The Washington times., 1936-04-07
WATER SUPPLY
IS CURTAILED
BY TORNADO
Rescue Work Carried
On In Danger of
Falling Walls
CONTINUED from Page II

was 11OWCO GklIOuSk4 bAAC 44C6kL. VI
the business district, and hardly
a building was left standing in
the path of the storm. Brick
structures several stories high
toppled to the ground as though
they had been made of cardboard.
Workers In Peril
The buildings left standing
were badly damaged, and in many
of them search for the dead was
carried on with great danger.
Convicts, in stripes, unshackled
and free, labored tirelessly to-
day, without guards or super
visors, along the side Of other
rescue workers. The convicts
were released from prison camps
in neighboring towns and sent
to the stricken city to aid in
the rescue work.
The Dixie Hunt Hotel, the prin-
cipal hosiery Of the little city,
was still standing but badly dam
aged. ...
But its proprietor. DR.. C. A. wei
born, forgot the hotel and worked
radically with scores Of other doc
tors to bring relief to the suffer
ing.
The greatest single toll Is be-
lieved to have taken place at the
Cooper Manufacturing Company'S
plant. Here more than 100 girls
reported for work only a few min
uteS before the storm struck with
such devastating. force. Only q
few of the girls were known to
have been rescued. and relief
workers have estimated that at
least 60 of them persisted beneath
the wreckage.
Fire broke out in the structure
almost before the walls stopped
falling and early today the fire
continued to burn.
Water Supply Short
Fires in other parts Of the city
added to the difficulty Of relief
work, and with the water supply
greatly curtailed, firefighters
worked against great handicaps.
Dynamite was being used
early today to check the spread
Of flames. ..r nike. NO.
Electric current had to be
turned off all over the city as
soon as the storm struck to
prevent even greater conflagra-
lions.
Guided only by twinkling
flashlights, the relief workers
labored tirelessly throughout the
night, gathering the broken
bodies OF the victims of the
storm. Those who still showed
Signes of life were carried to
emergency hospitals, but a far
greater number were carried to
improvised morgueS where they
were placed beside the bodies Of
others who had met death at
the trailing, twisting tail Of the
tornado
And it was the ever.increasing
number of recovered bodies that
brought the greatest fear of the
already terror-Stricken city, the
fear Of pestilence and disease.
Epidemic Feared
Caring for the bodies of the
dead became almost as great q
problem as administering aid to
the injured. Few Of the bodies
have been prepared for burial
yet the pile Of bodies grew higher
and higher during the night. There
were many reports that authori-
ties would be forced to resort to
cremation Of the dead in order
to protect the living from the
ravages Of an epidemic.
Taking drastic steps to ward
off disease epidemics, DR.. T. F.
Abercrombie, State director Of
public health, ordered all the in.
jured to take anti-typhcid serum
injections and all water used in
the city boiled before being used.
As the relief workers pushed
their way through the shambles
Of the city, the glowing fires from
debris cast eerie shadows on the
grotesque ruins left standing.
American Legion relief workers,
who lived through the horrors of
the World War, declared that
Gainesville reSembled nothing so
much as the shell-torn cities Of
Belgium and France after the
major drives Of the war.
The city was under virtual mar
tial law, with Adjutant General
Lindley w. Camp in charge of
rescue efforts. The city was
y''roped off" from the outside
world, and only bona fide relief
workers, peace officers and news
paper reporters were allowed to
enter the city.
Relief stations and hospitals
filled rapidly, and late last night
several score injured were sent to
Atlanta hospitals by train.
Seventeen injured were sent to
Atlanta in baggage and express
cars on the regular South pas
senger train from New York to
Atlanta, and a few hours later
others followed by special train.
Among the first to leave Gaines
vile for Atlanta was 19-year-old
Ruby Parker, one Of the few girls
rescued from the Cooper manu-
featuring plant.
Treasury Condition
International News Service