The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-31
Three Killed and Scores
Injured When Cyclonic
Storm Sweeps Washington
CONTINUED from Page one,

| panics narrowly were averted At the
bureau Of printing and engraving, where
hundreds of women are employed, the
wind sweeping through huge window
sent storm of broken plate glass hurt.
ling through the big press room.
Eight or ten women were cut by fall
ing glass; and one printer, John Rhodes
suffered severe scalp wounds. The crash
of glass swept panic through the room. A
hundred or more of the girls working as
printers assistants tainted and fell to .he
floor, and others dashed terror stricken
for the exist For two hours the offic.
was in an uproar.
1000 81 Bills Scattered
While the excitement was at its height
the wind caught bundle Of 1000 81 bills.
half finished, and swept it through the
broken window. The bundle was ripped
to pieces and the bills scattered far and
wide.
Director Ralph hurried out force OF
scouts, and after combing Potomas park
and the grounds of the Washington
monument for miles. and fishing in the
tidal basin nearby, all but SIS worth of
the bills were recovered
Another panic threatened at the pension
office, where the lightning ripped a corner
off the roof, and crashed in scores of win
dows Another lightning bolt tore a hole
in the roof of the postoffice building and
ripped open one face of the big clock in
the tower. The wind ripped Is heavy pam
els out of the floor of the historic old
Aqueduct bridge. and a horse and wagon
crossing the structure was blown into the
river. The driver escaped. Tonight the
police rounded up scores of strayed horse;
and wagons which had been deserted in
the streets or had run away.
Traffic Demoralized
On the Potomac river water traffic was
demoralized. The tug Edith Goddard
Winship sank in the blow and her crew
was taken off by barge which she was
towing. The excursion steamer Charles
II. Warner tonight is aground several
miles down the river, with more than 100
eXcursionists aboard. She is reported in
a safe position. James Stoddard regular
soldier rescued three Washington physi-
clans from an overturned small boat in
the river.
None of the men could SWIM but Stod-
dard brought them all in safely, towing
the three at one time Launches and small!
craft along the shores We're swept from
their moorings and carried away down
the river ahead of the gale
All about the big buildings tonight were
Uttered hundreds of birds killed by the
hail. or by being blown against build
ings. These added TO the wrecked trees
and debris of wrecked houses, made a lit
ter in the street that brought out the full
| force Of the street cleaning department
| In the residence section of the city hun
| dfeds of houses were damaged, roofs torn
| off, cellars flooded windows smashed and
| fences demolished. All through the night
| reports continued to come in of damage
done in the suburbs, and of persons in
jured in the path of the storm. For a
circle of about four miles about the city,
the countryside was devastated truck
farms swept and crops ruined suburban
residences wrecked and trolley lines dam
aged.
Floods Narrow Escape
Representative Flood of Virginia mar
rowly escaped death serious injury
when in the height of the storm, he was
driving in an automobile through the
White House grounds. A huge uprooted
elm was thrown by the wind directly in
the path, just missing the machine. The
weather bureau tonight said that the
storm was purely local heat disturbance
over the city, and that it's path covered
only a few miles. The official records
gave the average velocity of the wind as
54 miles, although at times it reached &C
miles an hour.
During the brief storm 2.O2 inches of rain
fell.