The San Francisco call., 1913-07-31
Wind. Rain, Hail and Light
ming Flail District of Co.
lurnbia-Three Men Perish
in the Ruins of Wrecked
Building-1OO Girls Faint
While the Tempest Rages
ENTIRE GOVERNMENT
SUSPENDS OPERATION
River Craft Are Sunk or
Stranded-Countryside Is
Observation-Disclosures on
Capitol Dome Are Buffet
ed in Terrific Gale-Debris
and Dead Birds Litter City

w July 3U---l1lhe Il giant
Tail, cyclonic storm of wind, rain
md hail whipped back and forth across
the nations capital today. leaving death
and ruin in its wake. There were
killed. scores injured and hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of prop
erty ruined. according to a hurried
canvass made when the city aroused
itself from half an hour of helpless
ness in the grasp of the elements
Out of a blazing sky, under which
the city was sweltering with the tenn
perature at the 100 point came the
storm, roaring from the north. driv-
ing a mass of clouds that cast man
tie of total darkness over the town.
The gale, reaching velocity of near
~ 20 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's hundred parks,
'teaing huge branches from trees and
even uprooting sturdy old elms. the
landmarks OF a century.
PARALNZES CITY
Tonight Washingtons well kept
streets, with their wealth of trees. are
Uttered with broken boughs, roofs and
dead birds
AS the wind wreaked its havoc the
rain came and in five minutes the tenn
perature from the 100 mark dropped to
between so and 20. Then the rain
turned to hail and the hailstones
crashed. through skylights and WIN
dows
For half an hour the city covered.
paralyzed. under tire beating of the
storm. every activity suspended. Troll
ley lines. telephone lines and street
traffic were halted and the government
departments suspended operations.
The wind wrecked the three story
brick office building occupied by the B.
S Saul company. real estate dealers,
and IS persons were carried down in
the crash.
". f. Hilton, vice president Of the
Real Estate company; Thomas B.
F'ealey a clerk, and an unidentified man
who entered the building to rescue
those caught. were taken from the
wreck dead
Half dozen were taken to hospitals
seriously injured. and half dozen
more were treated for slight injuries
Tonight the police still were digging
in the ruins for other bodies THAT they
feared might be there
PRESIDENT HEARS TEMPEST
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
10 the very portico of the building.
blocking the drives. President Wilson
was seated in the executive Offices when
the wind crashed through several win
dows in the White House proper. Sec
retary Tumulty hurried the president
and Representative Korbly of Indiana,
with whom he was conferring, to
sheltered interior room.
The capitol set high above the city.
caught the brunt of the wind. rain
and hail and lightning. The senate
was in session when the hail swept
down with a deafening roar, beating on
the glass roof of the chamber. The
tunnult made further business impos-
*ible. and hurreing TO the vice presi-
dents desk. Senator Kern megaphoned
with his hands a motion TO recess. The
motion was put and although the sena-
tors could hear nothing, the senate quit
work for Is minutes in confusion.
PAINTERS IN PERIL
When the storm broke 80 painters
were at work on the dome of the capi-
tol, swarning. over the curving sur
face or swinging high on shaky scat
folding. William Reese, the foreman.
hurried to the dome and got most of
his men to shelter inside the big in
verted bowl. But Jim Boyle, John Ford,
Noble Bailey and Bruce Jones were too
late Bailey and Jones succeeded in
scaling the dome in the wind and rain
and gained a sheltered ledge, where
they weathered the storm after trying
IN vain to get inside. Boyle and Ford
were caught ono swinging scaffold
lust under the caves of the dome and
there they swung buffeted by the wind.
Eau&fnuad pape - Colrfmn