The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1917-05-31
TORNADO TOLL Will Be
OVER THE $50 MARK
REHABILITATION .
WORK IS RUSHED
OVER 400 FAMILIES HOMELESS
IN NATION HELP is ARRIV-
ING.

Mattoon, Ills, May -Rehabilita-
tion of Mattoon and Charleston, the
cities hit hardest by the tornado which
swept Central illinois on Saturday,
will be completed before the snow
flies, accoding to predictions of relief
workers tonight. The total death list
will be over $50. -
Plans for permanent relief work on
a basis of rehabilitation rather than
compensation cr reimbursement re-
quire the expenditure of $250,OOO in
Mattoon and from $150,000 to $780,
900 in Charleston according to esti-
mates contained in statement issued
tonight by J. j. O'Connor. director of
the Red Cross.
Relief for the homeless thousands
are being pushed rapidly and efforts
made to meet the needs of each fam
lily individually.
Families Homesless.
Four hundred and ninety-six home
less families in Mattoon and three
hundred and eighty-four in Charles
ton had been located tonight and ef-
forts to put them on a self-support-
ing basis were under way. The clear
ing of the wreckage was begun and
arrangements msde whereby scores of
men and teams will eb at work with
in a few days.
No more food stuffs, clothing or
furnishings are reeded at either Mat
toon or Charleston, according to the
statement, but the money for per-
manent relief is vitally necessary. St.
Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleve-
land and Columbus have notified off
cials in the district of their wiling
ness to help.
In addition to succoring the suffer-
ers from Illinois storms, the Red
Cross from Mattoon today assumed
the direction of relief workers at
places in northern Indiana and East
ern Kentucky, also vino swept.
Death Toll Doubtful.
Red Cross officials said that accur-
ate figures on the death toll of the
storm may not lie known for several
days because of the difficulties of COM
munication with some of the isolated
farms. Reports tonight placed the
! number Of dead in Mattoon at fifty
, four. Revised lists at Charleston in
dicated thirty-four dead.
The possibility Of pestilence was
e diminished today, although a medical
). census, taken in the two towns reveal
e ed several cases of spreading diseases
Y however, were carefully isolated and
state board of health physicians of
s the medical relief work assured that
v the sanitary situation was well under
control.
Among the problems encountered
by the housewives in Charleston was
| that Of cooking. The gas supply was
! shut off and few of the undamared
homes being equipped with cook stoves
e most of the food served in the town
today was cold.
$ Kentucky Visited.
e. Paducah, KY, May 28.-The toll of
v dead and injured taken by the storm
(which late Sunday afternoon swept
continued to mount rapidly today as
E a confused nlass Of conflicting reports
, from many sources were sifted. To-
night it appeared probable that the
! death list would approach seventy and
those injured would number several
= hundred.
\ At Hickman a check of reports
v from various :ources apparently es-
tablished that the dead list in Fulton
i county would exceed forty. It is es,
tlmated that the injured will number
nearly 200.
At Clinton, in Carlisle county, check
OF the death list report showed that
five persons were killed there and that
twelve others lost their lives at Cyp.
ress, small nearby village. The lis.
: OF injured in the two towns was esti-
mated to be upward of 40. At bard
, we'll in Carlisle county, three persons
! are known to have been killed, and q
others more or less seriously injured
AT Dublin in Graves county, five were
!. killed and nnanv injured.
H. A. Nicholson and F. R. Stevens