Evening star., 1923-03-19
BLIZZARD SWEEPS WEST.
Traffic Paralyzed and Four Persons
Frozen to Death.

d, BY the Assoc.a ted Press.
| CHICAGO, March 19.-The entire
Central area Of the country today
was in the grasp of a bitter cold
wave despite the theoretical prox-
! unity of spring. From the Rocky
| Mountains eastward and from the far
| northwest to upper Florida, with
| much of the territory covered by
snow, temperatures. ranging from
subzero to March records were regist-
cred In the Mississippi Valley and~
| the Rocky mountain regions train
service and wire cummuication were
demoralized.
Throughout the northwest orders
We're issued by railroads cancelling
freights trains and certain passenger
service. Some roads placed embar-
goes on perishabIes. Trains Were
stalled for hours in snowdrifts.
Omaha Badly Crippled.
j Milwauke. Wis, expecting far be
low zero temperatures today ana
! Omaha. Neb. which experienced the
worst blizzard since 1858. reported
! threatened milk shortages because o.
! transportation tie-ups and snow
! covered streets making house de
lfveries almost impossible. Omaha'S
! fuel suppy also was a matter of CON
! Germ with many of its yards virtually
! inaccessible until dug out of the snow
! drifts.
| The blizzard was the second within
! a week to sweep over the middle
! west. Transportation and telephone
service had just begun to show
semblance of normalcy when this
! Near Lincoln. Neb.. fast westbound
! Rock Island passenger train was dug
| out Of the snow and another train
=! was stalled at Jansen, sixty-five miles
| east of Lincoln. The mercury dropped
/ to below zero.
! Three Children Die.
! In Iowa the blizzard established
| March storm record. Trains were
i stalled in riffs near Boone and Mar
| shallton and railroads cancelled num-
erous trains.
! At Baxter. Colo, three children were
! frozen to death in a small shelter a
quarter of a mile from their home
/ Near kutch. Colo. an aged man was
found frozen to death. Subnormal
| temperatures prevailed throughout
! the state and many localities reported
| snow eighteen inches in depth.
! The blizzard struck Chicago in mid
| afternoon. The mercury dropped
| more than 10 degrees in one hour
| and early today was only two de-
! grees above zero. The low point had
not been reached, weather reports
! said.
Train service, freight and pas
senger, to and from Chicago was
shaken badly. Incoming trains We're
hours late and erlbargGeS were placed
by several roads on perishable ship
ments Westbound trains from Chi
cago were pulled by two locomotives
to buck through heavy snow drifts
and eaStbound trains were cut in
half to insure maintenance of sched-
ule.
wheat Crop Benefits.
Rockford, Ill, for the second time
within a week was almost isolated by
the storm.
Record cold weather, one degree
below zero, was reported at Kansas
CITY. Mo, with the cold wave grip
ping Missouri, Kansas. Arkansas and
Oklahoma Weather officials said the
| snow that accompanied the storm in
part of the region was beneficial to
| wheat. while forecasters in Oklahoma
/ feared great damage had been done
! the peach crop. Trains arriving at
/ Kansas City were reported from six
! to fifteen hours late.
Frost Likely In Florida.
In the southwest March tempera
ture records were shattered. Dallas
recording twenty-four degrees above
zero.
Freezing temperatures were pre-
dicted for Louisiana all the way TO
the Gulf coast today. Frost was re-
| garded probable>-in central Flhrida
tomorrow Rain in the Gorthern
| states was expected to change 10
| snow in northwestern Georgia and
! western North Carolina.
TIE weather along the California
coast was reported fair and warm.
and little apprehension was felt.
Difficulties are things that show
| what men are.