Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1913-07-31
Three Lives Known to Be Lost
and Scores of Persons In
jured by Violence Of Cy-
cIonic Tornado,
CONGRESS FORCED TO
SUSPEND SITTING
Streets Are SteWn With
Branches and Trunks of
Trees, Dead Birds, Roofs of
Houses and Other Debris,

tsr MORNING JouHHsl SPECIAL LGAsGn wiEEi
Washington, july 30.-Like giant
flail. a cyclonic storm OF wind, rain
and hail whipped back and forth
across the nations capital today leav-
ing death and ruin in its wake Three
were killed. scores injured, and hun
drcds of thousands of dollars worth
of property was ruined according To-
% hurried canvass made when the city
aroused itself from the half an hour
of helplessness in the grasp of the
elements
out of blazing sky under which
the city was swelterlng with the tenn
pcrature ut the 100 point came the
storm roaring from the north, driv-
ing a mass OF clouds that cast a man
tlo of total darkness over the town
The gale. reaching velocity Of near
ly 10 miles AN hour. swept the streets
clear unroofcd houses tore detached
small structures from their founda-
tions, wrecked one office building
overturned wagons and carriages in
the streets ana swept Washington's
hundred parks tearing huge branches
from trees, and even uprooting sturdy
old elms
Tonight Washingtons well-kept
streets, with their wealth of trees,
were Uttered with broken boughs.
roofs ana dead birds.
As the wind wreaked lis havoc the
rain came, and in i've minutes the
temperature from the 100 mark.
dropped to between 90 and 7O Then
the rain turned 10 hail and hailstones
crashed through skyhghts ana win
doWs
For half an hour the city covered,
trolley lines. telephone lines and traf-
hc were halted and the government
departments suspended operations.
The wind wrecked big three-story
brick office building occupied by the
=. $. saul company, real estate deal
ers, and fifteen persons were carried
down In the crash. Three men who
entered the building to rescue those
caught in the wreck were taken from
the wreck dead Half dozen were
taken to hospitals seriously injured
ana half "A dozen more were treated
for slight injuries. Tonight the police
still were digging in the ruins.
The neatly kept lawns Of the White
House 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.
President Wilson was seated in the
executive offices when the wind
ciashcd through several windows in
the White House proper Secretary
Iumulty hurried the president and
Representative Korbey, Of Indiana.
with whom he was comforting, to
sheltered room
The capitol, set high above the city.
caught the bruut Of the wind. rain.
hail and lightning The senate was in
session when the hail swept down
with a deatening roar. beating on the
glass roof Of the chamber The tumuu
made further business impossible and
hurrying to the vice presidents desk.
senator Kern megaphoned with his
hands motion TO recess and the SEN
ate quit
'fNt' NfN SUI lll - bAfs lIllIAA live
painters We're at work on the dome
of the capital, swarming over the
curving surface or swinging high ON
shaky scaffolding The foreman hur.
ried to the dome and got most of his
men to shelter inside the big inverted
bowl But four were too late. Tive
succeeded in scaling the dome and
gained sheltered ledge where they
Weathered the storm but two were
caught on swinging seaffold just I'M
den the caves Of the dome. and there
they swung. beaten by the hail, while
The big flashes Of blue lightning trlc-
kled around the dome. down the plati-
mum lightning points in the head Of
the Goddess Of Freedom that sur
mounts the structure
Here ANA there panic appeared
Horses driven frantic by the wind and
hail dashed through the streets in
terror until collision with wind-strcwn
objects stopped them. At the bu-
reau Of printing and engraving. the
wind, sweeping through a huge vim
dow sent "a storm of broken plate glass
hurtling through tie big press room
Eight or ten women were cut 10y
falling glass, and one printer received
severe scalp wounds The crash Of
glass swept panic through the big
room. 4 hundred or more Of the girls
working as printers assistants tainted
ana fell to the floor. and the others
dashed terror-stricken for the exits
FOR hours the office was in uproar
In the eXcitement the wind whiried
bundle Of 900 one-dolar bills. half
finished, through the broken window
ripped il to pieces and scattered the
nils far and wide, Director Rolph
ard a force of scouts combed Potomac
PARK and the grounds OF the Wsshing. .
ton monument for miles and fished in