Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-04-04
W|NTRY STORM
SWEEPS RICHMOND
On Easter Eve City Is Covered
With Blanket of Soggy
Snow.
ALL WIRES TO CITY ARE DOWN
Railroads Suffer Heavily, and
Telephone and Telegraph
Service Is Impaired.
ALL WIRES TO CITY ARE DOWN

Sweeping angrily up along the South
Atlantic scaboard, a storm. said by the
local Weather Bureau to have been
brcwcd in the West Indies. struck
Richmond full tilt early yesterday
morning, and within few hours
buried the city under n blanket OF
soggy snow, which In point of volume
and unseasonableness was unprece-
dented in the history of Richmond.
Tn" storm attained high peak Of
destructivcness early in the forenoon,
when for Il space of two or three hours
the city was practically without COM
nuricaton with the outer world.
Tele,5raphic communication was part
~ restored In the afternoon. although
there was still late last night a bad
break near Ashland in the Western
Union lines TO Washington and the
North.
FOUR MEN KILLED
BY DANGLING WIRES
In tho city the storm worked havoc.
Three men. c. p. Moxley. a merchant,
and ]. r. Chenault and Charles H.
Beadles, farmers. came in contact with
a live wire at Twenty Street and
the Nine Mile Road, and wcr" instant
ly killed. The two-horse team which
the farmers were driving. was likewise
killed.
At the State Penitentiary last night
Houston Hincy. a trusty convict from
Roanoke. was instantly killed while
attempting to remove a dangling cleo
trio wire.
Earlier in the morning. about three
hours after midnight. two horses OF
Engine Company No. II. OF the Fire
Department, stepped on live wire
at Addison and Cary Streets and were
dead In less than minute. The
horses were valued at $500.
District Manager A. s. Tanner, OF the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone
Company. reported last night that be-
tween l,20o and 1900 telephones were
out OF commission. and that $50 OF the
companys poles were down Not a
single long distance telephone wire out
of Richmond was in working order last
night.
TELEGRAPH SERVICE
GREATLY IMPAIRED
Both the Western Union and Postal
Telegraph Companies suffered broken
lines and poles, and a greatly impaired
service. Local Manager Sale. OF the
Western Union, said last night that
while the situation was worst early in
the morning, after which conditions be-
gan steadily to improve. II would be
at least Monday or Tuesday before the
could be repaired and the full
service restored.
Cut off from telegraphic communi-
cation with Washington yesterday
morning, the Western Union resorted
TO the expedient of training" mes
sages Operators carrying heavy
patches of teleGrans took morning and
early afternoon trains North, and de-
posted them for delivery and further
forwarding in the company's Washing
ton offices. The actual delay by this
procedure was not more than two or
three hours.
RAILROADS SUFFER
HEAVY DAMAGE
All the railroads suffered through
breaks in their lines Of communications.
The Scaboard Air Line, in particular
running parallel with the path OF
storm, Jared badly. 1t was stated at
the companys local Offices last night
that 80 of its poles were down be-
tween Petersburg and Norlina, and
about $50 between Weldon and Raleigh
The interference with communication
caused by these breaks played havoc
with the Seahoard schedules. No. 10,
Florida Limited. due here at 1926
o'clock yesterday morning arrived
last night at about IL o'clock, more
than fifteen hours late, and No. 4, due
here at sos o'clock yesterday after
noon, did not arrive until after mid
night. No. 2, due in this city at 5:55
o'clock in the morning, arrived about
1880 o'clock last night. Officials of
the road expressed the hope that nor
nal conditions would be restored bv
Tomorrow.
The Atlantic Coast Line, likewise
paralleliug the path OF the storm lost
a large number of poles. It's tra<
schedules. however, were not material
1y affected the Florida Limited. due
here at o'clock yesterday morning,
arriving only about an hour late.
WIRES OUT OF COMMISSION
IN EVERY DIRECTION
at the Southern Railway offices II
was stated that the wires between
Richmond and Danville and Richmond
and West Point were out OF commits
sion. Trains, however. were being
operated on schedule with little delay
IT was stated that none of the South
ern Railway trains from the South was
more than thirty minutes or an hour
late. Normal service, 1t was expected,
Will be restored some time to-day.
Tho Richmond, Fredericksburg and
Potomac experienced bad wire breaks
near Ashland and near Pcnola. For
stretch OF about mile near Ashland
hardly 81 pole was left standing
While the local offices Of the road were
still out of communication with Wash
ington at late hour last night, none
of the incoming trains yesterday was
more than twenty or thirty minutes
late.
The storm clipped the eastern sec
tions of the Chesapeake and Ohio, dis
abling it's wires between this point and
Lynchburg and Now