Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-02

I millions.
In Kansas City, Mo-, the street J
cars have stopped, the water !
works have shut down, as has also
J the electric light plant
The latest estimates of the num-
I ber of dead at Topeka put them J
J at forty.
In Iowa the worst of the flood !
I is over at Des Moines, where the
] river is falling. At points lower
down the river conditions now are I
! practically as they We're in Des
Nioines Saturday and Sunday.
Railroad traffic Is at a standstill !
] in that section of the state.
state and establish a tent city on some
plot of high ground.
Provisions of all sorts are becoming
scarce in Topeka. No freight trains have
entered the city for several days, and as
large quantities OF groceries were de-
stroyed in North Topeka, there will not
be enough for the people to eat If this sit
uation lasts much longer. 1t is charged
that certain of the merchants have formed
a combination for the purpose of controlling
the prices of provisions A prominent mill
man said this morning:
We do not intend, and have never in
! tended to raise the price of -four, no mat
! ter what the grocers are thinking of do
Ing The pTfe do 20 0of 0o wsh to % msGe aHS
money out of Il calamity; Unless the mar
kets go up our flour will be sold at the
/ same price II is now.
1t Is understood that local commission
| firm bought up all the potatoes i'm town
last Saturday and advanced the price SO
| cents a bushel
| ! II will be at least a week before freight
| trains from the east can enter Topeka,
and perhaps longer An effort will be made
a., TO secure a stock Of provisions from the
| smaller towns down the road south OF
here and this may tend TO relieve the sit
| uation somewhat.
II. was learned tonight that a Rock Island
relief train had reached North Topeka last
night In the vicinity OF the reform school
| The train brought sixty boats and two
steam launches. Boatmen from Lake Con-
trary are in charge and they are doing
splendid work in taking flood victims to
places OF safety. The chief Of police at st.
Joseph and eight officers accompany the
| train.
long train Of Rock Island passenger
coaches was also brought. and in these
coaches the people are being placed. The
cars viii be taken to places further up the
| track, some 10 Atchison and others to St
Joseph, where the refugees will be pro-
vided for
The following information was secured by
w. Q, Neville chief clerk in the office OF
the Rock Island general superintendent
Mr.. Neville went on a boat for severa
miles through this side of the flooded dis
trict this afternoon. He had a good field
glass with him and reports his observations
! as follows:
II
to the north, there was nothing but water
Our relief trains succeeded in getting II
on the north, side of the city near tht'
the people would have been useless.
Miles of the Rock Island track are
track is up on end II viii be a week be
fore we can get trains into Topeka. Three
train loads Of material for rebuilding thu
tracks have been sent from Chicago.
DR.. II. A. Keith, accompanied by A. NJ
Baird, former foreman Of the Santa f,
boiler shop. went over to the north sid,
this afternoon to attend to some sicl
people. Their boat was swamped and wore
comes that they are now In a tree, Ell
forts will be made 10 rescue them tonigh
with one of the steam launches received
from 81. Joseph.
Santa Fe OmeIAIs working.
The Santa Fe is laying a floor on IL
bridge across the Kansas river in the hop
of being able to rescue some sufferers tina
way. General Manager II. V. Nudge ha
been out there all day, personally super
vising the work.
The Santa Fe is doing a great work II
behalf of the sufferers. The facilities o
their shops here are at the disposal of thos
wishing to make a steam launch or othe
machinery for rescue. The officers hav
caused a pumping apparatus to be con
structed and they are now sending a suppl,
Of water through the mains in the cas-
portion of the city.
A squad of firemen went to North Topeka
this morning equipped with 1.4OO feet 0
braided rope, pompier belts and a grim de
termination TO stretch a cable from one en-
of Kansas avenue to the other so tina
baIges could be run to take people out 0
the North Topeka fire station. The pla
was for them 10 hitch their pompier belt
to the trolley wire Of the street car lin
, and thus carry their line down the avenue
When they reached the end Of the Mela
bridge they found that a dozen of tn
trolley poles had entirely disappeared. an
! the scheme was thus rendered impossible
! il is likely that within a short time IN
water will be low enough to permit peopl
to wade from one end of the avenue to IN
other.
The people of Topeka have responde
Loyalty to the calls for supplies. Up to III
present time the relief committee has ha
no trouble at all to supply what clotht
are necessary and feed all hungry. FurthS
e than this no steps have been taken. Man
Of the people have only been cared fC
n temporarily, and the biggest demand o
n the generosity OF the people is yet 10 CON
e when the fitting out OF thousands OF home
: | becomes a necessity.
a Many Homes Thrown open.
= The people are not permitted to stay
the Auditorium any longer than is necei
sary. AS soon as they are brought In an
given dry clothing most Of them are sci
TO the houses OF south side resident
There has been no trouble so far in fndiu
e places for them 10 stay. People have con
c I'm and given their addresses and agreed
c CONTINUED on Second Pagel