The Washington herald., 1907-03-15

Pittsburg, Pa, March ID a. NAT
this time the rivers at Pittsburg have
reached the frightfui stage of 35.1 feet.
and many of the distressed of the city are
on the river banks waiting for the com
ing of dawn, the result of which they do
not know.
The United States weather forecaster
shortly after midnight threw UP both
hands and said the rivers had passed be-
yond him.
He admits that they viii now go over
S6 feet. which will bring the water up into
the very heart of Pittsburg, and will un-
doubtedly put many of the city's best
business houses, which have been safe for
any part Of a century, out of business for
the time.
Fifty thousand people are on the river
banks now. The thousands who came
down town to the theaters which We're
lucky enough to be able TO open have
been stuck, for the street cars are now
out of commission. They must either
wait on the streets for the dawn OF walk
home.
Hotels Are Crowded.
The hotels still outside the waters
could not give accommodation for fly,
for they are filed. even 10 the halls, with
distressed persons.
The break Of day will bring to Pitts
burg another very grave danger. At this
hour two immense ice gorges are racing
toward the distressed town
The ice gorge at Parker, seventy miles
above Pittsburg, in the Allegheny, broke
at p. m, and is coming down on the
crest of the flood. This gorge is said TO
be twenty-five miles long and thirty feet
thick on the other hand, the ice gorge
at Clayton broke at late hour this even
ing, and at such a time that Il viii likely
reach Pittsburg about the time the Ale
gheny gorge gets in. Even if one should
arrive within six hours of the other the
result will be something awful 10 con
template, and Greater Pittsburg is now
trembling at what the dawn holds.
Is Worst in History.
The flood is the worst in the history Of
Western Pennsylvania. or within the his
tory of the pale face at least The thirty
flve-f0ot mark is more than foot higher
than the most disastrous flood of 1881, when
the rivers reached thirty-three feet three
inches The greater Pittsburg valley is one
vast seething mass of boiling muddy.
water, and the end is not yet. The waters
are still rising The electric lights have
been extinguished. and scores of extra
police have been sworn in 10 prevent
lOoting.
To-day there We're seven lives lost in
the food at least, this number have been
reported. There are no telephones work
ing, and there may be thrice that many
dead, but they will not be heard of until
tomorrow at least. Six were drowned
yesterday, making a total of thirteen up
to date. Summarized briefly, the food
situation is as follows: Thirteen lives lost;
property loss Of $10.000000. about 3000J
workmcn thrown out of employment, en-
falling a daily loss Of $750,0o0 in wages;
Allegheny cut off from PittsbUrg except
for one railroad which is still operating
trains, 1o000 families homeless, many in
actual want; the city of McKeesport al
most completely inundated; half Of the
schools of Pittsburg and Allegheny dis
missed; city water supply crippled 50
that water famine is imminent tele-
phone service suspended. and all the
lower streets of the city SO deeply filed
with water that rowboats have been
brought into general use
Rivers Rise a Foot an Hour.
This morning the Allegheny and No
nongahela rivers began to rise at the
rate of foot an hour, and by noon
business had practically come to a stand
still. One by one mills and factories were
forced To smut down, until by O'Clock
this afternoon scarcely "a wheel was
turning in the PiJtsburg district. officials
of the Westinghouse interests say that
their loss at East Pittsburg alone will
be Sl,0OO000 So suddenly did the waters
rise about the immense plant of the
Westinghouse Company that the 1850
employees AT the electrical plant found
themselves hemmed in. All escaped by
electric trains. The waters flooded the
rooms Of the draughtsmen before they
had time to place their valuable blue
prints in the steel vaults and thousands
of dollars worth of them were lost.
Tube Works Submerged.
The situation at MeKeesport is critical
The Monongahela and Youghiogheny
rivers meet at that point. and at noon
to-day one vast sheet of water stretched
from shore to shore of each stream. The
waters completely covered the great
plant OF the National Tube Works. and
by 3 O'Clock they had reached Third ave
nue. IN the business district. This stretch
of water rendered homeless fully a quar-
ter of the population of the city Women
and children were taken out of houses
from the second-story windows Five
foreigners, all Of them men. were drown
ed in their efforts to rescue their loved
ones. Mayor Coleman called mass
meeting of citizens. and a new six-story
Office building was secured in which to
house the homeless.
Conditions almost similar TO those of
McKeesport exist in Allegheny. The en-
tire lower portion of the city is under
water.
Baseball Park Under Water.
They reach almost to the top of the
twenty-foot fence which surrounds the
Pittsburg baseball park a hundred sIdfs
are being used to take people out OF their
houses. The only way to get to Allegheny
tonight is by trains over the Pennsyl-
CoN-FFAcTrED ny EOT-RTu pacE