Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-27
NEW YORK SUFFERS
Great City Buried Under
Blanket of Snow.
ALL TRAFFIC Is lMPEDED
Train and Trolley Service Almost
at Standstill.
SIXTEEN DEATHS REPORTED
Loss of Life Chargeable to Storm
Exposure and Accidents, Due
to Weather Conditions.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK. December 27.-New YORK.
country buried beneath the big Christmas
snowfall began the task this morning OF
getting out from under the great white
blanket that had cut off many places
of habitation from the outside world
crippled the service of all railroads
wrought much damage along the coast
played havoc with all surface and elevat-
ed car lines and seriously interfered with
telegraph and telephone communication.
Street Cleaning Commissioner Edwards
hopes to get the ten inches of average
snowfall cleaned away by Wednesday
night. His job is complicated by the
fact that most Of the snow fell soft, then
froze. and is now banked high against
curbings, buildings. windows and side
walks in solid frozen masses. Commits
sioner Edwards offers a blanket guaran-
tee Of employment to every man applying
with a team and wagon.
Lower Broadway. 9Th avenue and the
streets leading to the ferries were tun-
neled clear this morning, SO that traffic
could go slipping along Its normal chan
nels SO far as the main arteries OF the
form wholly different problems, and many
of them may be piled deep with snow for
week to come.
Trolley Service Demoralized.
The Brooklyn, Bronx and upper Man
haitian trolley service is demoralized
Half and quarter schedules are being
put in this morning after a day Of COM
plete tie-up and 1t is hoped that by to-
night the normal schedule will be re-
sumed. The great trouble to the trolley
traffic, as we'll as to that Of the rail-
roads. was not from the snow itself. but
from the gale that accompanied it. and
the consequent drifts. Traffic in in
the principal railroads this morning For
q time New York was cut off from Phil
'adeiphia except over a single line of
rails. While trains are not making
schedules this morning, all OF the rail-
roads have resumed the selling Of tickets
to all points.
The Pennsylvania line. which seldom
yields to the pressure of even q great
storm. was forced out of commission by
the drifts piled up in this one Early this
morning 1t was announced that it's lines
were again clear. after an interruption
twenty-four hours long.
Telegraph service was not as COM
pletely demoralized as 1t would have been
if the storm had not been accompanied
by wind. AS 1t was the snow was blown
off the wires and could not break them
down with its weight. Points on the
coast alone report that the lines are
down.
Death Toll Sixteen.
Deaths, chargeable to exposure, were
reported from all sections Of this city,
the total amounting to sixteen.
In a river accident at the foot of West
146th street. this city. fireman Of the
United States hospital ship Solace was
drowned. He was trying to board. the
ship from a launch which was trying to
work its way alongside the gangway.
The wind blew the launch into the ships
side. knocking both the engineer and
fireman overheard. The engineer was
saved. while the fireman was lost in the
stream.
The heaviest snowfall reported from
upstate points was along the Hudson
river valley, where 1t Is said the dam
sand dollars. Warships anchored in the
Hudson found themselves Juggling hard
at anchors and many of them kept their
whistles footing through the storm to
warn away smaller river craft.
The Westminster. Morris Park and
White Plains lines were trying desperate
~ this morning to put through a Grip
pied service after a tie-up lasting all
day yesterday and all night. Bronx lines
south Of 176th street Jared better than
those lying farther out. while in Man
haitian the subway service saved the
day for those living along its route.
Barometer's Heavy Fall.
The barometer here dropped to 2s97,
which clipped all records save one made
November %. 1904. wheli the barometer
dropped to 2S.7O A high pressure area
to the south drove the storm this way
from Atlantic City and 1t swept away
from here to the northeast. Only the
fact that there has been no previous
cold weather kept the storm from being
terrific blizzard. AS 1t was the tenn
perature ranged between % and 80 de-
grees, and the warm pavements, not yet
frost-filled, melted much of the earlier
fall. The weather bureau placed the
precipitation in water or melted snow at
1.47 inches
Had it been of the normally cold kind
this would have meant q snowfall OF
fourteen inches. But since it was wet
and soggy in its first few hours of down
fall. the weather man estimates the fall
at ten inches plus.
Damage to Shipping.