The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-10-03
80 DEAD, 81 MISSING
That Is To-day's Report Of Austin's
Flood Catastrophe.

Austin Pa, Oct. 3.--Austin to-day
believes it knows the worst of the flood
calamity of Saturday afternoon The
list of known dead this morning is 32,
while 81 are still missing. No reports
of any illness being prevalent. Health
Commissioner Dixon said to-day that he
expects to have the ruins cleared by
tomorrow night.
The problem of the hour is how TO re-
cover the dead from the tons of debris
choking the narrow valley To do SO be-
fore it becomes necessary to burn the
ruins and save the living from an epi-
demic an army of labor must reach the
town within the thirty-six hours, officials
say. Otherwise. the torch may trans
form the wreckage into the pyre of most
of those who perished.
The single line of wire between Aus
tin and the outside world carried an
urgent plea for workmen to the mayors
of Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Samuel G. Dixon, state commissioner
of health, supreme in command at Aus
tin, voiced the appeal. To each OF the
mayors he said:
1--WE are in need of aborers TO assist
in rescue work. Desire about 400 sent in
bunk train. Please advise us what
you can do. Work consists of recovering
dead bodies from ruins. Please tele-
graph what assistance you can render
"Give us our dead" is Austin's cry,
voiced by State Senator f. +. Baldwin,
who lost his father, mother, sister and
other relatives. Only the body of his
father, John f. Baldwin. had been recoy-
cred last night. The others are in the
ruins
Il speak for the people of Austin"
he said "The state of Pennsylvania
owes the bodies of our loved ones. For
forty-eight hours they have been in the
ruins; how much longer will the COM
monwealth leave them there2 The state
should have thousand men working
here now"
The nine-mile line of railroad leading
here from Keating's Summit was given
over yesterday to the cause OF rescue and
relief. Locked cars left the Summit for
the scene Of the disaster. When they
reached the terminus here the workers
detrained; the drones, kept aboard, were
sent back. Every man on Austin's
streets, except the newspaper men, We're
conseripted intoEthe service, but notwith-
standing the vigilance of the authorities
only $50 were working at sunset.
Smouldering fire in the debris burst
forth in flame in the lower end Of the
wreckage yesterday afternoon, but it is
not believed the timbers they fed on
covered any Of the dead.
T., A. haA
suggestion that it may be necessary to
apply the torch to the ruins. Feeling
runs high, and should the health authori-
ties be forced to no choice there is no
forecasting the result. The Pennsyl-
vania state constabulary holds the town
in its firm grasp, however, and the troop
ers will remain here until Commissioner
Dix gives it word to go.
The hoodswept valley offers no shell.
ter for the regiment of laborers expected
here to-day, and unless they come IN
bunk cars they cannot be cared for
Eight homeless men slept last night on
the floor of a small house spared BY the
waters-two women and five children, all
refugees, slept in the room above them,
while the household of five huddled into
the two remaining rooms. This is but
typical of conditions; everywhere in the
flood zone they are the same.
Food and clothing reached Austin in
carload lots yesterday and there was
enough to eat for all But the distribut-
ing agents lacked shoes and undergar-
ments of proper size for the women and
children.
Across the narrow street from the
morgue the life insurance companies
nailed their shingles to tree near a
small shack, yesterday, topping with
them a white sheet of foolscap on which
was scrawled, Inquire within" A file
of weeping women took turns at record
ing their claims.