Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-21
Hotel Guests Crowded in
Foyer All Night, With Build
ing Rocking in Storm.
BIG BOATS SWEPT INLAND:
CONCRETE HURLED ABOUT
Refugees at Union Station Describe
Terror and Destruction by
Wind and Flood.

The Havana limited the first train
to come through the Florida hurri-
cane area, reached Union Station at
$50 this morning. bringing Il few
men and women who had witnessed
and escaped the Florida hurricane.
They left Miami at 10 pm. Sunday.
1T was explained that. with martial
law in force, it was difficult to leave
the Florida city and only those who
could obtain special permits from the
military authorities were permitted to
board the train when it passed
through from Key West.
All told much the same story of
destruction an expressed fears that
the death toll would be greatly in
creased when final reports are in.
Among the passengers was Ber-
nard NJ. Degheri, attorney. of Jersey
City, and his sister, Mrs. Edward
O'TOole. They were guests at the
bennington Hotel, near the Miami
water front.
Worse Than France.
Degheri, who wears a silver star
for wounds received during the World
War, said he and his sister spent
hotel foyer. He said it was a worse
experience than he had ever known
under shell fire in France.
Before midnight Saturday, he said
the wind had blown in the windows
of their rooms and they went to the
foyer with the other guests.
The doors were nailed with heavy
spikes to resist the gale. Timbers
crashed through the skyliGhts, the
whole building rocked and the group
believed it would crash in at any
moment.
Shortly after midnight. he said.
there was a lull in the storm. but it
was followed at once by an even
heavier wind.
Waters from Biscayne Bay laShed
against one wall of the bennington
The hotel stands just above the Royal
Palm Gardens. one of the show places
of Miami which was several feet
under water and filled with wreckage
from buildings and craft blown in
from the bay.
Degheri told of caba ret troupe of
90 persons who found themselves
trapped in building near the hotel
and on the point of colapsing. They
set out for the hotel but were unable
to make the trip and lay throughout
the storm fiat on their faces. with
flying timbers falling around them.
None was injured.
Publisher Tells of Disaster.
| Among the train passengers was l..
r. Artman. publisher of the Key West
Citizen. who said he believed he was
the first to send out news of the dis
aster. Mr.. Artman became alarmed
at the isolation of Miami and sent out
a skeleton report picked up from
stra agglers between Key West and
Miami, by wireless through Havana
late Saturday afternoon.
He boarded the Havana limited out
of Key West shortly after sending the
report and az the train progressed
north he said he found the disaster
was much worse than he had thought
possible. Everywhere along the track
, was wreckage of villages and farm
houses. Passing through South Miami
the tracks were under water.
Even then" said Mr.. Artman, II
did not realize how bad the tragedy
was until l tried to get off the train
at Miami. 7 stepped on the platform
and at once a revolver was aimed at
me by one of the military guards.
However, the sheriff of Dade County,
with whom l am acquainted, was at
the station and | was able to talk
with him for few minutes.
Worse Than Reported.
"In my estimation the disaster is
even worse than has been reported.
! | belieXe the damage will run to at
least a half-billion dollars. 1T is diff
ticult to conceive of city SO badly
wrecked as Miami seemed to he. l
was unable to get out in the streets,
but there was debris everywhere. so
far as I could see. Right in the
middle of F'lagler street there was a
big launch. stranded
"Fortunately, Key West escaped en-
tirely. If such a wind ever hit US
there would be no city left
This is by far the worst Florida
! storm that | remember, and the only
: very serious one that has struck in
the vicinity of Miami. From my few
minutes of converse ton with the
sheriff | Judge that the people there
are showing fine spirit. and that
it will not he long until they will
start to rebuild.
Another From Palm Beach.
Another passenger was Z. d. An
thonv. veteran West Palm Beach
merchant He said:
Palm Beach seemed to be at the
very northern extremity of the hur-
| ricane and we had very little real
damage in comparison with the towns
south of us, although normally it
would have been very severe blow.
THE worse damage was to the
small cheap dwelling houses. The
! roofs of these were~ torn and twisted
until they looked for all the world
like feathers on a frzzled chicken. 1
do not think the more substantial
buildings were seriously injured Take
my own store, for instance. None of
the plateglass windows was broken.
But 1t must be Remembered that we
old-timers in FloridA had some warn
ing.
1.-The wind started Thursday and
kept increa sing in violence until the
final blow Anybody acquainted with
Florida knows that such a steady. in
| creasing wind is a sign of trouble. l
took the precaAtion to have the win
dows of my store heavily padded and
had my boat taken from the harbor
and sent way up the canal out of
harms way. | think most others did
the same.
1T must be remembered that the
damage at Miami was wrought not by
the heavy wind alone. but by the COM
bined weight of wind and water. With
the wind hurting tons of water against
buildings it was almost impossible to
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