The Sentinel=record., 1913-03-26
DAYTON
 DOOMED

Dayton, O., MarcD 25.--fBy tele- phone ia Xenia) )--Dayton is tonight in seething river three miles wide a mile and half on each side ot Main street, it's principal thorough. fare while it Is estimated that from 1000 to 5000 people have perished.
 The Algonquin hotel is submerged te It's third story and above this level in the down town district office buildings, hotels and business houses are places of refuge.
 A school building that was known to have housed no less than 400 school children shortly before the waters rushed in that direction is entirely submerged and as far as can be ascertained all of these little ones met watery grave.
 Thousands of those who were fortu- nate enough to have escaped the rush of the waters are being fed to- night on short rations.
 Three train loads of food stuffs have arrived from Xenia, but as yet theite have been no chance to deliver them and suffering from hunger, as well as exposure, Is bound to occur within the next few hours. The rain continues and the waters are still rising.
 The Union railroad bridge that ad- mist all except one of the railroads in the city was dynamited this af- ternoon but the effect was not felt to any marked degree.
 Cincinnati. O., March 25.--It re- mained for two girls to be the real factors in giving to the world the news of the first day of the flood. Both are operators, but in different the exchange at Dayton flashed the last tidings that came out of the stricken city by telephone today as well as having delivered the news to Gov. Cox, which enabled that ex- ecutive to grasp the situation and start the rescue work. The other is the telegraph operator at Phoneton, eight miles north of Dayton. who served as relay operator for the gir in Dayton Both stood to their posts as long as the wires held and the young woman at Phoneton, Mrs. Rena White Eakin, worked all during the day and night.
 In the wood working department of the National Cash Register Com. pany boats were being turned out at the rate of ten an hour and these were rushed to where the waters had crossed Main street in sort of gully.
 But the waters crept up and the strength of the current was far too strong for the crude punts, though they were the best that could be made in hurry. Trip after trip was made and hundreds of the refugees were ;sihc:, ;si from this :.h:s ssaetsht 6. houses and the houses on the other side.
 The first to seek safety by sliding his body along the telegraph conduits was a man. Then came four women The first of the women was Mrs Lucia Meyers. She is widow with one son, a boy in knee brooches. He got out on the wire and, with the agility of a cat. was soon across But the widow Meyers was not so
  young as the boy. and possibly more aware of the danger below. When she was over, the boiling torrent be- heath, she swayed as though in a faint and the crowd stood by with out breath. By lucky chance her senses came back to her in time that she grasped one Of the wires. Hand over hand she was able slowly to pull herself to the nearest pole, where she rested her aching arms before again making the trial This time she did not falter, but when she was picked up by the rescuers at the farthest pole toward safety, she was limp from exhaustion.
 One man carried his baby to saf. ety in pillow slip and the youngster celebrated his arrival to safe ground by lusty yell.
 The worst of the flooded district includes all of north and West Day ton, all of the downtown section, the south side as far as Oakwood and all of the residence suburb of Glen dale. The district has normal pop ulation of more than fifty thousand,