Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-01

phone communication with the flooded dis.
trict is shut on. making Il dificult to &C.
curately estimate the damage.
At 1880 the water in Union avenue was
three feet deep and people were being
taken out of tho Blossom house and ada
cent buildings in wagons, which will soon
be forced to quit. The water at the present
rate will be in the Union depot main wait.
ing room within an hour.
Three-fourths Of Armourdale was sub.
merged. The packing houses on the Kan
sas river here we're entirely surrounded
and fifteen feet OF water surrounded the
schwarzschild & sulzbsrger and sulzberger
and Swift packing plants. The Kansas City
police spent all night rescuing persons and
at noon no deaths had been reported. The
police have thirty-hve boats in service. At
Schwarzsctild's plant $50 persons, employees
and people in the vicinity who had been
driven from their homes, are imprisoned.
They have been held there since early last
evening. They are safe from harm, but
will not be removed until those in greater
danger in the lower ground of Armour
dale and Argentine have been taken to
places Of safety.
Rains Continue.
4 steady rain has fallen here and west
all night and still continues, and streams
in the stricken territory are rising at an
alarming rate. The property loss In the
wholesale districts of the west bottoms Will
be tremendous.
Both Kansas Cities are cooperating In
the matter OF relief and today the great
auditorium or Convention hall on the Mis-
souri, side. capable OF seating 2q,0O per-
sons. was turned into a relief camp and the
n..-NA ANar. frAvn fhn u n
sas side.
At 1e.ao today a force Of police began
ordering out the main waiting room of the
union depot the hundreds Of persons await
ing outgoing trains. At that time the water
had reached the trains. Passengers on the
outbound Santa Fe limited, who had been
waiting hours to move. and others on other
trains were ordered out also. Many went TO
the second food, which under any condition
will be safe, but the crowds were so great
that a majority OF the people could not
find room there and were forced to go up
town. At / o'clock a half foot OF water
covered the floor, and the ticket oflce,
telegraph Office, baggage room and ex.
press Office we're soon flooded. Although
the water was rising more steadily as 1t
spread out it made 1t impossible to move
trains in any direction. The depot, with
the exception of the second story waiting
rooms, restaurant and other offices, will
have to he temporarily abandoned. The
only outlet left now is over the Santa Fe,
Missouri Pacific, Alton, Burlington and
Wabash tracks in the eastern part of the
city, but as little switching can be done
outside the depot, all trains will be finally
stalled. Incoming trains from the east are
laid out. and the wires being down 1t Is
impossible to state the railway conditions
east of here.
The express companies, whose offices are
located at the lower end of the depot,
are all under four feet of water and ex-
pressege is being removed up town as fast
as wagons can move through Union ave-
nue., which now is a swift current, the
water reaching almost to the wagon boxes.
Only p limited portion of this matter
can be removed, and already much damage
has been done. Freight also is being re-
moved from the various freight houses by
means of wagons, but the work is slow and
difficult.