The Washington herald., 1921-07-16
STORM KILLS
BOY, CAUSES
WIDE DAMAGE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

day for business houses, and 40 per
cent OF the business In the city's de-
partment stores every day Is con-
Quoted between $3.50 o'clock and q
O'Clock, just at the time that the
power was cut off yesterday
This 10 most unfortunate con-
dftion for a city the size of WASH
ington. and the Merchants and
Manufacturers Association intends
to carry the matter to the proper
officials for the purpose of having
IL corrected.
Dangers Of Theft.
Besides the danger OF theft dur
ing such times there is the incon-
venience to customers. Many of the
department stores yesterday were
SO dark that the managemen.s were
forced to supply their customers
with candles so that they could
reach the streets"
Thousands OF government en-
pioyes and employees from business
places and offices were forced TO
stand in doorways to avoid the
drenching rain until nearly $50
o'clock.
Anniversary Of similar Event.
i"c stOppasc VI electric power
yesterday came on the anniversary
OF similar occurrence just one
year ago. On July Is, 1920. trolley
service and electric-lighting power
was curtai1ed@for one hour owing
to a blowout of switchboard
bus at the Benning plant of the
Potomac Electric Power Company.
Street Cars Tied Up.
An overflow of water from a con-
duit In the vicinity of Twenty ninth
and NJ streets northwest caused a
grounding of the underground street
car wires, interrupting trafiic at that
point for more than half an hour.
After the water had been pumped
out by an engine from the Fifth
engine company, the service, which
had been congested from George
town to Peace Monument, was re-
sumed.
The blowing out of a fuse on a
car at Fourteenth and New York
avenue northwest, caused a fifteen
minute delay shortly afterward.
Narrowly Escapes Drowning.
While making repairs to under
ground telephone cables at Four
| NCthth anu - blEtcls nOINhWctI, a
lineman employed by the Chesa-
peske and Potomac Telephone Conn.,
pany narrowly escaped drowning
when a food of water from an
overfiowing sewer rushed into the
opening. Forced to hurrisdly leave
the opening, the man left the trap
open, admitting flood of water
which temporarily interrupted the
exchanges. Long distance telephone
service to nearby towns and to the
West and South was badly dis
rupted.
The steeple of the Keller Memo
rial Lutheran Church was badly
damaged as the result of being
struck by lightning, while the roof
OF the laundry conducted by Lee
Sing at 1913 street southeast, was
torn of and the building slightly
damaged from the same cause.
And Day was st. swIthiu.s.
Visiting the city as it did-on
st. Swithin's Day-the storm has
caused many persons to predict that
the next forty days will be par
ticularly notable for rain. Al
though science frowns upon the
superstition that rain on this day
will be followed by forty days of
similar weather. the old legend is
backed up by a rather credible
average as follows:,
1s14-No rain: forty days OF un-
usually dry weather.
1s15-Rain; exceedingly wet De-
riod followed
1916-Rain; forty days of rain.
1s17-Rain; forty days mostly
rain.
l91s-No rain; very dry period.
1s19-Rain: rained twenty out of
the forty following days.
lsZo-Rain: rained greater part
of forty days.
1921-???