The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-10-06

according to adviCCs received here, Is
one Of the leading members Of Lin.
d coins reception committee and eX.
poets to be on hand to welcome MIR.
Taft. Except in political ways, Presi.
dent Taft and Mr.. Bryan are good
friends and the latter has called at
! the white house since Mr.. Taft be.
came president.
President Taft spent the few hours
! he had in Omaha today seeing all that
was possible OF the city and its peo-
pie. Following breakfast at the Oma.
ha club, where he spent the night, Mr..
Taft was taken for an automobile
ride through the city. An address to
! high school children concluded his
program here.
! Was Eleven Hours Late.
President Taft arrived here last
night from Sedalia, Mo-, eleven hours
late, after somewhat perilous trip
over tlood-damaged railroads The
Taft train was caught in the center
of storm in northeastern Kansas
and eastern Nebraska during which
it was estimated that at some points
eight inches of rain fell. Creeks were
! turned into torrents and flooded their
banks and railroad travel was imped-
! ed in all directions. Several small
, bridges were swept away during the
/ early forenoon and a portion of the
, tracks over which the president tray
elcd were covered with more than
foot of water.
The Taft special was held out at
! Rushville, Mo, for seven hours and
there was two hours delay at Falls
City waiting for the flood to subside.
Run over Loose Rails.
Section hands along the Missouri
Pacific system were ordered out by
hundreds. In several places the tracks
were lifted on jacks from the muddy
waters and propped up on piles of
Cross-ties. To hold these in place
many tons of rocks were dumped onto
the roadbed. Every possible care was
, taken to insure the presidents safety
and before his train was sent over
the more dangerous stretches a pilot
train pulled by the heaviest engine on
the system had preceded it and a
thorough test had been made of the
emergency repairs. 1t was by far the
most dangerous railroading situation
the president has been in during his
many travels.
President Good Natured.
Mr.. Taft did not seem to mind the
inconvenience or the dangerous test,
although expressing sorrow that the
program arranged for him in Omaha
today had to be abandoned The
president stood on the rear platform
of his car as the train crawled over
the flooded tracks. At times the wa
ter was within an inch of the top of
the rails. At Verdon Neb, the over
flow from the Nemaha river swirled
along beside the track with a current
of ten to twelve miles an hour.
At Rushvile Till Noon.
Leaving Sedalia Saturday night at
8 o'clock and Kansas City shortly be-
fore midnight, there were occasional
showers, but it was not until along
toward 8 o'clock a. IN. that the down
pour became serious. A pilot train
had been sent ahead of the president
as measure of safety. Word soon
came back from it that washouts had
been encountered and that it would be
dangerous for the presidents train to
proceed. Reaching Atchison, it was
decided to try to get Mr.. Taft through
over the Rock Island lines. Rush
vile, five miles away, was reached in
safety. There, however, the serious
ness of the storm was first realized
All of the railways in the storm dist
riot it was said, had been affected by
washouts. SO Rushville, with it's pop
ulation of 500 souls, had the honor
of entertaining the president from 5
= a. m. until noon.
Sectionmen Work In Water.
Then the Taft train was hauled
back to Atchison for fresh start to
the north. Between Atchison and
Falls City several treacherous places
were passed at snail's pace. The
! situation at Verdon, however, had not
cleared up, despite the efforts of the
hundreds of men working up to their
waists in the muddy waters. A two
hours wait followed and then came a
fresh start. The heavy presidential
. train caused the track to sag danger
ously on its shaky foundation, but it
got safely over and from there on it
was easy sailing, although for several
: hours the train passed through a
flooded country, farms being mum
dated to a depth of three to four
feet.
Some Humorous Incidents.
There were a number of humorous
, incidents during the day to detract
from the tenseness of a situation that
might have proved serious.
An early morning riser at Rush
Vile, wandering down to the station
sped the strange train on a side
track.
What train is that" he inquired
"The Presidents" replied a railroad
man.
What president, Bryan" queried
the old fellow.
At Atchison and at Falls City Mr.
1ag