Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-06-10
SToCKYARDS, UNDER WATER.
Railroads Experiencing Much
Trouble, Several Being Forced
To Use One Track.
Both the Kaw and Missouri, 1t is Said,
VIII Have Reached Their High
est This Afternoon.

Kansas City. June 10.-With the flood
waters from the Kaw reaching within
one block of the Union railway station
covering one quarter of the lower part
of the stock yards. rendering useless
some of the railway tracks coming In
from the west. and beginning to creep
into the easements of the big wholesale
houses in the west bottom, Kansas City
this morning found herself in the throes
of the most serious food since that OF
l9uS The flood stage of 1904 was passed
last night. There is no possibility.
however. of the great flood stage of
1903, when millions of dollars damage
was done, being reached, and there was
every indication this morning that the
crest of the flood would be reached by
early this afternoon that in anoth-
err "a hours both the Kaw and the Mis-
souri, rivers at this point would begin
10 fall as their waters drained off
above Kansas City. The overflow Is
bound to cause trouble east of here as
far as St Louis, it Is predicted, as 1t
reaches into the Mississippi and north,
along the banks of the Missouri as
far as Omaha. To the west at Law
renee and Topeka, the Kaw Is falling
rapidly and from now on conditions in
this district, II Is believed, will gradual
ly be bettered. While the Kaw has
caused much damage to the low part of
Kansas city. Kan, and has flooded the
streets of Armordale, ii has not mo-
Tested the west bottoms on the Missouri
side. nor touched Argentine. Kan, join
ing the railroad yards on the south.
Shortly before midnight there were two
breaks in the Kaw dykes erected in
Arm. drdale, one at the Twelfth street
hridpa xybirt, from a pfnOnrllla
10 Argentine, and another near the
Swartzschlld and SulzNerger packing
house. No great damage was possible
at those points. however, for the pack
ing house employees had been engaged
for hours previous removing everything
portable to places of safety and the
residents OF Argentine, or most ofsthem,
had already moved out,
THE FIRST BREAK.
little later came the first break in
the wholesale district where are situ-
ated dozens of implement, grocery and
general warehouses, when water began
to come in near the Union Pacific
bridge. Residents In the west bottoms,
mostly occupying huts, had until that
time believed themselves secure Gangs
of men were speedily gathered and soon
a small army of workers were making
hurried attempts to get their belong
ings out of dangers way. In the
wholesale houses additional gangs
worked hard all night carrying goods
to upper stories or carting them away
from the district. Daylight found hum
dreds stil at work with the water ris-
ing slowly and making further inroads
eastward toward the Union railway
station, into which run 20 different
RAILWAYS AT o'clock this morning
The water had reached TO within half
block of the station.
A LOW BRIDGE.
The Missouri Pacific. whose low
bridge across the Kaw had caused the
water in that stream to back up and
spread out into the bottoms had aban-
donad the bridge and began sending out
its trains from the Kansas side, while
the Chicago, Milwaukee ST. Paul
railway used its outlying station up
town at Twenty-second and Grand
avenue. not attempting to reach the
Union station.
The Great Western railway whose
tracks skirt the Missouri river just to
the north of the station also expert
enced trouble and the prospects were
that IL would have to abandon its
bridge during the day. It's tracks were
threatened and the water was within
foot Of the bridge. All Santa Fe
Union Pacific and Rock Island trains
for the west We're forced to use the
tracks of the ST. Louis and san Fran
cisco, the only outlet. The other roads
reach the station from the east either
by trestle or the higher ground and
they We're practically out of danger
To stop these the water must rise sew
eral feet and this appears unlikely All
train service, however was demoralized
and but few trains In any direction
We're running on time.
When the crest of the flood has been
iet ma ta1 q ,.stn -
covered more than a part of the west
end OF the main railway yards, and win
then quickly recede.
At STOCK YARDS.
At the stock yards business was
nearly at IA standstill One quarter of
the pens on the Missouri side were
under water that stood from one To six
feet deep. This flooded district covered
30 acres OF the 200 acres set aside for
pens. on the Kansas side a third Of
the quarantine division was under
water. The stock exchange building
also suffered much inconvenience. water
seeping into the basement, which Is
lower than The street and forcing the
railway stock agents to move their fur
niture to upper floors,
Eugene Rust, general manager OF the
stock yards company Insisted that ,
they were continuing 10 do business
and would be able to take care OF the
situation Notwithstanding arrivals
were light and the picking houses
We're buying but little butcher stun
The principal trouble I'm the flood has
been laid at the door OF the Missouri
Pacific and Union Pacific. whose
bridges spanning the Kaw acted as
dams that caused the water TO spread
over territory otherwise safe. The Mis-
souri, Pacific bridge caused much trou-
hA q