The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-06-02
KANSAS CITY IN A PLIGHT
Almost BLOODHOUND Without Gas or Electric Lights,
Short Of Food and No Drinking Water.


and a vantage ground for sightseers. Near
ly 1000 persons were strung along the
tracks. Lieutenant Adams scented danger
in the embankment. He ordered the crowd
from the tracks. For a good hour argu-
ments and commands having proved futile,
he and his men were engaged in pushing
the crowd from the tracks across the shell
tered bottomlands TO the higher ground
south OF the brewery. He found IL impos-
sible, however. in many cases TO persuade
the people I'm their own homes TO desert
their property. They insisted that the en-
bankment protected them. Some of those
people, the officer said. ct had to pull off
from telegraph poles this morning.. 1t
was not more than fdlf an hour after the
lieutenant had driven the crowds from the
embankment that IL crumbled away. the
east bottoms for miles were under water.
ing pistols from the roofs and upper win
dows Of their dwellings.
The brewery, the police station itself.
stores, saloons and scores of cottages were
flooded and there WAS not boat within
miles. Lieutenant Adams promptly trans
ferred headquarters to shed and began
working wires in every direction to get
boats. A few. people, nearer the high
ground than others, were rescued on RATS
during the night, but t,Ie active rescue
work began this morning, when fifteen
boats arrived. Men, women and children
were rescued from tree branches, telegraph
poles, box cars and roofs.
FEARED TO LEAVE HOMES.
What appealed to some OF the policemen
as ludicrous was that ir. many instances
the rescuers had fairly TO drag people into
the boats. Like horses huddled in blaz-
ing stable. they seemed to fear to leave
their homes, which, in most cases, ap-
peared unequal to the torx of standing
| long against the flood. Once on shore, the
refugees were cared for In elevators, pri-
vate homes and tents Food and hot coffee
was served to them by the relief COM
| mittee. A number Of men were quartered
| in freight cars, the floors of which just
cleared the water.
Approximately $50 refugees from Armour
| dale were rescued at the Twelfth-street
viaduct They were brought to this point
| In boats by rescuing parties that had gone
| up stream and picked up their passengers
| formation from Armourdale since the flood
drove the citizens of that suburb from
their homes was brought to this side of the
| in the following interview with Louis j.
Wilbur. representing Swift & Co.: .'rhe
principal property, loss at Armourdaie is
ability to operate. The three
| packing plants of Swift. of Cudahy and of
| Schwartzchild Sulzberger are firmly
built, and will not give way to the force of
| day as regards the volume of business. and
| much dressed beef, hides, tallow and the
/
| stock. were saved in the upper stories of
/ the plants. The only people now in the
| packing house district proper are there of
Of ofeil them 1m distriputed threueh these plants
| for the purpose of caring for the live stock,
and. so far as possible, looking out for the
plants themselves. 1 cannot speak so posi-
| lively of portions of Armourdale not in the
/ immediate vicinity of the packing plants.
| 1 have no doubt that there are still num-
| bers of refugees waiting to be rescued. 1
1
/ since last night
! Later in the day c. E. Dickinson and a
policeman, following the same route. float
/ ed down through the wholesale district of
| Armourdale. From the windows of several
nigh buildings he saw white flags, but could
not get near enough to distinguish what
FOOD MAY RUN SHORT.
The food supply is rapidly becoming a
question of vital Importance. There was
a run on every retail grocery and meat
store in Kansas City this morning. Per-
sons almost overrun the supply houses in
panicky rush to buy up enough food to
| last until the flood shall subside. The
storekeepers handled the situation as sys-
| tematically as possible. They attempted
without favoritism to divide up the supply
| equally among the buyers. No large
amounts were sold to any one buyer. There
Is but one wholesale grocery store in the
| city that is not under water. The Gregory
| Grocery COmpany's store is alone above
water, and the employees of the establish
ment were almost swept from their feet
| this morning by the rush OF buyers. Mr.
| Gregory refused to sell large quantities OF
anything and maintained regular prices.
alarming one. Their supply is limited to
two on three days on everything except
| canned goods. If the rush of buyers con-
tinues until tomorrow the supply of food
and rnxrfci uyilI no Qxh 10 tod
provisions can be brought in until railroad
communication Is re-established.
The supply OF meat may run out to-mor,
row. Butchers have only limited amount
| of fresh meat on hand, and few hams and
sides of bacon. No more can be brought
from the packing houses. of course. The
flood came at the time of the week wher
| the packers larders were lowest. To-nigh
a steamboat was sent up to the broker
| fresh meat will be brought.
The coal situation is also alarming. Goa
companies have but few tons on hand II
their yards up town.
At Ii o'clock this morning prices for many
staple articles Of food began rising. Po
tatoes which were sold last week at 80 cent:
bushel were offered at $3.50. The advance
was gradually increased. Saturday eggs
were at l311c dozen wholesale. and to-day
the price is % cents Up town the retail
price was 40 cents a dozen This morning
there were about 1.OOO cases of eggs i'm tht
hands of dealers up town. There are fire.
quently 5000 cases in the cold storage ware
Il
| AT noon Mayor Reed issued peremptory
= order TO close the saloons in Kansas City
which was complied with in an hour. TIL,
| mayors action was due to the large infiu,
of refugees, who, with nothing to occup,
their time, would, IL was feared, get int
trouble. An added reason for taking every
precaution against disorder was the lack O
water to fight fires which might carelessl.
| be ignited
HOMELESS AT ARGENTINE.
| At Argentine, Kan, where the Santa r,
yards and buildings and two-thirds of tn,
dwelling houses are under water and 400
people homeless, a number of houses wer,
washed away to-day. Many hundreds =
freight cars stand submerged and the
boxes break loose from the trucks ai4,
float away. The cars now moving dowI
the Missouri river are from the Argentin,
yards. Not one inhabtant Of Argentine ii
missing. No further damage can be don,
except that more houses may be carrie,
away, the channel having shifted to tn,
south so that the swiftest current is jus
north OF the Santa F'e roundhouse.
Several boats arrived from Kansas City
| Kan. this evening and their occupant
| were able to give the first accurate infor
nation regarding conditions i'm that cit,
| which has been available within thirt,
hours. The situation there is almost iden
| teal with that on this side of the Missouri
river. The streets of Riverview and wv
| andotte. which. with Armourdale form
| Kansas City, Kan, are thronged with ref
ugees, all the churches are filled with peo
| pie who have been driven from their
homes and crowds OF them are in the pub
| lie buildings. where they are being care,
1 for htr fha cit fs fr,of fal ~.