Evening star., 1909-03-06
EXODUS NEARLY DONE
ORGANIZATIONS and Individuals
Return Whence They Came.
TRAINS MADE UP ON TIME
Few Leave Promptly, But Many
More Are Delayed.
WIRES DOWN EVERYWHERE
No Knowing When Passengers Start
ing From Capital Will Reach
Destinations.
TRAINS MADE UP ON TIME
WIRES DOWN EVERYWHERE

BY 10 o'clock tonight the major part OF
all the organizations which marched In
the inaugural parade will have left Wash
ington unless it is discovered that depart
ing trains are likely to be stalled some
where in the mon communication zone.
which is making railroading a difficult
task.
Although the officials of the Union sta
ton have been giving out only the slim
NEST information and have been telling pas
sengers and would-be passengers all day
long that the congestion caused by the
storm is being rapidly relieved, they dc
not know whether the trains which are
pulling out are getting anywhere neal
their destinations.
At the same time every scheduled out
going train is made up and is leaving
few on time. some much belated. Trains
are coming In from twenty minutes to
four hours late.
1t is certain that some trains for New
York that went out last night got through
to Jersey City. Crews and equipment got
back to Washington this morning That
is about as timely information concerning
the success of departing visitors in reach
ing home as may he CLEANED from any
ia ilroad source today.
The railroad people do not believe any
trains are stalled along the road. They
are merely guessing, however. When the
train dispatcher clicks his goodbye to the
conductor at the Union station, there is a
long, long reach of track along which
wires are tangled and poles down.
The engineer feels his way from sigma
tower TO signal tower. getting his instruc-
tionS by word of mouth Electric signals
have not helped much during the last
twenty-four hours. unless there are
stretches of wire which have been re-
paired.
Departure Nearly on Time.
New York trains over the Pennsyl
vania road went out last night on com
paratively good time That means, how
ever. that they went out within an hou
of their regular Scheduled departure. On
single wire working out along the Penn
sylvania road this morning extended bu
few miles.
Pennsylvania trains for the west had
bad time last night. Passengers holdin,
| sleeping car tickets were put to some dis
comfort as Pullman cars which shoul'
! have been standing in the station witt
| record making locomotives painting t.
| break loose across the continent coul,
not he located.
These cars struggled in now and then
! and employees. working overtime, mad
up the western trains when and wher
| they could. II was a bad night to asl
| questions of the station master and tn
| train dispatcher
| The Baltimore and Ohio railroad ha
| just as bad a time as any other roa
| yesterday afternoon. Its wires wer
, Snarled and broken. Communication wa
{ by messenger and from train crews tha
managed to get into the city.
| They resumed what was termed regula
| traffic at o'clock last night That mean
| that the regular scheduled trains wer
| made up and their departure sung ou
| through megaphones and written on tn
| teletescopc. But there was no assuranc
that they would get anywhere.
| The Chesapeake and Ohio trains. mad
up here and which have no such reaSO
| for delay as on the other roads, pulle
| out on fair regularity.
| Eastern traffic from New York has bee
| subject To delay on all roads. The beS
| Information that could be obtained at tn
| Union station at noon today was tha
the New York trains were coming in onl
| half an hour late.
Big specials for the west were leavin
| on time. There was a dearth of infOrma
tion about incoming western trains.
According to the tTainmen, the south
erners will have the easiest time toda
and tonight. Trains for Dixieland ar
meeting with less trouble than any 9th
erS.
Rumor of Smash-Up.
There was a rumor this morning that
bad wreck had occurred near Laurel. n
one at the station had heard of it, A
though telephone and telegraph commu
nication was cut off. passengers on train
from that vicinity denied 1t.
The story was later officially denie
most emphatically by the officials of tn
road.
.y.strict Passenger Agent Hege of tn
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad said toda
that while there had been reports Of dis
comfort for passengers there was absC
lutely no truth in the statement that
wreck had occurred anywhere.
| There has been difference between th
incoming crowds and the vast thron
which. yesterday and today, has shake
the slush of Wa ashington from its rubber
Many joyous ones tramped the city
streets in the parade and in search {
sights to see until they are more or les
bedraegled. The snappiness is gone frol
most of them.
Last nights crowd in the Union static
had a good time for awhile The banG
of the 1st Delaware Infantry and III
foit, in 4