Evening star., 1933-08-25

Two stsr repo'tsrs and stGr paoos
ard salisbury: ma. They poyted 1S :1,na. a.
Dupont hiohwau. finally aoandoninO their
aufomobiles. crossing a shaky bridge
fte0t fhe othe9 Sa asH' side At tines fhey Toded
through the mater ,ohich copered roads;;
tu,, H9w they reached the storm area Is '0''
Five of us-two reporters, photog-
rapher and two news car drlvers-set
out for Salisbury and Ocean City about
10 pm. Wednesday, following re-
ceipt of Associated Press dispatches
indicating both towns were in danger
of being washed away by the storm.
Our orders were to get to the two
stricken towns somehow. and. once
there, to get stories and pictures back to
The Star Office as soon as possible.
We realized, Of course, that the
assignment was difficult one. but 1t
didn't occur to us even such an ordi-
narily simple a matter as getting out
of the District would be an all-night
job.
Riding in two automobiles, We headed
toward Baltimore in the usual way
out Bladensburg road northeaSt-and,
despite the heavy rain, we had no doubt
that We could make the first 40-mile
lap of our long journey in at least an
hour and half.
It was nearly l O'Clock, however,
when we finally pulled into Baltimore
after having tried virtually every road
leading into Maryland from Washing
ton.
We explored one road after another
only to find all of them flooded and
closed to traffic. Finally. after covering
goodness knows how many miles with
out ever getting any appreciable dis
tance across the District line, we found
ourselves on the National pike.
Warned to Turn Back.
Everything looked lovely until we got
within 10 miles of Ellicott City. We
were confident we'd get through. all
right, until a man in car coming
toward us leaned out and yelled:
You'd better turn back. You can't
make it."
We began to worry little then, but
we determined to go ahead, anyway.
When we reached E1licott City, how
ever, 1t looked as though the man had
known what he was talking about. The
Patapsco River had flooded a portion
of the town, sweeping over the bridge
and blocking the road to Baltimore.
If you insist on going through" a
policeman warned us, you do it at your
own risk
One of the drivers who had brought
a pair of boots along, waded through
the water and, although it was well
above his knees, we decided to risk the
crossing Both cars came through in
h
Baltimore and out the Bel Air road.
Looks Worse and Worse.
All went we'll until We got UP near
Aberdeen. After that it was just one
food after another-each one worse
than the preceding one. Before start
ing into one of them we were cau-
toned that the side of the road had
been washed away, leaving sheer drop
Of II feet or more. Another machine
had slipped off the edge only a short
time before, we were told.
At Elkton we ran into an Associated
Press reporter, who had arranged to
have a State Roads Commission truck
to help his automobile through flood
ed area. When the truck driver got a
good look at the water-covered stretch
of road, however, he decided it was too
risky" and the deal was off.
From that point on the trip was
largely repetition of our experiences
in trying to make Baltimore. Trying
one road after another, plowing through
water that splashed up over the run
ming boards, turning back when the
going got too rough, trying another
road.
And so it went. all through the early
inn fryy Inv
back try another turn back
In this hit-or-miss fashion, we finally
got over into Delaware We reached
Dover about am, and by that time
we'd begun to doubt that we'd ever
get to either Salisbury or Ocean City.
Drive Around Barriers.
We kept going. though, over wet roads
and dry ones, sometimes daring to go
ahead only after one of the boys had
preceded us in boots, to measure the
depth of the water and gauge the
solidness of the roadbed Some of the
roads we took were open to traffic;
others were closed. and we had to drive
around barriers to get into them.
We got to within 13 miles of Sails
bury, our first objective. when we had
to halt 1t wasn't a flood this time,
but roaring stream, and the bridge
had been washed away. Workmen were
rigging up another bridge, but it would
be hours before 1t would be ready for
traffic Meanwhile, a couple of boards
had been stretched from bank to bank
While one Of the reporters banged
out a general story on portable type
writer, the other reporter and the
photographer crossed over and hiked
up the road, in quest of another car
They returned about IS minutes later
in q somewhat dilapidated sedan, in
which a farmer and his hired man had
agreed to get us ''as near Salisbury as
possible
After sending one of the news-car
drivers to Dover, 60 or 70 miles away
to dictate the story, the remainder of
the group climbed in with the farmer
and resumed the journey toward Sails
bury.
Cross Bridge BlindIy.
Soon we came to another place where
the bridge had been swept away, but
a guard showed us detour, caution
ing us that if we should slip off the
road, 1t would be 'at your own risk. "
The detour led to a flooded stretch
about a block long, and we plcwed
slowly through it.
Its a good thing We didn't slip
off," said the farmer. after we were
back on the paved road That WIS
an 8-foot wooden bridge we were on.
and if we'd dropped off either side,
we'd have been sunk, sure enough