The Penn's Grove record., 1903-10-16
HAV0CWROUGHT BYFLOODS
Entire Atlantic Seaboard Damaged
Y by Rains Aftermath.
PATERSON IN GREAT DISTRESS

PATERSON IN GREAT DISTRESS
{ -
Caring For the Sufferers by tho Fourth
Great Calamity That Has Befallen the
City-Losses Estimated ut 2 1000 1000
Railroads Blocked, Factories Compelled
! to Shut Down and Many Homeless.
New York City.-As the details Of
the record-breaking storm are learned
the extent of the damage wrought is
shown to be appalling. Over an area
bounded by Portland, Me-; Nantucket,
Atlantic City and Oswego. N. Y, the
torrential rains have fallen in yaster
volumes than ever in the history Of the
Weather Bureau. Accounts of damage
sustained reach into the millions and
lives have been lost in many places.
High winds prevailed over almost all
this region.
Following the accounts of flood and
hurricane winds come warnings of
other ills. Several communities have
had their. water supply cut off by
bursting dams and broken fumes.
Scarcity Of food exists in Paterson and
some of the villages nearby. New York
suffered q curtailment of its milk sup
ply. Fever and priyation are threat
ened in the wake Of the receding
waters.
Thousands Of persons are homeless,
and in a dozen communities the storm
sufferers are being housed in public
buildings until better provision may
be made for them.
Paterson, N. j., suffered enormous
damage. Several millions. will be
needed to rehabilitate this sorely
stricken city. Thirteen Of the twenty
mi bridges that spanned the Passaic
River have been swept away. Food
supplies are dangerously low and the
city was isolated. The gas houses are
surrounded by water. Dynamite was
placed in position to blow up the re-
straining wall if the fume that sup
plies the city with water should give
way. This was to be done to save the
big factory buildings.
COAA w dAo &C tAOQSdAu pei
sons are homeless and whole sections
of the city, like Riverside, are con-
verted into islands. The food rose two
feet higher than the food of March
1902.
The devastation and destruction
wrought in Paterson by the flood are
terrible and ~incalculable. Estimates OF
the property loss are frequently put
at over S2.000,000, but figures will be
lacking until the waters have sub
sided. A number of buildings on the
banks of the river have been destroyed
Immense Washouts on the streets and
railroads have stopped all travel Oh
trains and trolley cars. Great damage
has been done to factories and theiI
machinery along the river.
The flood had reached Fair street
early in the day and threatened tt
wipe out the business portion of the
city. The city almshouse was com
pletely cut off. The whole of the FRS
Ward, comprising Totowax and Hal
den, is completely isolated and sur
rounded by water.
The first death reported was that Of
Morris Riley, a lineman employed by
tGN Sdo oA0 ACSlAlS A16AI SOAPdAJ
Riley was N the top of a pole fixing
some wires, when the flood undermined
the pole and it fell with q crash in thu
basin of the falls, sixty feet below
hurting Riley to instant death. HI
sank underneath the raging water ant
never came to the surface.
The body of Nellie Hartley, who was
swept from a bridge over the Oldham
Brook at Haledon, was found tangled
in a wire fence ON the meadows of
Monroe street.
The Straight street bridge, the larg
est and most substantial in the city
collapsed early. It had withstood the
storms of twenty-five years, and wal
thought to be as strong, if not stronger
than the more recently built structures
The Hillman street bridge was car
ried away shortly after 9 o'clock. Thu
.wreckage of the town was carried
against the Motif and Wagaron
bridges, carrying them away. A littl'
later the Hudson River Trolley Com
pany's bridge collapsed.
On the railroads the case is hardl.
less serious than in Paterson itself
The Erie system is completely tied up
and but a partial service is installed
On the Delaware, Lackawanna ant
Western road. The Susquehanna roa,
has suspended it's service, and railroad
men, like city officials and merchants
wait upon the mercies Of the ever-ris
ing river.
The work of relief was pushed dur
ing the day as rapidly as possible, ant
some scores Of persons Of the contin
gent whose dwellings had been washes
away were temporarily provided TO
at Apollo Hall, where q subscription
started in the morning hours reaches
several thousand dollars by nightfall.
Paterson. fire swept, tornado sweep
and now for the second time, foo,
swept, has had plenty Of experience il
caring for the victims of its disasters
and is taking the present situation phi
losophically. There is no hustle O
confusion in organizing relief commit
tees. They seem to be standing bod
les. However, the city is shelterini
and feeding 1900 homeless persons. /
is estimated that 5000 persons hav
been made temporarily homeless, bu
more than two-thirds of them are beinl
cared for by their friends.
While the most spectacular damag
was done at Paterson there was grea
loss by foods at other points. A high
er tide in the Delaware than has bee,
recorded for thirty years flooded tn
Philadelphia and Camden river fronts
interrupting ferry traffic and submers
ing piers and business places on Dels
Ind1ct Twenty-Five For Lynching Of Negro
~. -.