New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-09
ryOOD CONDITIONS.

Tor , socopd time since the new year opened,
vornal mildness and heavy rain have comDlneu
70 nroduce freshets in the East Inc Crisis
Was urecIpitated by Mondays storm ana
warmth but for several days previous soou
many strcams-notably the Susquehanha were
ca f,,U &C 70 cause uneasiness. The region IN
which the first real trouble was experience
was Eastern Pennsylvania, New-Jersey anu
Southern New-York. The sources or the ii"d-
son and Western Ncw-Encland. however To-
snonded promptly to the thaw and precipitation
a. a., storm moved eastward Already in sew
ersl places the worst IS over. Inc LehlIh
SobuvIkIu and upper Delaware rivers have sub
sided greatly. The outlook is less certain on
flo Susouohanna. Passsic Connecticut, Housa-
Toni, and Naucatuck. The Susquehanna is not
only large hut tortuOus also. and II Is forced t'
Ioyv through gorges here and there. 1t Is more
readily choked for that reason. Much DOUBT
still exists relative 10 the havoc i VIII Work IN
the next day or two.
The mischief done thus FAR IS OF the Same OH
kind Bridges have been carried away-Tren-
ton alone losing five-the lower stories Of dwell
incs and factories have been flooded. mines
have been obliged 10 suspend operations. rail-
road traffic has been delayed hy the iuundauon
Of tracks. while In Allentown great incon-
venience resulted from the paralysis Of tie cen
traI station which supplied that city with cleo
trio light. As yet little life has been lost,
although there have been many narrow escapes
and heroic reScues from places Of abode that
were suddenly imperillcd.
As has often happened before. thc breaking
M Of heavy ice on many streams affected has
aggravated the situation Dams are formed 10y
the fragments. some OF them forty or fifty feet
high. Fortunately they are not absolutely tight,
but such barriers considerably raise the level
o. the water behind them. Again. when these
gorges give. way, they permit moro sudden
rise than would otherwise occur further down
stream Along the Susduehauna several tenn
porary dams have disappeared, but others yet To-
MAN, causing much actual and present trouble
and threatening more I'm the future. Several
attempts 10 blast channels through acCumula-
ticns OF ice this season have been reported,
though without conspicuous success. The ez-
pcdient is an old one, but has rarely or never
given satisfaction. Dynamite apparently acts
too suddenly for its influence 10 be felt more
than few inches or, ut most, a few feet. If
an explosive which operated more slowly, like
some Of the newer gunpOwderS were subSti-
tuted. perhaps the effect would be different.
Civil engineers in the employ OF municipalities,
railroads and other corporations that suffer from
floods may well give this matter careful study.
Though it IS too soon TO feel assured that
spring has really come. il IS not unrca sonable
10 hope that there may he no more heavy snow
falls or severe freezes in this part OF the coun-
try. If the precipitation Of the next four or five
weeks comes mainly in the form Of rain. the
effect upon rivers viii be gradual. If no
thick ice appears again this season another ele-
ment Of danger viii he eliminated. ON the
whole, the damage reported during the last
forty-cight hours is no greater than has often
been observed before from the same influences
though in several places new records have been
made by high water. Should the next forty
eight hours pass without disaster there will be
great cause for congratulation