New-York tribune., 1920-02-15

the icy grip of the blizzard. Sewers
were opened. Surface cars in both
Brooklyn and Manhattan approached
their normal schedules, and the rail
roads brought milk and food to the be-
leaguercd city Business came back to
nearly it's usual pitch. There were still
vast banks of snow in the streets, but
the principal thoroughfares had been
opened, and traffic gas only slightly
impeded. With the continued mild
temperature, even though ankle deep
in slush, New York was we'll out Of the
worst of the experie ICE, and the great
blizzard of 'SS was history.
With the passing of the storm came
news from the outer world, news Of
tremendous havoc wrought by the storm
along the Atlantic seaboard, in which
more than hundred ships had been
lost. Twenty vessels were lost off New
York harhor and Long Island alone.
Not for eleven years did New York
feei strongly called upon to refer to
its blizzard of 'SS as criterion. In
December. 1890. in March, 1892, and
again in February, 1898, there had been
heavy snow falls. but in February, 1899,
there came a storm which sent the
minds of New Workers back instinc-
fore
On February and 10 there had been
o slight and inoffensive snow fall,
which an unsuspicious New York de-
clded TO take its own time about re-
moving. Late on the l1th the snow
came again and abo-s- five inches fell
before 1t stopped on the 18th By that
time traffic had been slightly crippled.
Surface cars were few and far between,
horse-cars made slow and difficult
progress, the elevated service deteri-
Grated rapidly, and all trains entering
or leaving the city were delayed
Two Feet of Snow
The storm ceased early in the morn
ing of the 18th, with two feet Of snow
on the ground, more than fifteen inches
OF which had fallen since the 18th. BY
10 o'clock in che morning 6,000 men
and 1000 wagons Of all sorts were sent
out by Commissioner James Mozart
ney and Bartholomew Dunn, the con-
tractor, and nearly 1000 men were at
work trying to bring the "new-fan-
gled" and temporarily condemned un-
condition. Because Of the zeal of
thousands of houscholders who had
cleared the streets in front Of their
houses, walking about the city was
comparatively easy.
The resumption Of service on most
of the surface lines and the railroads
out of the city came with the 18th,
and some slight progress was made in
removing the huge heaps of snow in
the streets, although the small side
streets were still blockaded at night.
On the lGth came rain and thaw,
and sarcastic citizens. inccnsed against
q Street Cleaning Department that had
considered itself impotcnt, proposed
the immediate construction of gon-
dolas.
Four thousand carts were working.
yet not single street in the city was
clear of snow for it's entire length.
The explanation for this condition Of
fered by some was that Dunn, the con-
tractor, had obtained every crowbait
horse and pedders cart in the city
and was sending them off to the East
River with bushe Of snow apiece.
Gradually the city emerged from the
period Of canals, and sarcasm waned
and comparisons with 'SS waXed
Another Storm in 1914
Fifteen years elapsed before another
storm came which was worthy of COM
parlson with the greatA classic On
March !. 1914, just after the city had
spent $l,000,000 and herculean efforts
10 get ltS streets clear OF the snowfall
OF February, seventy-tw O. mie-an-
hour gale came ont of the northwest
and brought with it ten inches Of wet
teaTy snow. Traffic was demoralized
almost at once on the railroads enter
ing New York and on the surface lines
IN Brooklyn. In Manhattan the sur
race cars managed to struggle through
the day on 3 crippled schedule The
heavy snow broke the feed wires, and
at night the city was in darkness, as it
had been in 1888. The snow continued
steadily for thirty-six hours
On the I'd the condition Of the city
was still worse. All wires were down
to the west and south, all railroads, ex-
cept the NeW Haven, were out Of bust
ness, the ferries between Brooklyn and
NcW York were out of commission for
the first time since 1883, and traffic in
both Manhattan and Brooklyn was re-
duced to q minimum.
Fire Alarm System Crippled
John T. Fetherston, the Commission
or of Street Cleaning, was faced with
q shortage OF labor. and offered the