Evening star., 1925-06-05
HOT WAVE FORCES
SHORTER HOURS IN
MANY i. s. OFFICES
No Hope Is Held for Relief
From Torrid Heat in Two
or Three Days.
NATIONS DEATH TOLL
FROM WEATHER is 139
Official Temperature of 100 De-
grees Forecast-Today to
Break Records.

With the temperature here today
nearly two hours ahead of yesterday
the Weather Bureau gave up hope OF
relief from the present heat wave 1or
at least three more days, and IN the
face of an ever-growing death nst
from all over the East, has issued
warning that the people must cease
all but essential activities TO fortliy
themselves against the drain on phys
ical stamina they must endure until
cooler weather arrives.
Already Washington has begun to
slow down it's activities in many lines
of endeavor, and an order went OUT
TO the principals of all schools IN the
city today to arrange the studies SO
as to tax the vitality of the chlldren
as little as possible until the torrid
spell has passed. Two schools began
holding open-air classes this morning
for pupils housed in portable build
ings.
L. S. Offices Close.
The internal revenue section of the
Treasury Department. which occupies
the temporary buildings on Fourteenth
street between B and 6 streets, closed
doMa at noon today, and before .
o'clock hundreds more Government
workers employed in the Department
of Agriculture, the Department OF
Commerce. the Treasury and the Post
Office Department will be dismissed, 1t
was announced.
A number of business houses, TOO,
are preparing to wind up business for
the dav at the same hour.
Although Washington has been
among the three hottest cities in the
country since the hot weather set In
. late last Sunday, no deaths have re-
suited here which can be attributed
to the heat. Elsewhere throughout
the East, however, reports of fatal
prostrations are coming in rapidly,
and news dispatches from Chicago this
morning showed that the toll from
sunstroke has already reached 139 in
States reaching from the Atlantic sea
board to the Mississippi River.
Samuel Gaylor, a., so Sixth street,
was overcome by the heat in front of
1925 H street about noon today. He
was taken to Emergency Hospital,
where physicians said he was not
seriously affected.
Many Fatalities.
Chicago tops the list with eight ia
talities due to the heat. Other places
reported heat deaths as follows: New
York City Z; other points in New
York State, 4; Pittsburgh, I: Boston,
2; others points in New England, IL;
New Jersey, 2; Michigan, 4; Ohio, 4;
Kentucky, 2; Missouri, .; Iowa. I; In
diana, 1. and Minnesota, 8. This list
is still incomplete and 1t is feared that
the figures will grow considerably be-
fore nightfall.
The sizzling Bermuda high" which
"a ooncipO tho EaGf'S DpnrepedaDf ed
week of torridity and has been steadily
sweeping up over the Atlantic coast
line since last Sunday, had consoli-
dated itself today and finally forced
the cooler atmosphere that has been
trying to slip down from the North
west out into the Northern Atlantic by
way of the st. Lawrence River Valley.
AS a result the high pressures have
definitely dug themselves in and con-
solidated their positions.
The official temperature here at 5
o'clock this morning was 50. five de-
grees hotter than the same hour yes
terday A few minutes before II
o'clock it was 95, a point the mercury
did not reach until nearly l o'clock
Yesterday. While the observers stood
watching the thermometer the needle
rapidly climbed to 9612
Forecaster Predicts 100.
The forecaster declared there is prac-
tically no chance for thunderstorm
today, and expressed a belief that the
temperature in Washington would
surely pass 100 degrees before sun
down, which would constitute a new
high record for Washington at this
time of the year. The highest ever
Known for any day in June here was
1o2, in 1874, and the forecaster said
he would not be surprised to see that
mark reached today.
Seaplane observations above Wash
ington this morning showed that the
heat is steadily climbing. At height
of nearly two miles above Washington
the temperature was 49 degrees. This.
thS Weather Bureau declared, virtu-
ally precludes the possibility of relief
from thunderstormS. Between 800 and
900 feet above Washington the tenn
perature was 80 degrees. or s degrees
higher than it was on the surface at
the same hour.
Although the thermometers at the
Weather Bureau registered only 96 n
degrees at II o'clock, the kiosk on
Pennsylvania avenue had registered
an even 100 by the same hour. In
view of the fact that it is this heat
that pedestrians feel, it might be said
that the street temperature here had
passed the high mark predicted by
the Weather Bureau even before the
prophecy was made. Crowds of swell
tering pedestrians stood and watched
the thermometer in the kiosk as it
climbed toward the summit
Although only four heat prostra-
tions were reported by local hospitals
up to noon today, scores of per
sons who were made sick by the heat
found relief at their homes or from
drug stores and were never brought
to the attention of the authorities.
All of those taken to Emergency
Hospital last night and today were
colored persons.
Water Use Increases.
In the meantime water consumption
has increased steadily, despite appeals
from officials for conservation. Con-
sumption for the "a hours ended at s
o'clock this morning totaled 79,22S,000
gallons, an increase of 800, 900 gallons
over yesterdays record-breaking total
AS a result, Maj. Joseph c. Mehaffey,
acting superintendent of public build
ings and grounds, has ordered all
public fountains closed down here
during the period of heavy strain on
the water system.
J. 8. Garland. superintendent of the
Water Department, explained that
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