The New York herald., 1921-03-29
GALE SWEEPS ACROSS CITY;
80 DECREE MERCURY DROP

telegraph pole that an axe had TO be
employed 10 loosen IT, But before II
began its flight the wind ripped from II
Just one brick, and that brick dropped
onto the head OF Lawrence Erickson,
years old, as he played in the front yard
OF No. 1888. He was not seriously hurt
Mrs. Fannie Betz of sol avenue n
Brooklyn, was wheeling her infant
daughter In n go-cart near her home
when the storm broke. The wind
whipped the cart from her hands and
sent Il spinning across the road directly
in front OF an automobile truck owned
by the West End Wet Wash Laundry
Company OF Fifteenth street II seemed
as if the baby would be run over. but
Just az the truck approached it the wind
whisked it to one side and into the
curb where ii remained until Mrs Betz
reached it.
Many Homes Badly Damaged.
In Plainfield and in many towns near
that city great damage was done TO
houses ana gardens The hurricane in
that section lasted only five minutes, but
they were five minutes filled with ex-
element and action. In that time houses
were rocked ana damaged roofs blown
off. automobiles and wagons upset and
trees uprotted and blown down The
large estate OF Pierre Mall, Belgian
Consul in New York, on West Front
street. suffered heavily through the de-
struction OF many valuable trees. A
large sign In the plant of the American
Motors Corporation was carried away,
together with a corner of the building,
and landed on the tracks of the Central
Railroad os New Jersey. In the West
End OF Plainfield back and front
porches were blown off and the slate on
roofs shattered The wind went through
the windows of the home or Martin
Giles. in North Plainfeld. ana virtually
wrecked it inside and out. making II un-
inhabitabe. Similar damage to prop
erty was done IN Dunellen. Scotch
Plains and South Plainfield and other
New Jersey towns.
Telephone and telegraph company ofi-
cials said last night they did not suffer
greatly. although the wind and rain
hampered their service during the time
of the storm. Normal service was re-
stored, however. soon afterward. The
Western Union Telegraph Company re-
ported that two story frame house was
torn from Its foundations at Somerville.
y. j., and was over trunk line contain
ing between sixty and seventy wires.
The Postal Telegraph Company and the
New York Telephone Company reported
virtually no damage.
In all sections In which the storm
appeared the temperature provided one
Of the most remarkable spring collapses
in many years, that of Pittsfield. OF
course. being the most freakish. But in
New York the temperature reached a
maximum of 70 degrees at 3 80 o'clock,
and then 1t began to tumble. The mer-
yfV v%1. 1Ar t,.t,
hour and fifteen minutes after the maxi
mum had been reached it was down to
GA. At s o'clock last night it had
reached 40 and was still dropping. but
slowly. The Weather Bureau said that
freezing weather could be expected BY
morning. The day, besides bringing con-
siderable damage with it's later hours
was a total failure to the crowds which
went to the beaches and the parks In
summer clothing. Enough involuntary
shimmying was done during the two
hours between and 6 o'clock TO keep
all the dance censors busy for the rest
OF the season.