Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-01-07
DRIFTS BLOCK STREETS
AND SIDEWALKS;
FARMS CUT OFF
TRAFFIC TIE D Up
iNrERUReAN FORCED TO ABAN.
DON TRAVEL SUNDAY AFTER.
NoON-CARS UNABLE TO RE.
suMe OPERATIONS UNTIL THIS
MORNING.

for singing keep the Home Fires
Burning in Ottawa. The city. passing
az il dil through thc scycrest storm
In recent decades. was as devoid Jf
lifo during the day rs an abandoned
belgium village. Home sweet home
was never so popular and fuel admin
airallon warnings went for naught rs
the furnaces and base burners roarad
their cheer as the family circles look
el outdoors aud were glad to be- in
Eight inches of snow accompanied
BY wind that ut times gained gale
like fury swept across Illinois. getting
its start about midnight Saturday anl
never once letting up until late Sun.
day. Tho the snow was over the
fn0w was over IL blew into drifts that
iu some cases reached five fee, in
height
Utilities Hard Hit
The E. q. 4 T. was the principal
S fu5erer as result * the heavy down.
fall Of soft and white and the fire.
quent drifts that piled across its tracks
made pastago Of ears next TO impos-
slbln Traffic was almost entirely ,b-
a,pdoDcd al 9:30 O'Clock Sunday after.
noon and was not attempted again M
I'll this morning OF 10 O'Clock. An cf-
fort was made 70 send cars eastward
but to dispatch them west was moth.
lDg s1ort Of folly
A cars was sent cast out Of OF
iawa at 5.4J O'Clock this morning,
but its crew was forced 10 report back
that the heavy drifts were improg-
nable. Tho train finally reached Nor.
'ris but could get no further than
there. West OF town conditions were
even more serious Two trains were
stalled at Mitchell Siding thru inabl.
ity Of their motormcn to drive them
iuto The heavy drifts, The division
west Of Peru was closed entirely and
no attempt was made to get ears over
until this morning when large gangs
Of men were sent into the snow 10
supplement- the large electrically prJ.
PEELED plows. both Of which were kept
on the west section of the line the
,ntlrc night, Nv
The road between Spring Valley and
Princeton was blocked from carly
Sunday until this morning. when D car
was finally gotten over the line as far
as La Sale, The Strcator line was
kept in operation until early last
night. The first car from the south
arrived here at 10 o'clock after max
ing two'hour struggle thru the drifts
that swept into the right of way aud
filled many Of the excavations TO tho
top.
Streets and Walks Blocked.
All sections of Ottawa were almost
impossible for either vehicle or pc.
destrain traffic. The city snow ploWs
were sent out to break paths but as
rapidly as The walks were cleared
the paths filled with driven snow ana
this morning were as bad as ever
Streets were serious barriers to
even the celebrated Tin Elizabeths Of
the present period They twisted,
snorled. danced and cavorted, but TO
no avail. They stopped about where
they started until after the street car
company had broken route thru
the loop.
Drifts three and four feet deep
blocked many streets and at late
hour this afternoon continued TO per.
form that same little function just as
tho the city had no stree. department.
Rock Island Trains Late.
While the Rock Island suffered
from delay. there was no stopping oi
trains at any time during HE night
or morning. All frcirhts and passcn
gers we're travelling from one to two
hours behind their schedules but man.
aged 10 get thru FROM station to sta
lion without any serious couse
guouccs. The morning trains wore
within half an hour Of lhoir schedules
Drifts Cover Fences.
r. i. .. carriers this morning found
(Coni inupd mn nnop 4