The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-06-04

, bridge approaches. Near the cement
castle is great pile of slaked lime.
now dead and harmless. but which once
was hot and steaming. and which start
ed all the trouble when it got wet by
setting IRE to the lime house
DISASTER TO THE BANKS.
AT the Shawnee State bank. the door
is standing open, and apparently the
proprietors don't care a rap whether
people go in and help themselves to the
cash supply. OF course the money is
all locked uD in the vaults and so far
the vaults have not been opened. So it
IS not known whether the books are
; legible, or how much damage has been
done to securities and currency
At the Citizens bank. corner of kan
sas avenue and Norris. there is a great
hole in the sidewalk which has been
very wet. The hole is deep enough that
those who have fallen in say they can [
touch bottom. The water still covers the
sidewalk, so the trap continues to be
very effective one for catching unwary
waders.
The Citizens bank beautifully illus
trates one of the principal features of
the flood All the business houses on the
west side of the street have the mer-
chandise and store fittings piled in a
heap against the front windows. Those
on the east side Of the street are con
centrated' in the back end. It looks as
though the town had been tipped 9p on
edge and the east side of town was
the lower edge
AT THE NEW ERA.
The New Era department store. one
of the largest establishments on the
/ North side. is on the west side of the
avenue It is fair sample of what
/ the present condition IS of other stores.
one Of the big plate glass windows is
smashed to pieces. and good sized boat
might float right in and select dress
/ goods off from the top shelves in the
st0re-if there were any shelves there.
4 But the shelves have tipped over into
the 15 inches or so of Shiny mud, crash
/ ing down upon the overturned glass
show cases, and depos1ung valuable
silks. gloves, laces and ribbons in
CHASTITY confusion with mud and glass
and water.
1t is not likely that any great portion
of the stock is swept away 1t is simply
ruined, and completely spoiled for any
useful service. There are a few shelves
standing in the store. and on the tops of
these there may be a few goods which
the flood could not reach. But the sal
wage from the $4,000 stock carried by
the New Era viii probably not amount
to one per cent
HARDWARE STORES IN BETTER
SHAPE.
/ It seems that the hardware stores did
not suffer quite so much as the dry
goods stores. But the sight IS pitituL
( At j. II. Fouchts. the big window is
smashed out and the receding water is
4 beginning to show thousands of shot
gun cartridges lying in the window
with their water aked boxes Mixed
up with the cartridges are currycombs,
whips harless. air-guns, and pretty
nearly anything else you would expect
to ind in d hardware store. The whole
mess is reposing in soft cushion OF
mud.
At the Sturgis Hardware company.
the front windows are smashed in,aIid
there are half a dozen fine rifles ana
shOtguns plainly disCernible through
the window. within reach from the out
side. The rifles seem to have been too
+ high for the water to reach and they
are worth saving.
At the Henry Hardware company ;
store. SIT Kansas avenue, a stock of
about fifty screen doors has battered
it's way through the front plate glass
window. and has formed a dam against
which all manner of farm implements
and shelf hardware has lodged. There
is still an immense quantity of haru-
ware safe on the shelves. which seem TO
have been better constructed than the
/ general run of store shelving
DRUG STORES ARE WRECKED.
ON the inside. the drug stores present
very much the same appearance as the
and fndescribable mass Of smashed bot
tics. fallen shelving and nasty black
slime and water.
At ". D. Lacey's. at Ss2 Kansas ave
nue.. the immense plate glass window is
shattered and anyone who wants 10
can climb through the hole, stand on
the marble counter and draw SOFA
water out of the elegant silver mounted
fountain. OF course he must work un-
der some difficulties, for the shelving has
fallen down over the fountain, and there
seems to be sort of mass convention
of all the furniture in the building az
that spot
The windows Of Arnold's big drug
store are not broken out, and neither are
the windows of Petro & Woodford's. but
the condition inside is much as 1t IS az
Laceyfs.
The water over in North Topeka is
/ covered with oil, which probably comes
mainly from the large stock kept at
Arnold's. Some humorist suggests that
It comes from the oil well which was
/ being drilled in Shcrey.
A. w Laoey's drug store, where the
+ Rock Island ticket office is located. has
the front window smashed. and if tick
ct scalper was able to get over into that
/ locality, he could fix UP stock Of rail-