR.
The river is frozen clear to its mouth
and the ice is covered with a heavy coating
of snow. 1t will be some time before COM
munication can be had with the many small
hamlets along the shore, where much suf.
fering will be occasioned by the storm The
charitable organizations are doing all they
can to relieve this state of things and the
Post and Evening Star have opened special
relief subscription lists. Generous response
has been made to these appeals. The Presi-
dent sent check for $1O0 to one of the re-
lief organizations, the British members of
the high joint commission contributed liber-
ally and the husband of Julia Arthur, the
actress who is playing here, sent a check
The storm suspended large part of the
business of the city and also many social
functions. The President to-day ordered that
the reception to the general public which
was to have been held tonight, be post
poned until the weather is more auspicious.
Coal has gone up over dollar ton. Eggs
have advanced from % to 50 cents dozen;
pork has gone up cents a pound; Irish
potatoes have jumped from As to So cents,
and vegetable prices have advanced 70 per
cent.
The telegraph is the only thing that saves
the capital city from being shut off from
the outside world, the wires working well in
all directions. The railroads are at a stand
still, no mails have arrived or been sent
out from Washington since l o'clock yes
terday afternoon and all railroads announce
"all trains annulled.'
At Northpoint, a few miles this side of
Baltimore, the Colonial express, from
Boston, scheduled to leave here at 1850 and
starting out some hours late, has been
stalled since yesterday afternoon. An cleo
trio train on the Washington & Alexandria
road, with a large number of passengers,
is stalled near F'our-mile Run, Va. The pas
sengers slept in the powerhouse there. The
railroad authorities hold out no hope of
opening up communication even as far as
Baltimore tonight though many gangs
are at work clearing the tracks.
CLEARING THE STREETS.
Tonight the city is making a pretense
towards assuming it's normal condition,
though several days will elapse before busi-
ness can be conducted with regularity and
system. The temperature has moderated
considerably with prospect of a further rise
in the thermometer tomorrow. BY dinr
of great effort and the employment of every
man who presented himself for work the
city authorities and the street-car COM
panies have cleared passageways along the
streets and the railroad tracks and by to-
morrow it is expected the principal lines
again will be in operation. On those pro-
PEELED by horse power almost d week will be
necessary to clear the tracks so that the cars
can run regularly. The two principal cleo
trio lines ran snow plows over their tracks
tonight and cleaned them pretty thoroughly
and later cars were put on for the benefit of
the beIated passengers. Few persons COM
paratively were on the streets and still less
from the remote sections ventured out, fear
ing they would not be able to get back un-
less they walked. Many of the streets in
the residence districts resemble country viii
lagos with the snow piled high and with a
solitary winding roadway over which the
teams pass
The interruption of railroad communication
detained many persons in the city who were
anxious to leave and the hotel registers are
free from the names of incoming guests. The
theaters are feeling the loss of patronage
caused by the storm and one of the best
known has been compelled to close it's doors
because of the nonarrival of the company
advertised to appear and which is snow
bound in Baltimore
Fortunately up to this time the police re-
pert shows that there have been no casual
ties from the storm, the harm thus far in
ficted being frost-bites and exhaustion and
the great destitution among the poor. who
were lily prepared to withstand the ele-
ments.
with the exception of some inconseuuen-
tial local traffic not train has reached the
city on the three principal railroads to-day.
Passengers who were fortunate to get in
tell remarkable stories of snow-drifts and
the extent of the storm along the route
A local train on the B. & O.. which left
Laurel about eighteen miles from the city.
at $3.50 o'clock last night, reached the CITY
tonight, after working for twenty-four
hours in making it's way through the piles of
snow. The officials of all roads east. north
and south, however. believe conditions will
improve materially by tomorrow when
through traffic will resume The Pennsyl-
vania Railroad started train out for New
York at 4.30 this afternoon which * row