Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-12

Car Men Suffer
The patience of the street car en-
ployes was severely tried by the heavy
rain last night. BY 8 o'clock there were
probably very few cars in the whole
city which were running upon their
schedule time.
Conductors who did not have their
gum boots with them got wet clear to
their knees, for the water in many
places at the switches was a foot and
a half deep.
Much trouble was experienced on the
Boyle Heights line. At s o'clock seven
of the nine cars on the run were on the
west end of the line, and short time
after 3 o'clock every car was brought
| to a standstill for a time on the east
end of the line.
The water rushing down the hills fol-
| lowed the street car tracks and COW
cred them with sand and gravel several
| inches deep.
Cars Leave Tracks
Two or three cars left the track when
they struck one of these places.
| This caused a delay of several min
utes and twice there were four or five
cars waiting to get past a derailed
car. Trouble lay in wait for the irri-
tated conductor at the switches as fast
as he could scrape them out. and sew
eral minutes were lost at every turn.
Not alone were the steet car men in
their troubles.
Autos Stuck Fast
Out at Stevenson street was an auto
mobile stuck fast clear UP to the hubs
in the mud
1t belonged to man who has twice
been in the clutches of the police for
exceeding the speed ordinance, but was
| in no danger of being taken to the CEN
trail station last night by the blue
coats.
Dozens of automobiles were stuck at
various points on the dirt roads. Most
of the machines were those of small
| horse power whose owners were too
Venturesome.
Boats Needed
When the street car conductors called
the name of the street when they
reached Alameda street they iokingly
| shouted, Lake street, change for the
ferry" A boat of some kind would
have been necessary to cross if a pas
senger had left the car, for the water
had backed up for thirty or forty feet
on each side, making miniature lake.
The corners at Main and Fourth
streets and at Seventh and Spring
streets are the lowest in the business
part of the city and a both places the
water last night reached to the top of
the curbs.
Real River
The Los Angeles river was the
| highest last night that it has been this
winter, and a body of water about
| twenty feet in width was rushing along,
giving it the appearance of a real river.
1t gives promise. if the rain continues
today, of repeating some of its out
breaks of former years.
Probably one of the worst streets for
passengers to cross last night was
West Sixth street, for three or four
blocks east of Figueroa street.
1t received all of the water from the
hill west of Figueroa street and had
several tributaries in the shape of
swift flowing streams from the cross
streets both from the south and the
north.
The water rushed down Sixth street,
overt1ower the sidewalks and filling
the easements and cellars. 1t played
its usual freak of getting under the
asphalt pavement and tearing it up in
chunks.
Schedules Awry
The street car service was considera-
bly, handicapped by the storm and
a number of delays and minor acci-
dents were reported.
Several cars were stalled on ac-
count of the floods washing quantities
of sand upon the tracks, and the San
Pedro line suffered as usual from mud
and wet sand upon the tracks just out
side the city limits.
1t was impossible to preserve a reg
ular schedule during the afternoon, and
good many people had to stand for
half hour at a time waiting for
cars that generally run on q seven
minute schedule.
Beyond the asphalted streets the mud
was very deep and number of auto
mobiles were stalled on the country
roads while their wealthy owners tried
to force their oVerworked motors to
pull them out of the deep ruts.
Leaks and Crossed Wires
The excavation on West First
street next to the police station was
, filled with water in spite Of the pre-
cautions taken by Workmen Saturday
night in anticipation of the storm, and
there was a bad leak in the gas pipe
at this point. the odor being very per-
ceptible in the adjoining buildings.
The telephone service was poor all
day, and the operators said that wires
We're crossed in several sections of the
city, making IL almost impossible to
secure good service.
The Cat and Hewlett
stray cat with several layers of
mud. gravel and fimsy cigarette wrap
pers rubbed into it's bedraggled wet
fur, caused much excitement in the
lobby of the Van Nuys hotel last night
and added much to the longed-for
amusement by guests that sat around
in the lobby and watched the more
unfortunate pedestrians battle with
the liquid elements outside.
The cat was evidently without a
home, but judging from his docility
and the easy manner in which he ap-
preached several of the guests and
greeted each one with frigid howl,
he indicated that he at one time had
been the pet son of some well-to-do
family of Los Angeles.
While the rain was pouring down in
all it's fury about o'clock the cat
jumped in through the Fourth street
entrance to the Van Nuys. Past the
slumbering bellboys he dashed and into
the center of the lobby.
With shivering Meow" the fe-
line announced his arrival ot the as