The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1910-01-27
FLOOD DAMAGE IN
FRANCE IS OVER
$500, 900, 900
One Of the Most Appalling Dis
asters Of Century
SEINE is SILL RISING
Condition of People Driven rom
Their Homes Is Pitiable-Fears
Of Pestilence

Paris. Jan. 27.-There is reason to
believe that the worst of the food
has not yet been reached. The Seine
continued to rise yesterday and last
night.
Tuesday night there was a spell Of
fair weather and hopes rose in con
sequence, but two or three hours lat
er snow began to fall and it has con-
tinued almost increasingly ever since
Meteorological reports from the up
per valleys of the Seine and its
affluents give no indication of per-
manent Improvement and the Central
Weather Bureau of Paris is unable to
encourage hope that the downfall
will soon cease.
The populace generally is wonder
fully calm A large proportion who
are still unaffected personally can af-
ford to treat the disaster as an inter
esting spectacle, The nearest ap-
proach to panic is shown by house
wives Of the poorer classes, many of
whom are deyoting their savings to a
reckless investment in provisions,
fearing a famine
Many pushcart men and small
traders are taking advantage of this
to charge unwarrantable prices.
There seems to be no reason TO fear
that flour or bread will greatly in
crease in price II is stated that
there are abundant stores of wheat
and -four in the northern provinces,
with which, it is hoped, railway com
munication can be maintained what
ever else happens.
The water spread through severai
more districts of the city during the
day, chiefly through the various sub
ways 1t is as though a subterran-
can lake existed under Paris, with
only a thin crust to support the city,
Water bubbles through in the most
unexpected places
A main sewer at Chcny, the larg.
est drain in Paris, burst during the
morning The possibility OF other
| sewers bursting is one Of the gravest
factors in the outlook The sanitary
officials are gravely concerned be
cause the river and its overflow are
already contaminated by refuse of all
sorts washed down by the torrent.
The drinking water supply has
been cut OF in some parts of the city
owing to it's contamination II is
doubtful whether the water now sup
piled anywhere in the city can be
] Fy1r u &c
boiled incidentally this has great
" increased the demand for bottled
waters.
Another serious problem. is the dis
posal Of the dead. Some Of the
cemeteries are deeply flooded One
in an eastern suburb is under water
to the cross on the mortuary chapel
Many bodies are awaiting burial in
the city.
The prices of perishable food con
time to rise steadily. People with
small incomes are being pinched by
these inconvenience, but their dl
lemma is merely a picnic compared
with the sufferings of the thousands
who have been driven from theil
homes
1t is figured that there are at least
$4,000 persons who We're sheltered
tonight in public buildings glad &c
have a straw mattress to lie on and
a soldiers ration for supper Theil
homes and furniture either lie soak
ing in mud and water or are com
pletely wrecked, for a number OF
slight houses in the poor suburban
districts have collapsed beneath the
pressure of the dood
Relief subscriptions are accumulat
ing. The Rothchilds have given 500,
600 Some of the other big bank.
have given $4,000 each There M,
rany other generous donations bu
the bulk of the burden must be bern,
by t1e Government apparently.
1t was stated in we'll informed cir
clos That ,he total damage by n,
Goods up to the present cannot b,
lcsc ,hln 320O, 100000 The Seine haC
reached during the forenoon a heigh
of 40 ieet at the Pont Royal Thii
is the greatest height attained in ;
century
Il is estimated that 10000 persons
altogether are homeless because o
the floods.