Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-17


Hundreds Of refugees were reported
housed in the Harvey Building at West
Palm Beach. At the Pennsylvania Ho-
tel the chimney collapsed and crashed
through the roof to the ground floor
with a $4,000 loss, but no one was
reported injured. At the height OF the
storm two babies we're born at the GOOD
Samaritan Hospital while the end OF
the maternity ward was ripped out by
wind.
Martial law was declared, the mes
cage said, with Coast GuardSmen from
the Fort Lauderdale base patrolling the
streets. Several reports OF lootlng were
received.
The official barometer, the News re-
ported, read 27.64 at West Palm Beach
at 7:10 pm, maximum wind OF 10
miles an hour was reached at $50 pm.
followed by a calm at 6:l5 pm. as the
center of the storm moved over with
the tail of the storm laShing the city
from 7:30 pm. to pm.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, September IT.
A radio message picked up here this
morning by Clifford Grange, local anna
teur. said that an undetermined num-
ber of persons had been injured ana
great property damage done at west
Palm Beach and Pam Beach by the
hurricane late yesterday.
There was no known loss OF life, the
message said, but many homes were
wrecked and buildings left intact were
filled with refugees.
The message was signed ID. n. Conk-
ling" That is the name OF the pup
Usher of the Palm Beach Post, an AS
ISOLATED Press member newspaper. The
nlI AGGnTl-
ated Press, and Grange said 1t was
transmitted by Station 4AFC, a Palm
Beach amateur radio.
The hospital was partially destroyed,
the message continued, and the RED
Cross set up temporary hospital in
the Pennsylvania Hotel there.
Aid Believed Needed.
"Aid not officially asked for in this
message. but believed needed the mes
sage said. It said that estimates OF
damage were not possible.
Grange, who is credited with having
obtained the first message from the
Miami hurricane area in 1926 and was
commended by the Navy Department
for his services. said the message today
was being transmitted to an amateur
station at Tavares for retransmission
to New orleans. Signals of the Palm
Beach set. evidently operated on bat
teries. were weak. he said, and Tavares
may not have received the message
which was being repeated over and
over.
There was no wire service of any
kind into either West Palm Beach OF
Palm Beach today, the lines having
gone down shortly after the hurricane
struck the cities. Relief forces were
dispatched from Miami today follow.
ing unconfirmed reports of casualties
Miami however. was isolated from wire
communications and if couriers have
returned from the hurricane area M
report has reached the outside world.
North of West Palm Beach the lacl
of communications extended to Mel
bourne, more than 100 miles, while
conditions south were not knoWr
owing to the failure of the wires.
The Palm Beaches, one of the mos
widely known of the Florida Winter re
sorts, are on the lower east coast, SOM
10 miles north of Miami. Actually
Palm Beach and West Palm Beach ar
separate municipalities, separated b,
Lake Worth, but linked together by lon
bridges or causewayS.
Palm Beach, the seat proper of al
exclusive Winter colony, is situated Of
the Atlantic Ocean side, while its neigh
Dor, thriving commercial center, is o.
the inland fringe of the lake.
Palatial hotels, private residences an
casinos abound in Palm Beach, whicl
derived its name from the luXuriou
palm trees that flourish along tn
beach for miles in each direction.
Exclusive bathing beaches, wher
celebrities of many countries are see
during the season, bride paths an
boardwalks that wind through exoti
tropical foliage and wide boulevard
that skirt the city from lake to ocea
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