Evening journal., 1910-05-25
CYCLONIC STORM
SWEEPS The CITY
1continned from Ficst PageO


to connect up wires. etc. IN an effort
to try to help the City Electric Com
pany as much as possible.
OFFICIALS WERE NOT IDLE.
Meanwhile Superintendent OFT and
Superintendent Hon. Of the electric and
railway systems had not been idle. Mr..
OFT got in touch with Reading last night
Immediately after the fire and arranged
Tor a detail Of linemen and experts on the
switchboard to come TO Wilmington as
soon as possible. The men arrived at day
light Mr. Hoh and Mr.. OFT also arranged
for supply houses in Philadelphia TO send
as much material as was necessary, along
with other supplies for the repair Of
kwitchboards, and work was begun at day
light at the City Electric Plant The
tangle Of wires and cables. and the water
soaked dynamos did not give much hope
Of a speedy recovery from the prostra-
tion.
The Wilmington City Electric Company
plant on Fifth street furnishes current for
street and commercial lighting. and the
plant on the Brandywine furnishes power
for the railway systems The current from
the Brandywine plant is transferred
through switchboard in the Fifth street
plant, however. and when the switch
board there was burned gu, by the lightn-
ing it crippled the Brandywine Plant so
far as the distribution of power is CON
cerned.
This is why the street railway system
was tied up Power could be generated
on the Brandywine but there was no way
of distributing it last night Superinten-
dent Hon had men at work Immediately
10 transfer the current through switch
boards at the Brandywne Plant. and about
II O'Clock power was turned on the River
circus tackled to walls all over the city
unsightly to the eye. were washed away
and II the storm did any good it did
this much. at least.
Despite the suddenness Of the storm and
the fury with which Il struck the city
there was not one accident reported in
which anybody was injured.
Big signs all over the city werk hit hard
by the blow but all retained their fasten-
ings Some were badly twisEed and dam
aged, however. The big sign at the Grand
Opera House was hit lard but managed
to hold fast There/were a few peopl,
IN the theatre ats The time watching tn,
iasgvIns fnctarss when suddenly the light.
went out. The management dismissed the
audience. giving back tickets to b. used
on another occasion.
A strange freak Of the storm was that
while It did much damage on the West
side Of the city the East side practically
escaped without a scratch. Two trees
in Kirkwood Park. one in Pullman Row
a.
Delaware Terra Gotta Company and one
at Tenth and Walnut streets were up
rooted. and that was about the extent
of the damage on that side. At the Or
chard. where many small pleasure crafts
are moored and where it would be ex-
pected that much damage would result
there was little. The boats were rocked
and slammed against the wharves but
none broke from their fastenings nor
were any of them damaged.
Girl Carried by Wind.
Mary Ramsey, a small girl living II
Oak street, between Broome and Clay
ton streets. had a narrow escape from
injury She was In the street playing
when the storm broke and the wind act
ually picked her up and carried he
through the air. A pedestrian grabbed
the frightened youngster and took he
home. She was not injured but badl!
shocked by her experience.
Members of the Silverbrook baseball
team had a narrow escape from injury
They were practicing on the grounds ad
joining the Silverbrook NJ. f. Church a
Lancaster and Woodlawn avenues whel
the storm came up. They took shelte
under a tree. but an instant later upoi
hearing a peculiarNwhistling sound left an
It was fortunate that they did, for mo
ment leter the tree was torn from it
roats and upturned. BY this time tn
boys were thoroughly alarmed and the
started to seek shelter on the Pyle prop
erty. at No. 2OS Lancaster avenue. A
they olamored over the fence two tree
on the grounds fell with a crash. The
concluded to take no more chances wit
trees and started on run for thei
home in the down pour Of rain.
QCnaderable damage was done 10 tn
aN2,tiful lawn OF the Pyle residence an
iole that entire row. The baseba
grounds on the opposite side Of the stree
also suffered, about seventy feet Of fenc