The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-07
CHICAGO NEARLY
BURIED BENEATH
15-FOOT DRIFTS
Northern Midwest States Swept
by Real Blizzard.
Rail Schedules Practically
Suspended in Many Cities.
13.5-IhCH SNOW IN "a HOURS
Driven by, Gale, Huge Banks
Form Barriers.
SnOwplows Make Little Effect;
Vehicles Abandoned.
13.5-INCH SNOW IN "a HOURS

Chicago, Jan. 7.-Chicago began to
dig itself out of the drifts today after
one of the worst billiards. in it's his 1
tory. The wind, which blew from
forty 10 sixty miles an hour during
twenty-four hours, abated at 2 o'clock
this morning and in the calm of day
light made brighter by the greater
drifts and fields of snow. the sun
smiled the bland smile of the cat
which had just eaten the canary.
Everywhere were evidences of the
storm. There was scarcely a block in
the outlying districts without its
stalled automobile, hood-high in the
snow, waiting to be shoveled out.
Ice Bound Ship Has Grief.
The steamer, Missouri. plying be-
tween Chicago and Milwaukee, held
fast in the ice and buffeted by the
gale 1imped into this port this morn
ing like some stray iceberg. 1t was
coated with ice and the crew, after
many cruel and sleepless hours, came
out of her like Esquimaux emerging
from their iglooS
With abatement of the wind snow
plows on streets and railroads had a
chance to do effective work, but so
great was the snowfall that with labor
short it was predicted that days must
NAL condition.
Street cars crawled as best they
might with their belated passengers
going to work. The railroads, all but
stalled during the night. resumed
fairly adequate suburban service.
Milk trains were late or abandoned.
Banks Clog Traffic.
Chicago, Jan. 1.-THE middle west
was a great, white desert today.
The heaviest snowfall on record was
whirled by mile-a-minute gale with
huge drifts twelve and. fifteen feet
deep, paralyzing all traffic and forcing
business thruout this region practically
to standstilI.
More than one-third of a seasons
ow had fallen in "A hours. The
weather bureau reported fall of ID Il
inches N the level early today, on top
t~of 4 Il inches previously fallen. This
was nearly half the entire snowfall of
1915.
1.-The storm, which centered over the
lower Mississippi valley Saturday
night, had moved northeastward and
today extended from Missouri east
ward into Ohio. The heaviest pre-
cipitation was in Illinois, Wisconsin,
Michigan and northern Indiana The
weather bureau expected the wind and
snow to abate in this territory some
time today.
More than half the transcontinen
tai ailroads entering Chicago were
forced to cancel from one train to
their entire service. Suburban service
was practically abandoned. But few
surface cars attempted to buck the
drifts. Taxi companies refused to
send out their cars. Scores of private
ly owned automobiles and motor
trucks were abandoned in the streets;
Only the elevated railways maintained
a semi lance of a schedule. Even
pedestrians were exhausted by the
struggle against the snow and wind.
Abandons All Trains.
The Chicago & Alton railroad aban-
doned all train service out of the city
The Chicago & Northwestern was
ing to schedule All thru trains via
Minneapolis were abandoned. All in
Bound trains on the Pennsylvania were
five to ten hours Late All north
bound trains on the Chicago, Mil
waukee & st. Paul were temporarily
suspended Rock Island trains left
one to three hours behind schedule.
Trains on the New York Central and
Michigan Central were six to ten
hours late and many were Cancelled.
The Illinois Central was operating
service ''aS we can"
Telephone and telegraph service was
badly crippled and many cities were
entirely isolated. A milk and fuel
shortage was imminent in Chicago and
surrounding cities. The only cheering
feature of the situation was compare
| lively high temperatures, but with the
abatement of the wind and snow the
mercury was expected to drop to about
II above zero
HoId-Up Men Get Busy.
| Last night was ''Hghtless night in
| Chicago and the storm put thousands
| of street lights out of commission,
making the lack of illumination great
| er than was intended. Hold-up men
took advantage of the situation, scores
| of robberies being reported.
Two persons were dead in this city
4 and nine seriously injured as a result
of the storm. F'ifty-seven fire alarms
were turned in but none of them
proved serious. despite the fact sew
eral pieces of apparatus were stalled.
| Lake traffic was in great danger.
The steamers Missouri and Indiana,
caught in the ice off Chicago harbor
| for hours, made port early today The
steamer Illinois was still trapped in
the floes Other vessels were unre-
ported.
Gives Up Street Cleaning.
| The city abandoned attempts to
clear the downtown streets early last
night after men and horses had be-
come exhausted. An appeal was made
to citizens to aid today. Many schools,
which were to reopen after the Christ
mas holidays, will remain closed.