Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1905-01-27
THE STORM IN NEW YORK.

The intense cold held very steadily
during the morning. The mercury
clung closely to the zero mark, rising at
a rate of hardly one degree per hour.
The wind continued, and the conditions
were hardly less unpleasant than on We'd
nesday..
Terrible suffering is reported among
the residents of some OF the poorer
quarters Of the city, where thousands
we're without sufficient heat, clothing or
food. Charitable institutions where free
lodging is given the homeless were pack
ed to their capacity during Wednesday
night. In the City Lodging House, the
capacity of which is only 500 persons,
there we're 700 men. Many OF the men
had their hands or feet frozen. The
number of uniortunates was so large that
more than 200 cots were placed on
pier at the foot or east Twenty-sixth
street for the use of the homeless men.
While nothing like full reports from all
sections of the city have been received,
it was known that at least eight deaths
had resulted directly from the abnormal
weather. All of these victims were per-
sons who fell in the street benumbed by
the cold and exhausted from the effort of
attempting to force their way along the
snow -drifted streets.
One of the most serious conditions
which confronted New Workers yester-
day was the food and fuel supply. AL
ready there is practically famine OF
milk.
Coal dealers reported that they had
about two-days supply on hand, but
they seemed very-certain that the cCndi-
tions will improve sufficiently within
that time to allow them to get renewal
from the wholesalers, who have thou
sands of tons in barges on the New Jer-
sey side of the Hudson river.
Provisions of all kinds have been adj
vanced in price by the wholesalers, and
in many cases tha retailers hove added
2 or cents a pound to the advance Of
the larger dealers.
TIE recovery of the surface lines even
in the centre of the city was very slow,
and The underground and elevated trains
we're seriously taxed to handle the in
creased traffic. The subway particularly
was favored. The great crush made the
movement of trains extremely slow, and
no attempt was made to maintain sched-
ules.
Every railroad running 10 New York
was suffering severely. Not one Of the
through trains had succeeded in getting
through in either direction, aud subur-
ban traffic was in a serious state.
Conditions in Brooklyn were worse
than in New York. There is no SUBJ
way in that borough to take care Of the
overflow traffic, and the slow-mOving
surface cars and elevated trains were
iammed. On many lines no cars at all
we're running during the usual rush
hours, and thousands of persons were
oblige to walk long distances.
The Long Island Railroad which vas
tied up completely as a result of the
storm Wednesday, reported that not &
wheel hal been moved. :
Traffic conditions on Staten Island
were 50 bad that the county Offices re-
mained closed for tho day, as none of
the officials could reach the county build
ing.
Wednesday afternoon the largest
houses in New York, employing thous-
auds of employees, sent home many OF
those who lived far away or 0 t OF town.
This was true particularly in the largest
department stores, employing many
women and girls.
The subway station at the City Hall
was the scene Wednesday night of one
of the most remarkable "'mob rushes"
the police have any record of. 1t began
shortly before 5 o'clock and did not
abate to any great exteut until after Z
o. clock The crowds could hardly be
controlled by the reserves.
At the Brooklyn bridge the scenes
enacted under normal conditions dur
ing the afternoon rush for Brooklyn
were made worse MANIFOLD by the con-
dition which the storm produced. For
two hours such mob siormed the ele-
waited platforms In the attempt to Sc
cure the few trains that were running
that the police we're compelled to draw
their clubs and beat back the most in
sistent.
Energetic action by police reserves
from two precincts prevented a pes
sible serious accident on the platforms
and stairways of the South Ferry ele-
waited railroad terminal. About thai
hour passengers who arrived on ferry
boat from Brooklyn spread the report
that the Brooklyn trolley cars were not
running, and hundreds of persons in
the ferry houses made a rush for the
elevated platform, intending to go to
Chatham Square and transfer there to
the Brooklyn bridge. These hundreds,
added TO the already filled platforms,
made a greater crush. The platform
crowd surged and fought about the
train gates to get on the cars ana the
passengers in the cars struggled to gel
out.
Finally passengers in the cars raised
the windows and began to make tnei'
| C.cno eurCoeQeO. Dut nc