Evening journal., 1903-09-16
MUCH DAMAGE
DONE BY STORM

The wires of the Camden. Gloucester
and woodbury. Trolley Company were
blown down, delaying travel for some
hours but were subsequently reported
as repaired.
Passengers from Cape May said the
wind was blowing a hurricane from the
northeast at the rate Of eighty miles an
hour. 1t was accompanied by high tide
and in less than half an hour after 1t
broke the streets We're full OF trees,
roofs were blown Off houses, and the old
Queen Anne pier swept away. At the
same time the wind, rain and tide COM
bined to fill the meadows.
A passenger on one Of the early morn
ing trains said: "The suddenness with
which the storm broke was appalling
/ was on my way to the station, and
for the first ten minutes the sun was
shining, and although the wind was
blowing pretty stiff had no thought Of
storm. Then it began to rain In tor
rents. An umbrella was useless, as the
wind rose with the downpour and
turned Il inside out. Then the trees
began to fall right and left. hesitated
whether to turn back home or make the
station. AS / was thinking the matter
over the roof OF a house was hurled
across the street, and as l was nearer to
the station than 1 was to my house I
kept on. / was glad to be on board the
train, as the storm was not so bad as
we receded from the shore"
one Of the reports made by Atlantic
City passengers on their arrival in
Camden was that the roof of an apart
fment house at South Carolina and Pa
ciiic avenue was blown off.
A Cottaaer's Story.
Ex- Sheriff Richard f. Smith. Of the
Camden firm of r. +. Smith & Sons. Is
an Atlantic City cottagcr and came
from the shore this morning on the
o'clock train.
"A young hurricane was blowing
over the island when 1 left there this
morning" said Mr.. Smith.
AS 1 left my cottage on Maryland
i avenue to go to the Reading Railroad
Station at Arkansas avenue, 1 could see
trees blown down by the fury of the
/. wind; awnings were ripped from the
poles and carried along the streets. /
saw an omnibus picked up by the gale
and turned over bodily, horse, driver,
and alk / hadn't time to find out
whether there were other occupants or
how many persons were hurt.
Atlantic City Hard Struck.
A storm of cyclonic force struck At
lantic City early this morning. piline
up great seas. prostrating all telegraph
and telephone wires, flooding the mea-
dows, and delaying inbound and cat
bound trains. The storm reached It's
height about 6.3O when telegraphic and
. telephone connection between Cam
den and the seashore city ceased. Trair
|, dispatcher Young, OF the West Jer.
sey, was obliged TO report all wire
down, and similar conditions were re
ported by the Reading Company's dc
I spatcher. Superintendent Jenke, o
the Bell Telephones Camden Ex
change. also reported the demoraliza
tion of the Company's wire service be
% tween Camden and Atlantic City, n
fewer than 500 telephones in the las
named place. he said. having been pu
out Of business. The last advices re
ceived before the wrecking of the tele
graph and telephone systems was tina
r the storm was one Of the most furiou
Of recent years. and that the wind wa
blowing in cyclonic gusts.
1t was also reported that many o
= the streets at the great resort wer
fioodeds the inlets and sewers being in
adequate to carry off the terrific down
pour. Fears were expressed that
= the gale should not soon spend its fore
Y much damage would result from tn
J unroofing of cottages and hotels.
= Trains on both the Pennsylvania an
7, Reading We're from fifteen to thirt
n minutes late, but as passengers ha
left Atlantic City early when the storr
was reaching its maximum fury the
!. were unable TO give any detailed ac
n count of the damage done, T/ey coul
+ only predict that It would be grea
n unless the gale speedily abated.