Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-01-17
q BELOW ZERO ON
SATURDAY MORNING
Mercury Took the Longest Tumble it
Has Made Since 1906, When it
Went to 2S Below Zero
FUEL SHORTAGE CONTINUES
Local Dealers Have Only Enough
Coal to Fill a Small Part of
Their 0rders-Much
Suffering
W--H-O-O-P-E-E!!!

W-H-O-0-P-E-E!!!
% below zero Saturday morning,
according to local Weather Observer
Merritt Llewellyn.
The temperature began falling early
afternoon and continued 10
seek the nethermost level Of the Their
mometer until Saturday morning.
This is the. coolest it has been in this
city since 1906, when it fell to %
below.
The local dealers are all short Of
fuel. They have only enough coal to
fill a part Of their orders and are
dealing it out so that it will go as far
as possible and that no one will suf-
fer.
Many trains were annulled Friday
night because of the deep snow drifts
and excessive cold. All mails were un
certain and conditions generally dis
rupted.
Many birds, in all parts of the city,
were found frozen beneath the trees
where they fell during the night. The
fall in temperature was so rapid they
could not withstand the cold.
Mexico could not have been more
isolated Saturday had we been located
on a lost island in some uncharted sea.
Trains on both the Wabash and AL
ton, due to arrive at different hours
Saturday, were all annulled. Mexico
has prided herself on having 35 pas
senger trains a day, but Saturday, like
the small boy who saw the camel in
the circus, "there wasn't no such
thing" Travelling men and other
transients were marooned wherever
they happened to be and the local no.
tells were filled with travellers who had
stopped in this city and could not
leave for their various destinations.
Because of the cold and heavy snow
drifts the rural mail carriers did not
make their trips Saturday. They
started, but were forced to return.
Friday they succeeded in making only
a part of their routes.
The Social Service Board has been
having many calls the past few days
for coal and shoes for the poor. The
extreme weather has caused much
suffering.
Z. R. Locke OF the Mexico Power Co..
stated Saturday that the Power Co.
had plenty Of coal to run them
through the present cold weather.
Traffic on the Chicago & Alton and
Wabash Railroads Sunday was again
practically halted. One or two belat-
ed trains came in, but they arrived
late. The Wabash had a train which
reached here at six Sunday Afternoon
from st. Louis.
The temperature fell to 20 degree:
below zero Saturday night, though il
had risen appreeiably by early Sunday
morning.
Because Of the cold and the impossi
bility Of heating some of the churche!
here the services Sunday were ~
tailed and in omc Instances eliminat.
ed entirely.
There was three inches of snow fal
Sunday night. The temperature fel
to 5 below.
The following are temperatures il
various parts OF TINS country Satur
day:
indianapolis, 10 below zero; Macon
Mo-, "a below; Cairo, ILL.,, 16 below
Ten inches of snow fell in Wisconsin
in Chicago all big department store.
closed at 8 o'clock Saturday Afternoon
because of the lack of fuel; it was L
degrees below in st. Louis Satura!
which was the coolest day for Al
years.
Clyde Owings, who rode to tow
Monday morning, says the snow drift
in many places r up to a horse
back. There is a crust under tn
snow which fell Sunday night ant
makes the travelling for a horse al
most impossible. He says the road
in many places are practically i'm
p~assable.