Evening star., 1932-12-18
Transit System
Crippled by
Weather.
FORCE OF 1000
CLEARS STREETS
Deepest Fall of 10
Years Marked by
Few Accidents.

Washington and nearby Mary
land and Virginia started last
night to dig out of the deepest
snow in 10 years, while charitable
institutions worked overtime to
meet increased demands for relief
As the stolm moved away from
Washington, up the Atlantic sea-
board, it left in it's wake a heavy
blanket of dry and drifting snow,
baby crippled transportation
system, and hundreds of snow
bound automobiles.
Before daybreak the storm was
expected to pass completely be-
yond the Washington area, and
the Weather Bureau predicted a
cold and partly cloudy Sunday,
with the temperature lowering be-
tween II and 18 degrees.
When the last official reading was
taken at the bureau at O'Clock last
night, 10.5 inches Of snow had been re-
corded Snow still fell spasmodically
after that time, however. but the bureau
announced the heaviest fall had passed
and the total depth probably would not
exceed IL inches
Street cars, the most seriously affected
victims of the storm, ran irregularly
between tie-ups, but motor buSSes man.
aged to struggle over the snow-clogged
streets on delayed schedules. Other
traffic likewise orept slowly over the
slippery highways.
Force of 1000 at Work.
An emergency snoW-removal force OF
1900 men, worked until midnight with
scrapers, trucks and shoveLs, plowing
away the snow on the main arteries of
travel and clearing cross walks in
the business area. Snow also was carted
away in trucks from in front OF the
White House and on some OF the prtn-
cipal downtown streets.
Many sections of Maryland and Vir-
Of the snow. Main highways had been
made passable, but many roads IN the
remote rural sections were choked by
drifts several feet high.
Despite the treacherous condition OF
the streets, and the suburban roads
particularly. there were remarkably few
accidents of serious nature. num-
ber Of collisions, due to skidding, were
reported, but the damage was minor,
consisting chiefly of dented Tenders and
broken bumpers.
City Escapes Blizzard.
The storm, though severe in intensity
did not reach the proportions Of a
blizzard The wind velocity was mild
and as a result no serious interruption
was reported in either telephone or elec-
trio service.
Sweeping up the coast, the storm
struck Washington at $50 o'clock yes
terday morning. and continued through.
out the day. BY nightfall it had spent
its force, but snow continued 70 1ail
lightly at intermittent intervals.
The fall passed all records for 10
wears back, but failed to equal the
mark of January, 1922, of % inches
That storm brought to Washington the
disaster of the collapse OF the OLD
Knickerbocker Theater.
The snowfall in the District was
heavier than in any section OF the Wloe
area blanketed by the storm. Inc
depth of the snow in Baltimore was
slightly under that in Washington, but
at all other points from which the
Weather Bureau received reports
lighter snowfall was recorded.
Thoroughfares Kept Open.
The work of keeping the principal
thoroughfares open was started ABOUT
6 o'clock in the morning, IN accordance
with the established snow-removal pro-
gram of the District Commissioners
All available snow-removal equipment
Continued on Page 2, Column IL