The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-07-31
WASHINGTON IS
IN THE PATH Of
FIERCE STORM
Three Killed, Scores Injured
and Hundreds of Thousands
of Dollars Worth of Prop
erty Damaged.
PAINTERS CAUGHT
ON CAPITOL DOME
Two Ride Out the Blasts on a
Swinging Scaffold; Floor
Blown From Historic
Bridge.

WASHINGTON, July 30.-Like a
rain and hail, which whipped back and
forth across the nation IS capital today,
leaving death and ruin In its wake.
Three were killed. scores injured and
hundreds OF thousands of dollars
worth Of property was ruined, ae-
cording TO hurried canvass made
when the city aroused itself from half
an hour of helplcssness in the grasp OF
the elements.
Out of n blazing sky, under which
the city was sweltering with a tenn
peratuye at the 100 point, the. storm
came from the north, roaring mass
OF clouds that cast a mask OF total
darkness over the town. The gale,
reaching a velocity OF nearly seventy
miles an hour, swept the streets clear,
unroofed houses, tore detached small
structures from their foundations,
wrecked one Office building overturned
wagons and carriages in the streets
and swept Washington IS hundred
parks, tearing huge branches from
elms. the landmarks of century, To-
night Washington s well-kept streets,
with their wealth of trees, were lit
tered with broken boughs, roofs and
dead birds as if a playful giant had
carclessly swished his club up and
down the city.
Hail Crashes Down.
As the wind wreaked its havoc the
rain came. and in five minutes the
temperature dropped from the hundred
mark TO between 80 and 20 Then the
rain turned to hail, and hail stones
crashed through skylghts and win
dows Fer half an hour the city
covered paralyzed under the beating
Of the storm, every activity suspended.
Trolley lines. telephone lines and
street traffic were halted, and the gov
ernmcnt department suspended opera
tions.
The wind wrecked a three-story
brick Office building occupied by the
b. s. Saul company, real estate deal
ers. and fifteen persons were carried
down IN the crash, w. f.. Hilton, vice
president OF the real estate company;
Thomas B. Fealey, clerk, and III
unidentified man who entered the
building To rescue those caught in the
wreck, were taken from the wreck
hospitals seriously injured and half
dozen more were treated for slight
bruises, Tonight the police were still
digging in the ruins for other bodies
that they feared might be there,
Storm at White House.
The neatly kept lawns of the White
houss were devastated. Three huge
elm trees uprooted by the wind were
thrown bodily across the lawn and up
to the very portico of the building,
blocking the drives. President Wilson
was seated in the executive offices
when the wind crashed through sew.
cral windows in the White house
proper. Secretary Tnmulty hurried the
president and Representative Korbly
OF Indiana, with whom he was con-
ferring, to n sheltered interior room.
The capitol, set high above the city,
caught the brunt OF the wind. rain.
hail and lightning. The senate was in
session when the hail swept down with
deafening roar, beating on the glass
roof OF the chamber The tumult
made further business impossible, and
hurrying 70 the vice president 3 desk
Senator Kern megaphoued with his
hands motion 10 recess.
The motion was put. and although
the senators could hear nothing. the
senate quit work for fifteen minutes
In confusion.
When the storm broke thirty.fve
PAINTERS were M work on the dome Of
the capitol, swarming over the curv-
ing surface or swinging high on