Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-30
FLOOD SUBSIDIES
But PARIS FACES
GRIM PROSPECTS
Many Buildings in Danger
of Collapse-PlagueS
Threatening
40, 900 PERSONS FLEE
Two Cities on Lower Seine
Submerged-Hospitals
All Crowded
10000 PERSONS FLEE
Especial Gable to The Herald

nARIS, Jan. 29.-The great flood is
subsiding; but with the sense of
- relief that has come to those
whose property was threatened, yet not
destroyed, there comes also a grim fear
of the appalling possibilities of con-
tagion-the dread of the sweeping epi-
demic with which the metropolis is
threatened.
For those who have seen their homes,
their stores, their factories-every-
thing in the world that they possessed
swept away in the surging torrents
of the Seine, there remains only the
dumb apathy of despair, the horror,
the uncertainty, the emptiness and des
olation. In the hearts of some there
has sprung new ambition-a fervent
determination to retrieve the lost ac-
cumulations of their years of toll and
planning; and plodding miserably
through the mire, they are gathering
from the confused debris the founda-
tions of another effort.
Stores that were wrecked by the
deluge, or ruined by inundation have
in some instances. been dragged out
on the dry land, and their owners are
rummaging through the chaos of
rusted wares for articles which may
yet be salable.
Scenes Contrasted
While the subsistence of the flood
has caused a general feeling of re-
joicing, the spirit of popular elation
is everywhere contrasted with the
most pitiful scenes of wretchedness and
poverty.
Slowly, today the waters of the
Seine, which reached their high mark
at o'clock this morning, are subsid-
ing, and at midnight the fall measured
four and half inches-enough to bring
a sense of great relief to the. desolated
and distracted city.
The danger of some great calamity,
such as has been predicted, now seems
over, although the situation continues
critical, particularly near the st.
Lazare station, Where entire streets
and solid blocks of buildings threaten
to sink through the crust into the wa
ter beneath.
The Eiffel tower and other famous
structures are believed much weakened
The effect of the removal of the wa
ter pressure has been to weaken foun-
dations generally and this causes the
greatest anxiety. Besides, there Will
be thousands of acres to be cleared or
repaired when the water has receded,
and there is also the possibility of an
epidemic.
The breaking of the dam at Genne-
yillieres has haStened the climax by
releasing an immense amount of
water but the consequences below are
appalling.
Gennevillieres and Colombes have
80, 900 inhabitants. They are complete
ly submerged, the water reaching tops
of houses in the lower section, while
the flood is backing up into the center
of Asnieres.
Certainly 10000 persons have been
driven from their homes in the valley
of the Seine to hospitals and other
buildings placed at the disposal of
refugees
Improvement Reported
Dispatches from the provinces indi-
cate a general improvement, except
in the lower valley of the Seine.
Premier BRAND today denied reports
that the government contemplated
| proclaiming a state of Siege in the
city. He said there would have been
no hesitation to do this if the neces-
sity had arisen, but that the public
had manifested complete confidence in
the government and was cooperating
in such splendid fashion that France
| might well be proud before the world
The French Red Cross, the Societe
des Danes Francaise and the Societe
des Femmes de France are rendering
immediate assistance to the author
| tiles in relief work.
Sixty relief stations have been es-
| tablished in Paris as we'll as camps
for the free distribution of soup, food
and clothing in the outskirts of in
undated towns and villages along the
river.
Nevertheless, conditions, especially
in the country districts, are pitiful 1t
is estimated that the Seine, which
under normal conditions moves through
Paris at the sluggish rate of less than
a mile an hour, is now carrying thirty
times the ordinary volume at twenty
| miles an hour.
A number of deplorable incidents
have been reported. Several shop
keepers who attempted to charge quad
| ruple prices have been mobbed. Row
dies have attempted to pillage many
houses and at several towns they
have been driven off by the militia.