The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1903-06-12
A TRAIL OF OESOLAT|ON.

week by order Of the mayor, and
this was an excellent aid to preserv-
ing order. Idle and restless men
had no place to congregate and fire
their brains with stimulants.
For severali days Convention hall
was camp for refugees and Kansas
City citizens contributed thousands
of dollars in cash and carloads of
food, clothing and bedding. Relief
work was carried on on a colossal
scale.
AS the flood waters of the Kaw be-
| gan to recede, the damage to build
| ings and property generally became
more apparent. Twelve thousand
people were flooded ont Of their
| homes in Armourdale. Half as many
were driven from Argentine. Over
| 500 dwellings in the east bottoms of
Kansas City, Mo-, were swept away.
| About 25 brick buildings in the west
bottoms crumbled and fell. On West
Ninth street there are long gaps in
business-blocks where houses are to-
tai wrecks and the hulls of those not
washed away were held by protect
ing brick walls opposite.
Armourdale, Argentine and part of
the Kaw bottoms on the Missouri,
side will have to be laid out again,
as there is now no way of telling
where the streets used to be. 1t is
probable that hereafter houses will
be built only on the hills and the
river bottoms wig be giQen over to
manufacturing plants and wholesale
houses,oa class of buildings that has
stood the flood remarkably well.
| Many of these buildings, however,
built as they are on sand, may col
| lapse later. This would cause enof
nous damage. o
The inhabitants of the lowlands
seemed perfectly contented to return
to their homes as the water receded.
but railroad men and heads of big
industries say there must be a radi-
| cal change in the bottoms. Some ia
vor raising the level of the railroads
| and business houses; others would
widen the Kansas river channel and
some favor building bikes along the
| Kansas river, with the aide of con-
gress. At any rate, the Bridges will
be rebuilt higher. Congressman w.
| S. Cowherd, of Kansas City, says:
| Whatever plan will be followed,
it is safe to say that Kansas City a
year or two from now will shosv
many changes from the city of to-
day"
| Following close after the recess
| sion of the devastating waters in the
west bottoms comes the work of re-
facilitating the flooded business and
manufacturing institutions and the
untangling of the network of inter-
laced and interlocking sidetracks in
the switch yards at the commercial
| gateway of the west. 1t is a scene
of desolaAo now, but a week or two
| of hard work with men and teams
and scrapers and above all water,
will make it right, at least to all out
ward appearances. The cleaning out
of the buildings is comparatively
easy. 1t is only a question of irri-
! CATION and elbow grease, but the
| preparation of the switch yards to
handle the great traffic that is con-
gested and waiting for handling, is
another matter.
| The police have done &onders in
rescuing people and probably
brought 250sof them safe to the high
| gro8nd. One hundred and fifty Of
these were brought to the viaduct at
Twelfth street and the balance were
by boats. Twenty persons were
taken from the Marty school and 80
from O'Brien's lodging house, both
in the east bottoms. The rest of
them were brought in singly aud in
small numbers
The saving of Che Missouri Pacific
bridge across the Kaw river, the
only ono of II fine bridges not car
ried away, will facilitate transporta-
ton and be wofth millions of dollars
to the two cities. The rehabilitati ting
of the bridge will give all the roads
wes0 that have to cross toe Kaw an
outlet. 1t will be the saving of the
Union Pacific, the Rock Island, the
Missouri Pacific and several others.
With the Missouri Pacific bridge in
operation the whole of northern
kansas apsi Nebraska will again open
to the Kansas City business which
has been so great heretofore.
Large numbers of deaa a cattle,
horses, sheep, hogs and other ami
mails in every stage of decay have
fioated away from the stock yards
and have lodged among the wreckage
in the west bottoms. The steDsh
is alIaost overpowering.
One of the thrilling episodes of
the flood was the rescue in a boat
OF Is people by CoL c. F. Morse,
president, and Z. E. Richardson,
treasurer, of the. Kansas City Stool,
Yards company, from the Transit
hotel in the west bottoms near the
stock yards. @