Evening star., 1934-06-29
NEW HEAT RECORD
FOR 1884 SET HERE
Many Department Workers
Dismissed, With Mercury
Near 100.
BULLETIN.

Today was the hottest June day
in Washington since 1874 The
temperature stood at 101 degrees
at pm. The highest June tenn
perature recorded prior to this was
on June 9, 1874. when the mercury
touched 102.
Thousands of Government employees
were dismissed from work shortly
after noon today as the temperature
approached the 100 mark, setting q
new record for the season.
At 2 pm. today the temperature was
90 degrees.
Virtually all Government depart
ments not housed in air conditioned
buildings we're closed and all District
clerical employees left the District
Building on orders from their chiefs.
Despite the intense heat. only one
prostration had been reported at
noon.
The humidity at 7:30 am. was 73
per cent, exceptionally high, the
weather Bureau said.
Last nights minimum was n de-
grees, which, combined with the high
humidity. made the night one of the
most uncomfortable in years.
Showers tomorrow night or Sunday
are expected to bring a little cooler
weather, and a very noticeable drop
is predicted for late Sunday and
Sunday night. when a mass of cool air
now centered over the North Pacific
States, Canada and Alaska is sched-
uled to move in.
The heat victim today was j. r.
Smith, tourist from Salt Lake City.
Utah. who occupied a cabin at the
tourist camp with his wife. He was
overcome at $3.50 am. and treated by
private physician.
At noon orders had gone out to
let all District government clerical
employees off for the afternoon and
the State Department said it was re-
leasing all it could spare.
Shortly after noon orders went out
closing the entire Interior Department
Building for the remainder of the day
About 100 employees of the Depart
ment of Justice were sent home for
the afternoon whel. the temperature
registered ITO degrees in temporary
building c, at Seventh and B streets
southwest, where some of its Offices
are located. Some Of the hotter Of
fees in the Vermont avenue building
of the Justice Department also were
closed.
During the noon hour Assistant
Secretary Roosevelt signed an order
directing that third-f1oor personnel at
the Navy Building be released at l
pm, and those on the first and sec
ond floors at pm.
The Federal Trade Commission
closed for the day at 1890 pm.
War Department employees IN all
temporary buildings were told to go
home at AS pm
At ! o'clock the National Recovery
Administration and Commerce De-
partment dismissed all their employees
except those employed on the fifth
floor of the Commerce Building. which
is air conditioned. Most of these en-
ployes were members Of the staff Of
Secretary Roper and his assistants
and the Bureau of Air Commerce.
Twenty Die in Nation.
More than a score of deaths were
attributed to the sizzling heat over
the entire country yesterday. One
man was prostrated here, Wallace
Bell, 80, colored. His condition is not
serious.
OF the other sections, Iowa was per-
haps hardest hit, with six deaths,
three due to prostrations and three to
drownings. A maximum of lot de-
grees was reached at Waterloo.
Many of the victims yesterday died
when they took to the water to es-
cape the baking heat. Nebraska
counted three dead; Illinois, one;
Maryland. three; Michigan, four;
Ohio, four; Western Pennsylvania,
three, and Indiana. two. In Chicago,
where one person died from the heat
and scores were prostrated, the mer-
curry hit ga new high for the date.
Heavy property damage was re-
ported at Maysville, KY, after the
city had baked in a temperature of
los, and a heavy loss Of live stock
was reported from the drought
stricken areas of the Midwest, where
crops already are withered and
burned.