The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-01
KANSAS CITES PLIGHT.
W~ter Supply Cut OR-Dead Floating Down the Rivers.

Kansas City, Mo-, May 31.-With the w;ters of the Kaw and Missouri rivers
 nearly four feet above the disastrous
 level of 1881 and their swollen tide
 spread over twelve square miles of the city and it's suburbs. Kansas City to-
 nAtht is suffering. from the worse flood
 of it's history.
 Tn the valley of the Raw or Kansas
 river, between this city and Kansas
 City, Kans., twelve bodies were. counted as they fioated past during the day. In nearly every instance they were ly int; across pieces of wreckage. On the l rotf of cabin that came swirling do En could be seen the body of wo-
 mt n and her child.
 The financial loss has been increasing all day and bids fair to continue. The
 heaviest loss is at Armourdale, where | tn, losses to the packing industry and | others is placed conservatively at $2,- 50t.00O. Argentine, another suburb, has suffered losses estimated at $500, ,000 Other losses which cannot now be es- tin,ated will increase the total very ma 'erially.
 l.rmourdale, with population of 16,- 900 people, is deserted and its site mark ed only by the tops of buildings and a
 nu, ,1her of fires.
 Seven fires, believed to be chiefly box
 cafa burning, could be seen from the bluffs tonight. There is some danger
 that the flames will spread to the par italy submerged buildings, adding greatly to the already heavy loss. The fire started from the flowing of the flood into lime house. The refugees from Armourdale for
 the most part are huddled together in the immense auditorium of the conven-
 tiof. hall, although several hundred fouhd refuge with friends in more for tunnte parts of the city
 Two-thirds of Argentine is under wa, er. More than 4500 people in this sub 1rb found safety in the higher part | of toe town.
 All bridges over the Kaw river are | down and the only communication with Arr tourdale is by boat.
 Kansas City tonight is without a wafer supply, the flood having disabled | the pumping station and the utmost l carAl is being taken that no fires shall breIlk out. Even small fire, it is l feal+ad, would start conf1agration ! Onl} one street car line in the city is
 run ling tonight owing to the disabling
 of tie power plant by the flood
 Tie railroad yards are blockaded
 witt. trains unable to get out. Not a trai2 has gone out of the city except | to the east to-day and it is said there
 is little prospect of an improvement in ! the laituation for several days. Tle stage of the river at o'clock to- nigi& was 30 feet inches. The pre- vious high record was made in 1881,
 Whe,s the river rose to 26 feet inches. l By to-morrow morning, according to \ the prediction of Superintendent O'Ct nnor of the weather bureau, the
 leve will be 31 feet.
 Tie Union passenger station, by the
 riseI of the flood to-day, was rendered practically useless. At one end the
 wattt' was three feet deep and at the other four feet. In the baggage room l bagsnge was fastened to tackle and suspended in the air out of reach of the water.
 | NJ merous rescues, some of them
 mad: by the narrowest of margins, oc-
 curra a during the day.
 Tvto-thirds of Argentine, a railroad
 and manufacturing town on the south
 banl- of the Kansas river, six miles | from Kansas City, is inundated by ten
 to tftenty feet of water, and probably l $5OO,teO of damage has been done. For ty-fi'e hundred of the sixty-five hun | dred inhabitants are homeless and 1 nearly three thousand are destitute. | Five bridges have been swept away | all tf e railroad tracks and factories are
 unde' water and business is entirely | susptnded.
 Thii Santa Fe railroads loss is very heav1, but can scarcely be estimated 1 until the flood abates. The railroad has l one k1ndured miles of track in the Ar l gentiae yards and several miles of freight cars stand submerged. Some | cars have broken loose from their trucks and floated down the river. The ! curret tt has left the old channel and has
 moveil south, taking all the buildings in | it's psth. The Santa Fe track is under ! wate, all the way to Holiday, eight ' ulllcS 4IOlll Argentine, up Lne hdHSdS river valley. The Turner bridge, three
 miles above Argentine, went out at
 1O:S0 this morning. Its wreckage lodg-
 ed against the county bridge at Argen- , tine, which succumbed at noon. The
 Belt line steel railroad bridge, just be- low tie county bridge, fell immediately afterp ard. Then in succession the ] Twent y-fourth street bridge and coun- | ty bridge at Fifth street were carried 1 away.
 l The railroad bridge was valued at $l5,000 and the other four at $25, ,00O each, making the bridge loss $175,O00. Five hundr:d dwelling houses are under wa ter and with further rise many will 1 be swept away.
 l The river is full of wreckage, and fftantinned on Thir6 pacoN