The sun., 1901-04-22
PittSburg Center Of Storms
RuinOuS Sweep.
BIG LIFE LOSS FEARED
Thousands Are Homeless and
Without Food.

vereIy - Ohio, Monongnhela. A1Ie-
Gheny, shenango and Neshannock
Rivers Rise Rapidly, Compelling
People of Nearby Towns ana Cities
to Seek safety Mining shafts
swamped-Dam at Irwin, Pa. Hold
ter. Weakening Flood Records
Being Approached.
pittshurg, April 21.-This city is the
center of widespread and disastrous
storm. 1t covers an area of 100 miles
in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio
ana West Virginia. Rain or snow has
been falling almost without intermis-
sion for three days. Mountain streams
have become torrents. creeks are out
of their banks. and the big rivers are
oceans of turhid water Flood records,
il is expected, will he broken hefore
the water subsidies.
The financial loss cannot he cstimat-
ell In addition to the hundreds of
thousands and perhaps millions of dol
| lars it will cost to put large manufac-
turing plants in commission again tens
of thousands of skilled workmen are
thrown out of employment and lose
their wages Just nj Il time when all
| the iron and steel mills are rushed with
| orders.
Thousands of people are lying in the
/ upper rooms Of their water soaked
| houses without heat light or food.
| Where gas fuel is used the pipes are
flooded ana cut Oft. and what coal there
| may he is under five to ten feet of wa
| irr.
At Schoenville. the home of the
town is completely surrounded by wa
ter The workers and their families
constitute Il community Of several
thousand persons. If the flood does
not quickly subsde. the company store
\ will be unable to meet the demand for
nod.
Heaviest SnOwstOrm known.
In many parts of Pennsylvania and
Ohio probably the heaviest snowStorm
ever known ;lt this season of the year
mas been raging for two days. At Oil
City the Oil Exchange went out Of
business temporarily because it was
impossible to secure quotations from
New York. pittSburg ana other points.
ON one railroad in Ohio passenger
trains are stalled engines sent to their
rescue being buried in the snow, and
all must wait with a hope for speedy
mildcr weather. In the meantime the
passengers must depend on nearby
farmhouSes for sufficient food to keep
them from starvation
Several narrow escapes from death
have been reported ana it is sadly
probable that when the yellow. sticky
ltooa subsidies il may reveal II number
pf ghastly secrets Iii thousands or
nlaceS in the storm stricken districts it
Is but n short step from safety To
death.
Tie bic manufacturing plants in this
an Industrial center of the world. have
suffered heavily. The cost Of the re-
: pairs i 4 small matter in comparison
10 the delay in filling the orders with
, which all The plants are crowded. The
: workers Will lose their wages for d
week or more, and many of them car
lily afford the loss. Many merchants
in the submerged districts are losers ol
. stock in cellars. and thousands hav,
: spent money 10 pay for help To remov,
J their goods.
: But tie most serious item Of all vii
: follow in the flood. That is the littl,
homes that are almost ruined and til,
sickness that inevitably succeeds An,
this falls upon the poorer class of PEG
pie.
worlds Largest Tin viii closed
\ dispatch from Newcastle say
both the Shrnango and NeShannocl
+, rivers have done great damage to prop
I rlty. The Shrnango uvertiowrd nrl
n the center Of the manufacturing dis
e rrict ana cnuscd the Shenango tin mill
& He largest in the world. ana the Bald
h win n Graham stove foundry to close
y \ few hours later the big steel nil
WIS also forced to stop work. Th
rivers are vet rising. and Indication
!. point tn the enforced idlonpSS of al
I most every industrial plant Of the cit.
: through III" flood Tie water Is higll
# pr than it has been for wears. AMI pco
II pie who live near the streams are mov
'e ing their goods ont ANA ',rSrrtin
T. their homes.
l. The railroads have suffered severely
:. and not one train has reached this cit
" for many hours over the PitlShurg an
II Western from any direction. The AllC
l. ghcuy Valley trains south bound cam
! through here. as they could MOI rene
r, l'ittshllrg over their own tracks. III
y Pennsylvania was badly crippled by
ol zig wnShout near Rock Point. whc
- several thousand cubic yards of tn
- roadhrd let go ana slid into the Reave
N river Reports from the rural district
n show that the storm has caused heav
m damage in the farming communities.
Irwin. Pa. reports that the contir
ual downpOur Of rain has done muc
as damage to Irwin and vicinity. Youghi,
y gheny Shaft is again flooded. and il
y ~ feared the entire workings of the slla1
10 Will he drowned ont. The last hi
Snowstorm flooded the same mine. nm
100 men We're thrown out of work +,
~ Z 40 wnss Gao The same work will have I
of terS have caused the Hockensmit
10 Wheel and Mine Car company to su
" pend operations. The railroad brid,
u over Brush creek is in danger.
Y The big Penn Plate Glass compar
!" dam. south Of this town is in shak
S- condition, ana grave fears are felt le
H..