Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-31
River Seine Drops Fifteen Inches, but
There is Little Improvement
in Situation.
SEEMS WORSE IN PLACES
Stream Twelve Feet Deep Rushes
Through Streets of Colonies.
HUNDREDS WITHOUT FOOD
Provisions Are Taken to Homes Of
Many IN Boats.
STRICT WATCH FOR Lo0TERs
Danger is Great, aS IL is Known
that French Habitauily Keep
Their VaIuables mt
Home.
HUNDREDS WITHOUT
FOOD
STRICT WATCH FOR LoOTERs

PARIS. Jan ao.--while the mos; i'm
minent peril is past, the fall ofNthe Seine
since yesterday morning has only meas
ured 1877 inches At this rate It would
require O. fortnight for the river to reach
it's normal level. Fortunately tidings from
the flooded sections above Paris give hope
Of a more rapid subsistence after tomorrow.
In the meantime the situation in Paris
and in many places throughout the coun-
try shows little Improvement Indeed the
ravages of the flood within the city seemed
actually to increase today. The water
was higher in some of the streets while
the situation at the inundated towns be
tween Paris and st. German was dis
tinctly graver. stream of water twelve
feet deep was rushing through Connevil-
liers and Colombes, making the work of
| rescue and succor more difficult even than
yesterday. Several of the houses collapsed
and many persons were taken off the roofs
of their homes, where they had been
clinging for days.
Hundreds are reported without food or
shelter, and all day an army of troops
I and civilians worked relentlessly in the
| flooded territory bringing succor to the
distressed and distributing provisions by
| boats to the thousands of victims sur
rounded by water, who refused to quit
their homes Within the city itself are
great throngs Of slght-seers
The Champs Elyseese, ordinarily path
way of brilliant light, tonight had hand
lanterns strung along the curbs. The
usually gay boulevards were wrapped in
silence ard darkness. The restaurants and
cafes were reduced to dim candles and
oil lamps.
Most of the theaters were closed, but the
Coincide Francaise, with both its cleo
tricity and heat gone, was open, Jules
Claretie, the manager, explaining 70 the
meager audience before the curtain rose
that he considered that the National
theater of France should not close its
doors.
I'VE will give performance" he said,
with candles. as in the days of Mollere,
and show the world that Paris can be as
heroic as In the time of the revolution"
Although there Is no intention on the
part of the government to declare martial
law, the completely submerged districts,
| such as Javel, are in the hands Of the
military, to prevent pillaging. The soldiers
have orders to give short shrift to GRIM
inals caught in the act of looting. Thus
far there have been no such cases within
the city, but the danger is great, as the
French usually keep their money and valu-
ables in their homes.
Two PilIagers Killed.
Outside Of Paris however. many deplor-
able instances of looting have been re-
ported. A band of thieves have been at
work in the vicinity OF Charenton, but the
soldiers have been shooting them at sight
The zouaves last night killed two of the
pillagers and at Ivry and two at Brie.
These ghouls have now transferred their
operations to the devastated region below
Paris, many attempts to pillage the de-
serted villages and homes being reported
The papers recount many deeds of
heroism of priests at Alfortville, who con-
tinued the work of rescue between mid
night and daylight. when the soldiers,
tackies and firemen, after several days
without rest had become exhausted Sisters
of charity rowed to houses, giving as
sistance In several cases of starvation.
Besides the aid distributed directly by
the government and the municipality more
than s250,O00 from the fund raised by the
newspapers has been handed over to the
various relief societies and tn local au-
thorities of the various towns and villages
near Paris. The press refers gratefully to
the spontaneous help coming from abroad,
and makes particular mention OF the evil
dences of sympathy in the United States
village washed Away.
A pitiable feature of the flood in Gene
vaillers is the plight Of the colony of 5000
ragpickers, a fourth OF whom are children
They are the poorest of all the Paris poor
and early each morning they cross the
Seine to sort the refuse barrels Of the great
city. Their village was "a cluster of miser-
able novels OF plaster and earth flanked
with heaps of bones, rags, iron and odds
and ends.