The Washington times., 1920-03-29
159 DIE AS GALE
SWEEPS 7 STATES
Loss Of Millions to Property.
Thousands Left Homeless.
Soldiers Called Out.
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A force OF nurses and physicians was
rushed to the stricken areas, Keller
funds were started by the newspapers
and several companies OF state militia
aided by armed members OF the Amer
lean Legion, were dispatched to the
storm smashed districts.
The soldiers were given orders 10
shoot to kin all looters detected In
the act OF robbing the stricken homes.
Officials OF the Red Cross in Chica-
go went to the devastated areas ana
made plans for speedy relief meas
ures.
Fire Follows storm.
Melrose Park, just outside the city
limits, was a greater sufferer In point
OF lives lost than was Elgin. though
the property damage was not SO
great. There ninee persons were
killed and scores hurt. 1t was esti-
mated that more than 1000 were
made homeless
Fire resulted from the storm havoc.
but was placed under control before
II had done great damage. Nearly
all of the dead there, as in the other
communities hit. were crushed to
Qcatn DencAtn the tlIiDtfS Va khNAi
own homes Means OF the dying and
injured spurred rescuers to frantic ef-
forts to eNtricate them.
After striking Melrose Park, the
tornado bounded over large portion
Of Northern Chicago and struck in
the fashionable north shore suburbs
OF Evanston and Wilmette. reducing
to wreckage scores OF residences OF
the wealthy in the latter supurb, and
demolishing twenty houses in the
| former.
In Addison Heights, another su-
| burb. one family of FIVE was reported
killed when their house crashed
down upon them while they were at
dinner. Other suburbs where the sy-
clone took a toll of dead and injured
and caused great damage were Dun
ming, Irving Park. Norwood Park.
Cragin. haywood, Gladstone Park and
Joliet.
The greatest damage in the Chicago
city limits was in the southern part.
BY some freak. the storm broke be-
fore striking the city itself, one part
of the twister going across the south =
ern part of the city and the other to
the north. The business section was
untouched. Four persons were killed
within the city limits. and scores Of
| homes were destroyed.
Baby Blown Into street.
| The "twister's" visit was replete
with freak happenings. Little Vim
cent Laufenberger. 2a years old, was
| blown from the sitting room of his
home into the middle OF the street
and later picked UP uninjured.
One man reported that he had been
blown backward with his horse and
wagon for a block. finally stopping in
| an areaway.
In wilmette even steel girders were
twisted into shapeless masses by Che
force OF the wind, but fifty feet from
it's path a large greenhouse remained
intact. with not even pane of glass
broken. One farmer near Joliet
found himself sitting on a cook stove
in which the fire was still Burning
merrily, just after the storm wrecked
passed. He rose and fed to a horse
trough.
During the height OF the blow in
| Elgin "A 1ivver was blown into St
Johns Lutheran Church, where IL de
molished eighteen rows of pews. This
apparently started the engine in
reverse, for IT backed out of the edi-
| fce and was blown around a nearby
corner.
| street Car Races To Safety.
Passengers in a Chicago street car
had a narrow escape. Seeing a fun
nel-shapcd cloud coming their way.
they demanded that the motorman
stop the car. He not only did so. but
changed controls and raced the other
| way. A moment later a mass of fly
| ing debris struck the spot where the
car had been standing.
All accounts agree that the tornado
struck in the form of cloud shaped
| like an inverted cone, coming from
| the southwest Sunshine and then a
driving rain and hail storm preceded
| Il. So clean was the path IT cut that
persons living within a block of it
first learned OF the tornado's vista
ton. on going for a stroll after 1t
stopped raining by coming suddenly
on the wrecked homes nearby.