New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-16
Storm Ties Up City'S Car
Lines Icy Rails Halt
Long Island Trains.
RECENT OVERWORK
CRIPPLES SKOVELLERS
Upstate Cities Hard Hit by Snow,
Which BurieS TwO-StOry
Houses In Drifts.

The ldcs Of March. not preceded this
time by any forewsrning such as
Cesar received. blew into New York
yesterday with an assortment Of
weather which proved that the winter
Of 1916 is not yet over. Sleet, hail and
snow were on the programme.
In the city it was tho sleot which
wrought the greatest damage. Flee
trifed suburban railroad lines were put
out OF service. delaying Long Island
commuters an hour i'm the morning and
half hour on the way home.
Surface and elevated lines were tied
up. and sidewalks and payements we're
covered with slippery glaze dis
astrous TO pedestrians and horses.
The storm was general over the East.
but outside Of New York there was
more snow. some cities reporting falls
Of blizzard depth.
Until last night only q little over an
inch of snow had fallen in the greater
citv. But John T. Fetherston, Street
Cleaning Commissioner, was making
preparations for the worst. With his
own regular force exhausted by over
work. he had been able 10 recruit only
5000 extra men.
4 score Of minor accidents were re-
ported to the police. In half dozen
eases they were due to sippery car
steps.
Suburban Lines Hit.
suburban railroad lines and their
patrons bore the first brunt OF the
storm. although the traffic ue-up ca
tended to surface and elevated INES III
the city.
ON the Long Island Railroad steam
had TO go 20 the rescue OF electrlcl1I
al a moment when the largest nuhoei
OF passengers of the day were ln tran.
sit toward town. A heavy coating OF
slcet on the high tension power lihes
and incidental troubles put inc "hoIe
electrified section of the road out OIL
cor,r,ission AZ 1850 o'clock in the morn
inc. Thousands of commuters were
iron, fortv-iive minutes TO an hour late
d. their places of business.
Realizing there would be a serious
dolav ON the divisions along the NORTH
shore 20 Flushing. Whitestone anu
Port Washington. between BrooAlyn
and Jamaica and on the Rocka"ay
branch the road sent forth fleet OF
steam locomotives 20 do the work Oh
which electricity failed.
on their homcward journey the com
r.u.ers were again delayed 70 the
profit Of those operating last cnancc
emporiums near the Pennsylvania ana
Atlantic Avenue terminals. The power
wires were still In tangle and pas
sengers for the Hampstead branch,
Long Beach and Far Rockaway changed
AZ Jamaica for steam trains. Those
hound elsewhere, who are usually
served by third rail lines, also had 20
change either at Jamaica or Woodside.
Trolley lines on the island had SINH
trouble. and no attempt was made
throughout the day to maintain far
weather schedules.
Central Lines Hampered.
Traffic over the New York Central
lines also was greatly hampered. one
train on the Rome, Watertown & Og-
densburg division was abandoned at
Crockett. and another with passengers
and freight was almost buried by
drifts al Hamlin. The prize drifts Of
the storm. according TO dispatches
from Gloversville, were at Canada
Lake. where two-story cottages were
showed under completely. Electric
cars running between Glovcrsville and
Johnstown could not be seen from the
sidewalk and telephone poles were
covered 70 their tips.
At Binghamton the public schools
were closed for the day, and at Buffalo,
with six inches on the ground. a
switchman was killed by an engine
which snow had hidden from him.
There was scarcely another city in the
state which did not report its own
local accidents and traffic tie-ups. A
message from Middletown told Of mo-
florists who had been forced 70 leave
their machines in drifts and fight their
way on foot into the city. Troy re-
ported that the new snowfall brought
the Rensselaer, County total for this
winter % between ninety and hun
dred inches. riyalling that Of the biz
zard year Of 1858.
Asbury Park and the greater part
Of Monmouth County, y. j., were cut
OF from Geographic communication.
and business with the rest Of the world
was transacted over the telephone.