Semi-weekly herald., 1910-01-31
VIM. p. VALE,
F. c. PERKINS,
TELEGRAPH NEWS.

TELEGRAPH NEWS.
PARIS, Jan. 27.-Perhaps the most
this morning was the fissure at Auteuil
viaduct at the foot of Paris, an enor.
nous structure of masonry that spans
the Seine and the lowlands on each
side of the river. Should this give
way it would act as dam and sub
merge the entire city.
The river Seine, which at flood
stage has caused death and destruc-
tion during the last few days. is sta
tionary at noon today. The stage of
the waters this morning exceeded all
records back to 1915, and up to II
o'clock the river continued to rise at
the rate of three-qlarters of an inch
an hour
The region in the neighborhood of
the law courts and the prefecture OF
police is flooded and chairs and tables
were drifting about The waters in
vaded the court of St. Chapelle, the
most glorious gem of Gothic architec-
ture in France, and the lower floor of
the historic Conciergerie was flooded
In the midst of new and alarming de
velopments and shortly before noon
the dismayed crowd that was watch
noticed that for ten minutes the flood
remained stationary, and that at noon
it really had began to subside. BY
1880 o'clock the waters had fallen
three-quarters of an inch and the
watchers shouted with joy. The glad
tidings passed from mouth to mouth
and soon the entire quay was ringing
with cheers. The news spread like
wildfire along the quays, turning ex-
clamation of horror to shouts of jubi-
lation. The work of building tenn
porary dykes back of the parapets,
which had begun at daylight, did not
cease for moment however.
PARIS, Jan. 27.-At 2:30 O'Clock
the Seine is still continuing to sub
side. Some extent of the disaster that
has overtaken the French capital is
gained from the following figures:
Fifty thousand people In Paris alone,
100000 people in northern France are
without shelter or food.
Ninety thousand troops are today
aiding the government in rescue work
Before it began to subside the Seine
measured few inches more than
twenty-eight feet in depth. Its normal
| depth is fourteen feet.
The flooded area is half again as
large as the portion of San Francisco
destroyed by fire and quake.
| The flood is the greatest in history
exceeding the one of 1916.
The starving survivors are eating
| the carcasses of horses and mules that
were drowned. and fever has broken
out to add to the other horrors.
The loss of life in Paris and prov
inces is estimated to exceed five hun.
dred.
| PARIS, Jan. 27.-Late this afternoon
| No'Si ~ thN oViiiV btSdh " liSt dRdlH
and the city this evening is once more
seeped in gloom. Disaster throughout
, France continues great.
| PARIS, Jan. 2S.-The day broke over
Paris and the submerged provinces
surrounding, with the prospect a most
cheerless one, heavy rain had set
In and brisk breeze out of the
north served to drive the flood to
points which heretofore had escaped
its invasion.
| During the night little of encourage.
ment and with the early hours of to-
day came a decided change for the
worse.
| Messages of sympathy from the out.
side, many OF them accompanied with
substantial financial contributions.
were another feature of the situation
that afforded cause for thanksgiv.
ing.
! Telegraphic communication with the
outside Is extremely defective today
and at times wholly interrupted. There
IL no direct communication between
this city and England and messages
from central Europe are generally di-
verted through indirect routes. 1t is
feared this morning that 1t might be
impossible after little to transmit
any great amount Of the press mat
ter with which the offices OF the tele.
graph and cable companies are bur.