The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-18
the present level OF the river and
the now full Rock river slough.
Power House Suspends.

eAc NV lui ROCK river slough.
Power House Suspends.
! High waters backing into Rock
river caused the Sears power house
On Ninth street and Fifty-first ave-
| nue. to cease operations yesterday
morning, and will force the Rock
Island Bridge & Iron works to close
tomorrow morning. Several more
inches of high water will make it
necessary for the Standard Textile
PRODUCTS company and the Blake
Specially company to close their
plants.
! Families living in shanty houses
along the river front and in small
| dwellings in the Iowlands in the
vicinity of Mill street and Six
teenth avenue have been forced to
leave their homes. The high water
has crossed the road on Mill street,
and threatens to go much higher in
| the next day.
The Sears power plant will not
be able to operate until the water
which has backed in from the Mis-
sissippi drops about four or five
feet. There is less than a five-foot
fall today, the ordinary fall being
II and Is feet. At the dam there
is only a slight fall, perhaps less
than foot.
Island Under Water.
The west end OF Vandruff's island
is entirely under water. This part
of the island is low and is a ia
vorite spot for campers. However,
| few people are living there at this
time of the year. A temporary foot
bridge was constructed to permit
passage over the main streets on
| the island.
Workers at the Rock Island
Bridge & Iron works and the Blake
| Speciality company had to be trans
ported by machines 1t was inn
possible to walk, the water being
several inches deep. Pumps which
have been working several days
were halted, as the onrush of water
could not be stopped.
Telephone connections at the
Blake Specially company and one
line at the bridge works could not
be made, the cable having been
broken by the storm Sunday night.
Water from the open river was
gradually filling up the several
acres between the Textile plant. and
the Rock Island Lines embank-
ment this morning. Within a day
or two this expanse will also be a
lake, and the only passage way to
the buildings of the Bridge and
Iron works and the Textile plant
will be over two sidings, spurs of
railroad track which may or may
not be covered by the water in the
next "a hours.
At Fourth street and Second ave-
nue. the river is almost up to the
level of the street and the railroad
tracks. There is little more than
two feet of clearance now and
waves may reach the pavement
within a short time.
Though water is standing in
some vacant lots and in low places
in the gardens and yards of proper
ty in the area between First and
Fifth streets and Twelfth to Seven
teenth avenues, it is. only shallow
collections of rain water A sur
vey this morning established the
fact that even near the Rock Is
land tracks this water is IS inches
or more below the level of the wat
err on the other side of the embank-
ment.
In normal times this rain water
would be carried off by the city's
storm drain which is now barricad-
ed and topped by the flood.
Hereafter the rain water pools
will be carried away as when the
river is low by action OF a suction
pump which is to be installed at
the mouth of the big drain this
summer
WATERFOWL Flooded.
Boats are being used for trans
portation in the colored district of
inundated by the overflow of Honey
creek due to the rising waters of
the Mississippi river. Belief is ex-
pressed that there will be a repeti-
ton of the flood in 1920 when
practically all property in the dis
trict was under water. The water
is rising rapidly and it is said that
rise of three feet is due before
the crest is reached.
Yesterday afternoon the stage of
the river was 1873 During the
1920 flood it reached a height of
Ill feet At that time the water
was even within the Milwaukee
railroad tracks. Had it risen an
other inch it would have engulfed
the entire district. Deere & Co.,
during the 1920 flood spent $4,000
, in fighting the water. Ten-inch
planks were laid along the Milwau-
kee tracks and these were backed
with sandbags, straw and other ma
terials. Since then the houses in
the colored district have been for
! titled against flood waters by fill
ing in around the buildings to a
height of two feet or more. As a
result of this precaution the stage
of the water must go a foot or
more higher than at present to fill
the easements.
Deere & Co. officials have had
the walks in front of the houses
, raised. But they can do no more,
except to supply boats for those
affected by the flood
Boats were much in evidence
this morning. Two skiffs, each car
! rying three colored lads were hav-
ing a race in the mack yards of
houses on Eleventh street One
man was putting in his time to
good advantage by carrying wom-
en- and children from place to place
in his boat. At several of the land
ing places he had rope stretched
between trees on which his paSsen-