The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-04-30
Threatened Food Shortage Is
Serious Phase of Flood
Situation in State
tBy rhe Assoelated Pre,.l

NEW ORLEANS, La, Ajril Is
Reports from Harrisonburg, La, late
today that the 1000 residents of that
town in addition to 500 refugees from
Catahoula, Concordia and other flood
ed parishes in that section, face star
walton unless food supplies arrive
speedily, have greatly intensified the
gravity of the flood situation, and every
agency is tonight trying to overcome,
the difficulty of transporting supplies
to the stricken pople.
The most serious phase of the flood
situation in northern Louisiana, at this
time, aside from the danger of con-
tinually rising waters, is that of threat
ened food shortage. Many isolated
communities have been completely
surrounded by water and residents
forced to depend upon the small stock
of food on hand when flood waters
rushed through the break near Ferri-
day. Countless numbers are living on
canned products that they are securing
from community grocers, but reports
from some sections indicate there are
other communities not so fortuna tely
placed and that many people are very
little ahead of starvation In many
isolated farmhouses where residents
have remained in their marooned or
flooded homes, there is very little if
anything to eat
? With depieated stock Of foods re-
ported from all the refugee camps in
the Louisiana flooded area, and real
crisis existing at Harrisonburg, refugee
workers today expressed the belief
that those who remained in their
flood swept homes may in the long
run be better off than those concen-
trated in the refugee camps unless
some means of reaching the camp
with provisions is fo-'~1 without delay.
'If provisions are 1t rushed to
Harrisonburg at once, here will be suf-
fering there" n. r. Cotton, a member
of the Tensas basin levee board. de-
cleared today. A steamboat loaded
with provisions was reported to be en-
route from New Orleans, but little is
known of the time of it's probable ar
rival, or when these supplies will
reach Harrisonburg, where at least 500
more refugees are expected tomorrow.
The increasing gravity of the food
shortage problem the necessity of pro-
viding marooned persons with food
ana some In cases In0QIcd1 dIISHlLOIl,
coupled with the growing uneasiness
relative to a number of communities
which have been completely surround
ed by water and believed to be in dan
ger, the lack of communication with
the outside world, the prevalence of
rumors and distorted reports of famine
and pestilence of floods and disasters
in other sections, all tended to aggre-
vate the pitiful plight of the homeless
refugees, many of whom have lost
everything but their lives, as they
huddled up in small groups about
refugee camps.
No murmurs against the hard fate
they have met with are heard. The
refugees are facing their troubles sto-
cally and spend quite as much time
conjecturing about probable duration
of the flood and arrival of food AT the
Jonesville refugee camp, where several
hundred are being cared for by resi-
dents there, a new source Of trouble
has arisen in that the flood waters
from the Ferriday crevasse have sur
rounded the town and threaten to COW
er the entire place within few hours.
Disquieting reports are being re-