The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-14
NEW WORKERS. SUFFERING.
Streets Piled with snow and Poor PeO-
pie Freezing and Starving.

cars are not nedted ana are not we'll pat
ronized. The elevated roads are running,
but trains pay no regard to schedule time
In the surburbs, where the winds have free
sweep the drifts are five to ten feet high;
street railroads have stopped altogether
and suburban steam railroads are blocked.
Many neighbonng towns are cut off from
New York altogether. Few trucks and de-
livery wagons were seen on the streets to-
day. Floating icecakes in the rivers hinder
the ferries greatly.
Few persons ventured from their homes to-
day unless obliged to do So Courts had to
be closed because of the cold and the spe
cial Lincoln day celebration and the thea
ters were thinly attended. To-day was
legal holiday with the banks and exchanges
and an enforced one in the business dis
tricts generally. AS there were no shoppers,
the big stores closed their doors and sent
the clerks home. Tonight the streets. even
in the theater district, are almost deserted.
The snow fall in New York this month
has been nearly two feet, or more than the
entire fall for last winter. The temperature
is higher than last Friday and Saturday,
but the driven snow stings like a whip and
persons obliged to be out doors suffer Sc
verely.
All the charitable societies are taxed be-
yond their resources, owing to the sudden
demands made upon them. OF the 5000 des-
titute families in this city, as estimated by
Blair, superintendent of the outdoor poor,
nearly all are either freezing or starving to-
day. The continued storm has handicapped
all efforts to aid and the blizzard of to-day
has necesaitated a complete suspension.
The thousands of poor Jews, Italians,
Greeks, Syrians and Armenians who make
a LIVING nv fr,,it
other small articles from push carts and
stands have been driven out of business al
Agether and brought to the verge of star
walton. Persons employed out doors have
lost employment temporarily. They number
many thousands and some of them will swell
the list Of destitute. At the city lodging
house 80 persons were housed last night
or these 266 were men, twenty-five were
women and the remainder children
RAILWAY SERVICE DEMORALIZED.
The task Of keeping railroad trains in
motion was almost herculean. Particularly
was this the case with the lines running out
of the Grand Central station. With each
hour the severity of the conditions increased
and those in charge of the work were re-
luctantly compelled to admit that total
stagnation of traffic stared them in the face
1t was stated that the Old Colony express,
west-bound, was stuck in a snowdrift some
where east of New Haven, and that all
trains on the New London division were
having much trouble. The officials of both
roads declared at 4 p. m. that no through
trains had been abandoned but admitted that
the local service was badly demoralized.
The throngs of people who crowded wait
ing rooms asking when trains would depart
for various different points in very few in
stances were able to get satisfactory
answers. When told that a continuation of
the existing conditions was to be expected
tonight officials of the roads said that it
was likely that traffic would come to a
standstill before tomorrow Tonight or
ders were issued TO suspend all operations
on the main line and branches of the Long
Island railroad until the storm subsided.
Drifts nearly ten feet high were prevalent
throughout the island and the wind blew the
snow on the track almost as fast as plows
could remove it The drifts in the Shin
necock hills are reported to be twelve feet
high and the indications are that the road
will not be open for several days
All of the sound steamboats, are tied up by
the storm and it was announced that none
of the Fall river, Stonington or Norwich
lines would venture to make trips until the
storm ceases and the entrance to Hell Gate
is free from ice.
No out-of-town mails were received here
to-day. with the exception of two early
morning consignments from Boston. None
Of the incoming mails from the north anc
northwest over the New York Central or
from the south and southwest over the
Pennsylvania or Baltimore & Chic railroads
was delivered at the postoffice to-day.
There is some danger of a bread famine
in the city if the storm continues. This is
not due to the fact that there is not sufff-
cient amount of flour in the various ware
houses. but because of the impossibility of
having it delivered. This would be most
severely felt in the East Side tenement dis
tricts. whose bakers buy flour in small
quantities, most Of which is for immediate
use. There is a daily delivery by the flour
merchants to these bakeries, and owing to
the impossibility to get -four to them to-day
the bakers had TO fall back on retail mer-
chants for the supply This demand on the
retailers Will diminish, if not exhaust, the
supply of the grocers in very short time.
1t is then that the trouble will begin This.
together with the fact that the larger
bakeries will not make up their usual qus n j.
ties OF bread because of their inability to
deliver it. will cause a further drain on the
smaller bakeries
Chief of Police Devery tonight issued an
order to the captains OF the various pre-
cincts in Greater New York to give shelter
In station houses to all who apply for it.
and to afford general assistance to destitute
persons He also impressed upon his
subordinates the necessity for using extreme
vigilance IN the matter Of keeping fire plugs
free from snow in order to accelerate the
movements OF the fire department.
Mayor Van Wyck to-day notified Commits
sioner John W. Keller Of the department
of charities, that he had $4,000 subject 10
the commissioners draft for the purpose of
relieving the poor. Tammany Han gave half
the amount and Richard Croker and James
r. Keene contributed 5000 each
STATEN ISLAND BOTTLED Up.
Staten island was more completely bottled
up to-day than at any time during the past
thirty years. The trolley lines have not
moved a wheel since early morning and the
steam railroad, which kept one branch
Continued ON Secand PaRaf