Imperial Valley press., 1927-09-30

Continued from page one)
utes in st. Louis before jumping
across the river to continue its de-
struction in cluster of Illinois
towns-Granite City, Madison and
Venice.
But during that brief time the
bowling so mile gale swept through
the residential district in crazy
Path around the downtown area,
tearing sections from solidly con
strncted brick buildings and level
ling less substantial structures.
Automobiles, heavy trucks, motor
busscs and horse drawn vehicles in
he path of the tornado were top
Piled over and thrown about by the
wind, causing death and injury.
Schools were hit and children at
tending classes were injured.
For hours many sections of the
city were in total darkness. I'm
mediatcly after the storm live wires
torn from poles lay spnttering in
the streets, menace to the th0ns
ands of homeless.
Little damage was done in the
downtown district but news of the
disaster soon spread.
IT was considerable time b"
fore the connections could be made
with telephones which were still in
order. When the inquirerS fount
heir calls could not he answere
they anticipated the worst and i'm
mediatelv rush toward the resi-
Dental district started.
Street ears were stopped by trees
and debris blown across the tracks
Automobile traffic was impossibl.
in the affected sections for Severa'
hours. Police lines We're formed
near demolished buildings to keep
the way clear for ambulances.
Negroes Hard Hit
Most pitiful scenes were found in
the Negro section where the flimsy
frame houses were crushed like ber-
by boxes by the gale. The toll of
killed and injured in this area was
especially high.
But the wind was impartial be
tween rich and poor. Entire sec
tions of brick apartment buildings
in the better residential district were
pulled down and the structures un-
rooted.
Factories and business houses in
the southwest section of the city
were wrecked and it was here that
the greatest financial loss was suf-
fered.
Two policemen were killed when
an outlying station house collapsed.
Several sick and crippled children
were injured when a wing of the
Shriners' hospital was. torn away.
A double deeked bus was capsiz-
ed and the upper structure wrecked
Seven persons were killed when
an outlying furniture store. collapsed
One man was crushed to death by
a falling telephone pole. Four per
sons were hurt when the roof of
ST. Louis University High Schoo'
building caved in. Three children
were seriously hurt at Central High
School.
At leas, three persons were killed
in Granite City and oDe i'll Venice.
Mulianpny Hospital was in the
center Sc the windtorn area and
section of the building was wrecked
but physicians, nuns and nurses II
the hospital coollv went about the
work of receiving ard treating in
iured brought in from the neigh
borhood.
In the ciry hospital morgue were
81 bodies. Police and firemen re-
portcd reco .rrv of dead and inlur-
ed throughout the night. The only
disaster of similar proportions
which has struck St. Louis was the
tornado of 1896 which killed II
persons and injured hundreds.
The storm appeared to have ori-
ginated in Arkansas where tor
nado struck the village of Rudy
and almost levelled i. The storms
NAV have been entirely separate,
however, as Rudy is about 800 miles
airline from St. Louis, and there
were Hb ItppilS VI utnli'!N llN' NihNH
from the territory vening.
Like World War Scenes
Parts of the city looked like a
shell torn French village this morn
ing. Uniformed men clustered
around fires and sentries walked
their beats which sustained the il
lusiOn.
Activities of police and firemen
were confined chiefly to fire fight
ing and removal of dead and injur-
ed from the debris. To the militia
men ana legionnaires was left the
responsibility of guarding against
loOfcrs.
The silence of one street in the
heart of the wrecked territory was
broken early this morning by loud
scream. A man called frantically
for help and then clawed with his
hands at a pile of brick and NOR
tar.
"'I heard a moan down in there
Help metz he cried. Firemen and
police rushed to the scene. 1t re-
quired an hour of furious work to
free a badly injured man trapped
under the pile of debris.
n,o Fo,,;1x, obaarfu1 lacnitp q