The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-05
Avalanche of Snow and
 Winds. ALL TELEGRAPH WIRES
 ARE BADLY CRIPPLED Three Lives Lost in Sinking of i Barges. For . Time Yesterday, the Conditions Threatened Repetition of the
 Great Blizzard of March 

New York, March As result of q March blizzard which swept down unannounced during the night the Middle Atlantic seaboard today found itself bound in an avalanche of snow and destructive winds.
 For a time today, conditions threat ened a repetition q the great blizzard of March 12, 1SSSg but tonight the storm has sunk to less alarming pro- portions and there was promise of mild weather tomorrow.
 For the telephone and telegraph com panies. the storm was one of the worst in years. Wires in all directions went down at the winds first onslaught. For eight hours Washington. the central point of America, for the time being, was completely isolated and at late
 our tonight the only means of com
 unication between the capital and the outside world was over three crippled telegraph wires, one to New York. one to Atlanta and a third to Charlottes- vile, Va. No telephone or railroad wires between New York and Wash- ington or Baltimore were working The worst of the snow hurricane struck a wedge of territory which included Washington and Baltimore. The re- zion south of Philadelphia was well nigh a blank on the map for the great CT part of tke day.
 At 8 o'clock tonight, the Pennsyi- vania offices at Jersey City gave out the following:
 Latest reports from Perryville. Md. sixty miles below Philadelphia, state that for thirty miles beyond that point every wire Is down. These lines lp- clude some of the best and most ex- pensively constructed wires in the country
 "The first train from Washington to reach Jersey City today arrived at 5 o'clock this afternoon. This was train No 80, due at 7:0S a. m. The Atlantic Coast Line express and the Pennsyl- yania express, both due about noon. reached Jersey City short time after No. S0."
 of the most, severe of the winter. al- though the weather bureau asserted that the metropolis had received "only the edge of the disturbance"
 Three lives were lost In the sinking of six Baltimore and Ohio coal barEes at St George, Staten Island.
 The gale descended on New York with the full-fsdged fury of an ocean hurricane. Bafges that were under tow were blown ashore, while tugs and small boats were sent scurrying for cover. Several of them suffered heavy damage before reaching safe anchor age.
 street car and elevated lines through out the city were badly crippled du- rtnE.'the early hours of the~day, but the ferries and suburban roads had a still harder time in bringing their morning crowds. All the ferries ran on uncertain schedules because of the dffieuity they experienced in making their slips with the opposition of the heavy sea.
 The municipal snow men, led by the football veterans, Edwards and Hogan started early at their big task and by sunset had gained considerable head way, especially in the downtown dis tricts.
 Long Island was snowbound all day. The storm piled up a tremendous surf along the coast. The highest tide In more than five years, which accom- panied the storms early morning dem- onstration, flooded two railroad trestles and halted the operation of one rail road line and two suburban trolley lines At various points tugs were held In readiness to aid any craft In distress while at Moriches, the life- savers rescued with their brooches buoy, a crew of thirty-two wreckers on board the schooner Mercy. stranded on the beach several weeks ago and which began to go to pieces with the on slaught of today's storm.