Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-03

in the open said the wind tore off
cornices of dwellings, chimneys and
other exposed places.
To-day linemen for the various
telephone and telegraph companies
and the Harrisburg Light and Power
companies completed all breaks and
scores of men were employed by the
city Park and Highway Department
clearing the broken limbs and large
trees from the parks and highways.
35 Trees Ruined '-
In River Front Park at least thirty
five trees have been ruined accord
ing to Park Department estimates,
while scores of other ones in the resi-
Dental disticts either have been up
i-rooted or snapped off and must be
removed. Hundreds of other ones
were stripped almost bare in places.
In the Capitol Park trees were dam
aged also but not so much as along
the river.
Immediately after the storm was
over last evening city police closed
some of the streets to traffic, but
had difficulty in keeping motorists
from using them. Finally the otIi-
GERS could not control the traffic in
some places and were forced to open
the streets again.
Closed to Traffic
Motorists who refused to believe
that North Front street was closed
to traffic last night provided amuse-
ment to scores of persons who
watched drivers rundown red lights
placed in the streets. The crowd
jeered each time an automobile
crashed into the lanterns at Front
and Market streets and the tires
picked up bits of broken glass.
Trees blown across Front street
made it almost impossible for traffic
to pass safely through the street
while a number of wires hanging
across the street made it dangerous
to life.
Three lanterns were crushed at
Front and Market streets within an
hour A number of self-appointed
traffic Officers" were kept busy try
ing to warn motorists. After a time
a rope was secured and stretched
across the highway to save the one
remaining lantern. This was taken
down in five minutes as drivers got
into the street from unguarded alleys
and byways and then could not get
out. After a time the police gave
up the job and permitted the drivers
to go on their way.
City I'm Darkness
With street lights out in many dis
tricts of the city walking was danger
Gus because of the wires and tree
trunks which were lying on the pave
ments. Late in the night lights were
turned on as linemen completed re-
pairs.
The water rushing into the Mar
ket street subway soon flooded 1t,
holding up traffic until. Harrisburg
Railway traffic men sent the cars
the heavy ,downpour the cars could
not proceed.
At the, Evangelical Publishing
Second and Locust street. the roofs
We're torn loose by the high wind.
Windows in the Telegraph Building
were smashed; the slarge sign at the
was ripped from it's fastening and
crashed to the street; at the home of
Dr. j. Howard Rahter, 324 North Sec
ond street, windows were broken by
falling trees: trees were blown down
III Pine street; Muench, between Third
and Fourth; Briggs, near Capital;
wires town down at Nineteenth and
Harrisburg Club was blown over,
crashing through a sky light, and
awnings on scores of buildings and
homes torn loose.
Bishop Narrowly Escapes
Bishop Philip r. McDevitt who had
been sitting near the window of his
home. 115 Pine street, had just step
ped away when a large tree was
wind.
In State street. near Thirteenth.
the water loosened the paving and
tearing out large blocks carried them
down the street. Near Cameron, in
State street, hundreds of bricks were
washed out also.
! At At the Courier building a large
floor but the walls held.
At Fourth and Chestnut streets a
large pear tree. many years old, was
falling it crashed over three fences.
smashing all of them.
Corn Blown Flat
In the outlying districts in some
over while scarcely five hundred
yards farther. on large peach orchards
were not injured. In some of the
nearby towns little damage was done,
although heavy rain fell.
According to Captain of Police
thompson, the storm was one of the
worst that has swept over Harris
burg since September 1896. when a
much damage.
The Harrisburg Light and Power
Company linemen had little difficulty
in connecting lines to residences in |
districts where they had been blown
down, but several churches were com
PEELED to either postpone or delay
their services.
Destruction Runs Riot
The storm seems to have been par-
ticularly destructive in the neigh
borhood of Front and South streets
A large locust tree on the propertv
of William Il. Bailey was blown down
and blocked Front street Another
large tree was blown over i'm front
of the residence of Mrs. John IT
Weiss. On the same block other
trees were uprooted. and in the
Front Street Park, between the Civic
Club and Market street, destruction
ran riot, trees being uprooted, limbs
torn off and general devastation hay-
ing followed the path of the storm.
few months ago the large old |
trees on the Reilly lawn at Front
and Reel streets, were strengthened
by a force ofstree experts through the !
reinforcement system, but to-day
most of these trees are gnarled and |
twisted trunks.
-