New-York tribune., 1918-01-07
Blizzard Buries
Chicago; Coal
Supply Cut OFF
Drifts Sixteen Feet High in
Some Cases Halt the
Street Traffic
Special Correspondencc1

CHICAGO, Jan. 6.-Chicago and its
territory is experiencing the worst
storm in its history. Beginning short
ly after midnight with forty four
mile gale that soon increased to fifty,
there came riding from the south
west snow and sleet storm that has
practically isolated the city and Grip
pied or put out Of business its ut;li,
ties.
For several weeks Chicago and sur
rounding cities and towns have been
"scraping the bottom" of a coal bin.
Deliveries arc now fourteen days be-
hind schedule and the fresh snow.
piled sixteen feet high in some road
ways, makes the situation exceedingly
critical
Streets, except few trunk lines over
which the traction companies have
been working snow ploughs and gangs
OF shovellers constantly. are impassa-
bic. From tho elevated roads hun
dreds of abandoned automobiles are
seen in the snowdrifts. The company
operating the great lorries that carry
SIXTY passengers and are supposed to
be able to encounter any weather con-
ditions, lost eight Of them early in the
day in snowdrlfts and abandoned the
service.
Sweeps All Central States
The blizzard is raging over prac-
tically all the territory bounded by the
Mississippi River to Southern Illinois,
east to the Pennsylvania line and north
from the Central Alabama district to
the Great Lakes.
Steam railway service is badly Grip
pied and number of trains are stalled.
Some trains did not start from this
terminal. Dispatches from. nearby
cities announce the dscontinuance of
practically all local trains and tell of
the problem OF housing and feeding
passengers on through trains. ma
rooned by the blizzard
Wire service also is crippled Early
this evening the telegraph companies
had but one wire to New York and none
to Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore or
Cincinnati. This, of course, meant
that all intermediate points were iso-
lated
Lake Michigan is seethng under the
whip of the storm. Beach combers,
twenty feet in height and carrying tons
of broken ice on their crest, are smash
agencies and lifesavng stations saw
they have no record of any boats being
out, as everything fed to river slips or
shore inlets Saturday. Even the
stanchest vessel would have slim
chance for life with the lake in its
present angry mood. and it Will be davs
before 1t calms down.
Milk Famine Near
Aside from the acute coal shortage.
Chicago and neighboring cities are
facing a milk famine Country roads
are blockaded, and will be for two or
three days, if the storm subsidies to-
night. This is not promising, as there
is no diminution in the snowfall, but
the wind has subsided to about thirty
five miles.
People residing in corner houses and
flats were practically marooned by the
snow drifts, which in many cases reach
to second story windows. There is a
great scarcity of labor and the city
must dig itself out as best it can. 1t
must also forage for its food supplies,
as no deliveries can be made until the
streets are cleared.
The binding storm caused many &C
cidents, as people founderng through
the drifts were unable to see or hear
approaching automobiles and surface
cars. Thieves also took advantage of