Evening star., 1918-01-13
Even shovelers Stop Work.

Most statements Of the situation begin
with the word NO No trains, no taxi
cabs, no coal. no milk. no produce mar
ket. no cattle. hogs or sheep received at
the stock yards, no schools next week.
no department stores since 3 o'clock this
afternoon. and innumerable minor mos" "
There was even no further work of the
city's snow shovelers. for it was regard
ed as merely humane in the bitter cold
to send them to their homes to thaw out.
Department stores, which were not
doing any business anyway. closed at
5 pm to conserve fuel President
Davis of the board of education an
nounced that the public schools would
structions that $4,000 shoolboys re-
port to their principals as usual next
Monday morning with shove1s and
other appropriate implements to at
tack the snow blockade.
Practically No Trains.
There were practically no trains, sub
sands of men and women. boys and
girls were unable to reach their places
Of employment. So many trains were
stalled last night the railroads quit
sending them out. The first train from
western suburbs did not crawl in un-
til noon, and 1t took a snowplow and
three engines to haul 1t in. Those who
came in on 1t were chagrined later to
learn that no attempt would be made
to make the evening journey back. One
Of the few through trains to arrive
was a Pennsylvania special, which ar
rived eighteen hours late. with eight
locomotives hauling 1t.
At o'clock this afternoon the taxi
cab companies. whose drivers suffered
terribly from the cold, called in their
vehicles.
At noon. when the city gave up the
fight to clear the streets. the men were
given hot coffee and sandwiches and
were sent to their homes.
1T would be tnhuman to require men
to work on a day like this" said Will
liam Burkhardt, deputy commissioner
Of public works.
Hotel Business Halts.
Nowhere was the arctic blight more
apparent than in the big hotels. At
the Auditorium there were no new ar
rivals in the course OF the forenoon. a
hotels history. At the Blackstone three
women on a belated train from In
dianapolis. hauled by eight locomotives
and snow plow: registered. Two me men
Pacific. The Congress had four new
guests, and the Palmer House and the
La Sale three each. Conventions.
luncheons and meetings generally were
Owners of sleighs were offered high
prices, but there are few in the city
One livery company was offered $25 a
ton for the use of a sleigh to haul coal
Packers offered similar high rates to
move meats to their branch houses. but
the slefghs generally were used to
carry patients to hospitals over roads
which could not be negotiated by other
conyeyances.
Closing of the Schools.
1t was an unprecedented order thai
closed the public schools all next week
on account of the cold and snow an6
the necessity of saving fuel Edward
Davis. president of the board of educa
| ton, IN his order said:
| I'm ordering school work suspended
for the coming week / urge the pupils
particularly the boys Of the sixth. sew
enth and eighth grades of the ele
mentary schools, and those of the higl
schools who are physically able, mum
bering approximately $4,000. to co
operate with their principals ant
teachers in helping to meet the snow
problems. These boys are requested t.
| report at the schools as usual at
O'Clock Monday morning and brint
| with them shovels or other implement.
with which to work"