El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-05
City Faces House Famine
Renting Houses Becoming Scarce and
Apartment Houses Are Filling
Fast: Little Interviews.
tCEL PAsO is really facing a house

6GT L PASO is really facing a house
n famine" said Ray Sherman.
we tried to find house that
a friend of ours from New Mexico who
wished to locate here could rent, and
we were simply up against IL We
went to six real estate agents. None
Of them had houses to rent listed. Then
we scanned the want ad columns OF
the papers. Very few houses TO rent.
Most of the apartment houses are fill
ing up fast, and in a short time II will
be impossible to find a suitable house
to rent in FL Paso. Most of the empty
houses in town are being held for
sale"
7 do not like the prospects OF fac
ing four months of real snowy winter
weather when the Second cavalry goes
to Fort Ethan Alien" said Capt J. n
Burroughs. a little cold spell like
we had here Thursday makes me shiver
and freeze when ] think of having to
stand worse cold and snow for months
upon months. Fl PasO surely takes the
blue ribbon for climate and I am sorry
to have to leave it,
cut out the fire whistle for fire
alarms and the danger of accidents,
the interference Of crowds at fires and
the disturbance to business incident TO
the sounding of alarms viii be elm
mated. fire marshal Henry Reynaud
said Thursday afternoon when he was
examining the scene of a trash pile
fire in the rear of Chihuahua street.
That fire whistle is a relic of the DAYS
when the town depended upon the vol
unteers for its fire fighters and the
whistle and bell was used to summon
them to the fire house With the pres
e0t highly efficient fire department
Ell PaSO no longer needs the fire
whistle and much confusion would be
avoided if il were not blown. When
Fr~nT ell ii Sv-Ar
the street. the denartment must drive
slowly through the streets and the
automobiles block the way 50 seriously
that good speed cannot be made. II il
Is necessary fer merchants TO know
that their property is in danger they
can be notified without awakening the
entire city at night. The work of the
department would be decreased by the
abolition OF the fire whistle"
It was not much of a cat to lamp
at a distance but it was reported and
pUrpOrted 10 be worth any price from
S25 to $3.50. regular money. A fair
young thing who stopped off in III
Paso between trains brought the tab
bic in on the Santa Fe. wearing
wicker basket for an O~ercOat-the cat
not the girl. She checked Mr. cor
Mrs-1 kittie at the Harvey parcel
check room and came down town to
see the sights While she was gone
the cat went on a personally conducted
expedition over the union station.
willie" the Mexican boy at the check
room. chased the cat over benches and
through gates at the union station.
finally returning the refugee cat 20
its haven in the wicker basket. just
as the owner returned from town.
An aftermath of the battle Of Jua-
rez has drifted across from JuaTez
in the form of a little human interest
story dealing with the forfeited life
of a federal captain and the bravery
of a Mexican woman. Sam Blumen-
thai who heard the story from one
of his Juarez friends tells it like this:
1t was the day following the cap
tUre of the town by the rebels. One
Of the better class Of the Mexican
families had loaded a few of their pos
sessions sewing machine, two
trunks and a few kee0s0keS-intO n
one horse wagon and drove to the
bridge with them. There the rebel
guard c0mnelled a halt.
While they were parleving with the
guards the woman recognized q federal
officer who was being held bv the
bridge guards and who. she believed.
would be shot soon While her hus-
band and the rebels were talking she
slipped between the officer and the
for the American side. He acted
quickly on a chance of escaping exc
cutiOn. When the rebel guards drew
their rifles to fire she stood in front
fear of hitting the United States sol
diers and bringing about cOmplica-
tons with this government Her an
peal was successful and the federal Of
ficer owes his life to the bravery of
this Mexican woman whom he saw for
the first time at the bridge that fate
full morning"
X
do not worry about the wagon we
found digging the deem sewer" said
mayor c. E Kelly to alderman ". s.
Clayton just before the council meet
ing Thursday morning. ''If YOU think
that it is necessary to draw up
resolution turning the wagon over to
the street department 7 viii efer the
matter tc city attorney Joseph NJ Neal
on.
walter and Charley Leavell have
not agreed which department is en-
titled to the wagon. OF course. both
wanting all they can get for their re-
spective departments. they both want
the wagon, which is in a state Of good
preservation. On the ground that the
wagon was discovered in one Of the
streets I think that Walter has a prior
claim to it. and for that reason I would
be inclined to turn it over to him. But
on second thought. 7 an going to have
it taken I'D and placed in ole of the