New-York tribune., 1902-02-22
STORM OF SLEET PLAYS HAVOC.
TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION CUT OFF, TRAFFIC INTER-
RUP7ED AND TREES BROKEN DOWN.


~ A relentless grip yesterday. beginning in the
morning and reaching its elimination about
midnight in a wild fury Of wind. hail and sleet
Westchester and New-Jersey We're as helpless
as Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Earlv in the night telegraphic communication
with the large cities in the South. Southwest
West and the northern part Of the State was
c1r of entirely The Sandy Hook Quarantine
snd Fire Island wires were blown down. and
almost the whole of the eastern division of the
Western Union was seriously crippled.
Overburdened by the weight of frozen sleet
and lashed by the winds. the branches of trees
IN all the parks of the city We're torn loose,
rttering sidewalks and ground. The streets
were A mass Of coated ice. which constantly
grew in thickness the down pouring sleet
froze and several accidents the results
of falls on the slippery surface
The sidewalks in the lower part of the city
we're in the worst condition known for years it
was said by many. Slush to the depth of
inch or more covered the walks, and the cross
ings were almost impossible. The work of the
Street Cleaning Department undone. and
the streets in a worse condition than before the
snow shovellers went to work after the blizzard.
In Central Park the big trees groaned and
creaked under the weight of thick ice all over
the limbs. Many branches cracked and fell
crashing 10 the ground This same condition
prevailed through other parks in the city. nota-
trees lost big limbs. and along upper Seventh
ave One big tree that stands in front Of St
Pau's Chapel, stood the weight OF the icy coat
ing but huge branch bent out over the Broad
Tav fence until its lower twigs almost touched
the heads of passersby-
BRIDGE TRAFFIC NEARLY STALLED.
Traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge was almost
al a standstiT. Heavy trucks could hardly be
got over even when four stout hosses did their
best 20 get a foothold On the slippery roadway.
Street car traffic was much interrupted The
cars on the Madison, Second and Third ave.
lines had perhaps the greatest difficulty. Sched-
ule time almost lost sight Of. and cars were
run any way so long as they were got through
The Broadway cars were not interrupted TO
any great extent. but were terribly overcrowded
IN the rush hours. The greatest difficulty was
seen on the crosstown horsecar lines. Four
horses were attached to all cars, and had hard
work getting along
IN Prince-st. one Of the horsecars was stalled
at West Broadway for over an hour. AS the
car stopped at that point about q hundred and
fifty young women and men, employees for the
most part Of the big wholesale houses in that
section Of the city, crowded on the car. When
the horses started forward they couldn't bulge
the car. The conductor and an inspector tried
10 get part OF the crowd 10 get off and take
car ahead but they refused TO move. The car
stood there for over an hour, blocking all traffic
in the street Finally some of the crowd was
prevailed to get out. Then traffic was re-
sumed
In the upper sections Of the city the police
telegraph wires broke down. Officials Of the
Police Department said last night that the wires
were working in fairly good shape
Fifth-ave. was a sheet Of ice. It was early
deserted by carriages. and by midnight nothing
save an occasional automobile was to be seen
on the thoroughfare. In Broadway, after the
theatre hours. the scene was one of great con-
fusion. Cabs and carriages drawn UP in front
of the theatres were handled with great diff
Guilty. The horses slipped and fell, and many
handsomely gowned woman afraid 10 risk
herself in her carriage and chose an automo-
bile instead. These latter vehicles had less
trouble than the carriages. although they were
hard 10 handle. The big rubber tired wheels
slipped and the internal mechanism of the ma
chimes whirred protestingly as they numbered
along the streets. Few of them tried the Fifth
ave. pavement, preferring streets not asphaIted
ELECTRIC LIGHT WIRES DANGLE
Many electric light wires were broken by the
weight Of the coating of ice covering thems and
many others hung low. The police in the sta
tons on the upper East Side reported that they
had had many complaints to the effect that
these wires were dangerous. 1t was also stated
by the police that many telephones in the resi-
Dental district were not working.
In Fifth-ave the sidewalk along Central Park
where the trees overhang was almost impassa-
BILE The branches hung so low that they scraped
the heads Of pedestrians.
In The Bronx the trolley lines very ir-
regularly.
Newark was the only city west Of New York
that remained in telegraphic communication in
the height Of the storm It was feared, how
ever that at any moment the wires would
break down.
The only way in which messages could be
transmitted Westward was by way of the back
route 10 Chicago. In that manner the West
ern Union was n direct communication with the
West The Southern and Southwestern points,
however. were completely cut off. The Phlla-
oelphla wire broke down early in the night,
and messengers bearing kilograms to and from
this city carried them over the Pennsylvania
and Jersey Central railroads.
The lines east Of Albany were in fairly good
condition, but considerable trouble was ex-
perienced. 1t was reported that there no
difficulty with the lines west Of Chicago
The storm, il was said, wrought more havoc
with the telegraph lines than any in ten years.
large number Of the big clocks in various
parts Of the city exposed to the gale and sleet
were stopped by the formation Of ice the
hands. the City Hall and The Tribune clocks
stopping at $50 and 7:45, respectively.
On many OF the street corners large pools and
lakes were formed by the choking up Of the
drains by the sush, and pedestrians foundered
INTO the mush up TO their knees. A crowd Of
newsboys and bOotblacks gathered at Cham
0ers-st. and Broadway soon after . in the even
ing, in spite Of the binding sleet, amusing them
selves by watching the men and girls gong
nome from work wading about IN the
slushy and water. Whenever one unfort-
unate stumbled they broke ont in cheers and
hoots, until driven away by the police
As the night advanced the storm becarne
hercer and the seet drove down in whirling