The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-09
SITUATION
 IS APPALLING LeveeS at St. Louis Give
 Way. MANY PERSONS DROWNED Others Cut Off from Chance
 of Rescue. Hard Work in Getting Steamers to Madison to Succor the Inhabi- tapts-East St. Louis in
 Great Danger.
MANY PERSONS DROWNED

St. Louis June S.-So great an extent of territory is covered by the flood, Sc constantly changing are the conditions as the water creeps higher and renders the situation the more chaotic and so un- reliable are the various rumors of the devastation that a substantiated sum- mary of the loss of lives and property cannot be obtained but tonight informa- tion from apparently reliable sources showed the situation to be as follows:
 River stage, 37.5; stationary. Twenty lives known to have been lost. Over 2O0, GOO acres of rich farming lands under wa ter; all of Venice and the greater part of Madison and of Granite City under water. Twenty-Five thousand people homeless; freight traffic paralyzed and passenger traffic crippled. The shipping and manufacturing district of East St Louis for three miles along the river front under from two to eight feet of water.
 Hundreds of head of stock drowned. East St. Louis threatened with inunda- tion. St. Louis flooded only along the water front. Entire property loss esti- mated at $3.O00,OOO
 The flood has probably reached the gen. Eth of its devastating power and the sit- uation is appalling. The climax came last night when by the breaking of a tcNSt ItdI dI dIlle 1lIy, d wall or water Six feet high rushed down on Madison and engulfed the already stricken city, sweeping houses from their founda tions and drowning fifteen refugees who were vainly fleeing for their lives. The report was current that fifteen workmen in the St. Louis Foundry Works had been drowned, but later 1t was found that while seven employees had lost their lives. Thirteen others, men, women and chill nren. had perished. Hundreds of per sons were forced to the roofs of their floating houses and an appeal was sent to St. Louis for assistance. Every ef- fort was made to force steamers against the heavy current four miles to the strfcken town. but it was noon before the steamers Mark Twain and Annie Russell. dashed together and their en- zines working under every ounce of steam, after five hours of battle with the rurrent, were able to reach Madison.
 For the remainder of the day and into the night the work of rescuing refugees from floating or flooded houses, tree tops and various high places, proceeded and there being no place to take them nearer than St. Louis, they are tonight pouring into the city by hundreds, wet, hungry and disSpiirted.
 It is more than probable that the esti- mate of twenty lives lost Is below the actual number. On all sides persons are found who tell Of having seen men strug- gling in the water too far from land to receive assistance, or of women ar- parently drowning under various circum stances.
 River thieves are footing the various vacant houses
 At East St. Louis today Mayor Cook ordered all business suspended and called on every male citizen to render service in preventing the inundation of the city Mayor Cook went about seeing that signs were posted offering men 31 cents an hour to build the levees, but the offers of employment were ignored by most of the throngs of unemployed negroes and white men.
 But citizens hurried to the work of say. ing the city and tonight the city is still dry, but still menaced by the flood.