Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-12-31
EAST IN GRIP
OF BLIZZARD
LOSS IS HEAVY
HAVOC COSTS s5,ooo,ooo AND $500
PERSONS FLEE, SCANTILY
CLAD, FROM HOMES.
SCHOONER GOES TO PIECES.
Sailing Vessel Goes on Reef and All on
Board, Total of Twelve Men,
Are Lost.
SCHOONER GOES TO PIECES.
OVER DOZEN DEAD IN NEW YORK.

The Christmas blizzard, the seVereSt
storm experienced in the east in twenty
years, tied up local traffic this morning
in cities from Pennsylvania to Maine and
disarranged train schedules throughout
half dozen states. Conditions, however,
are rapidly improving, and railways and
municipalities are bending every effort to
move intercity and local traffic. There
is reason to believe conditions will be
normal again by Tuesday night, when
another storm Is expected from the west
A number of persons have met their
death through exposure or accident, five
in Philadelphia and a dozen or more IN
New York The final reports of fatal
ties in New England have not yet come
10 hand.
In Philadelphia general business this
morning was practically at standStlH.
All through trains were late, only one
street car line was running, and the city
is suffering from a shortage of milk. Re
ports from Pittsburg and Harrisburg IN
dictate that conditions are improving rap
idly.
Washington did not suffer severely
but on account of traffic conditions to
the north. President Taft decided to
postpone an engagement to speak in
New York.
Communication with Boston is main
tanned only with difficulty. The storm
in New England seems to have been
worse in the vicinity of New Bedford,
Providence. Fall River, Newport, Paw
tucket and WoOnsOcket.
III New York city more than 1000
men are at work cleaning the streets.
Most of the suburban trains were run
ming this morning with only slight de-
Jay. The surface lines were blocked;
u condition that resulted in exceptional
heavy traffic III the subway.
Loss $5,ooo,ooo Near Boston.
BOSTON, Mass, Dec. 27.-Five mil
lion dollars loss is the estimate made to-
day of the havoc wrought in and around
Boston by the blizzard which swept New
England and drove record tide over the
coast.
No fatalities have been reported be-
sides the four known to have occurred
in Chelsea, where a tidal wave, burst
ing through the dyke along Island End
river, flooded eighty acres of homes, and
forced $500 persons to fee, scantily clad,
into the raging storm.
Thirty-two cities and towns which
were plunged in darkness owing to the
cutting off of the electric light service
hope to have their lighting facilities re-
stored by tonight.
The storm was easily the greatest that
New England has experienced in eleven
years. All along the coast, phenomenal
tides were reported. In many places sea
walls were battered to pieces. boulevards
RACED and curbs and houses along the
shore damaged.
Tide Sweeps City
In Boston the tide swept over the
wharves, across Atlantic avenue, and as
far inland as the Chamber of Commerce
1t is estimated that the damage mage in in this
section Will reach at least S5OO,OOO.
The worst damage wrought bv bo
storm was in Chelsea and Everett
where. it is believed, it will be several
weeks before the tide gate on the is
land end river can be repaired and the
flooded district reclaimed Having es-
capped through the snow Scantily clad
and many of them barefooted. the resi-
dents of the submerged section of CheI-
sea had to stand for hours in the biz
yard waiting for wagons to take them
to shelter. Hundreds of the homeless
were taken care of in relief stations es-
tabllshed in public schools and churches.
Masses of wreckage apparently from
the fye-masted schooner Davis Palmer
of Boston were found on the beach at
Hull today, and it is believed the vessel
struck on one of the outer lodges of the
went to pieces with the loss of all on
board, a total of twelve men. The
Palmer was sighted off Cape Cod on Sat
hrday bound into Massachusetts bay.
Philadelphia Tied Up.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Dec. 81
Philadelphia today was still in the grip
of the blizzard which descended upon
this section Of the country Christmas
day. General business was tied up
worse than for many years and the pros
poets were that it would be several DAYS
before conditions became normal Rail-
way traffic and street ear service was
still in bad shape.
The snowfall was one of the Creates
in the history of the weather bureau and
caught railroads, street car companies
and other public service concerns wholly
unprepared to cope with the situa ton.
With the exception of the Market
street subway line, there was pGactic-
ally no street car service in the city
during the morning, and nearly all Phil
adelphia got to work late The rail
way situation was a litCse better early
today than it was Sunday but there was
no attempt on the part of any railroad
to stick to schedules.
Reports received early today showed
that five persons lost their lives during
the storm. most of them deaths occur
ring during the height of the storm
Christmas night and Sunday morning.
And In each case death was due to eS
haustion.
Tieup in New York
NEW YORK, Dec. 27-Hard work
all night by thousands of men on the
city's streets broke the tieup caused by
the greatest December storm in years
in this vicinity. While incoming trains
were still delayed on some of the rail-
roads and surface car traffic was by no