The Washington times., 1936-03-19

Hnel the Army War College was cut
off by the rising water.
Fearful of the. rise, the Com
mandant of the Washington Navy
Yard issued instructions that the
yard be closed at noon and all
fires in the plant be drawn.
Along the Speedway the water
was 5 feet deep and rapidly spread.
ing over the Monument Grounds.
The dykes withheld the first
assault Of the waters, but 5000
men were held in readiness to
strengthen, heighten and build
new dykes If necessity arises.
The intersection at Water and
M Streets Southwest was a liquid
mass 3 feet deep. Harbor police
were busy rescuing small boats,
launches and yachts torn from
mooringS.
The famous rose gardens in the
park, near the closed Fourteenth
Street Bridge, were completely
obScured by water. The mum
cipal tourist camp was rapidly
being flooded.
With scores Of persons forced
to flee their homes in adjacent
Maryland, the Brookmont Chap
ter Of the Red Cross sent an ap-
peal for aid to the National Red
Cross headquarters here.
Red Cross at Work
The Red Cross set up first aid
stations for the relief of the CCC
men and others working on the
levee construction and set its ma
chinery in motion for collecting
food and clothing for refugees.
The Washington Alexandria
highway was covered with more
than a foot of water in South
Washington, Va, and will prob
ably be closed to traffic shortly, as
the water is rising.
Travellers to the South from
Alexandria were forced to take a
smile detour over the old Tele-
graph Road as Hunting Creek
flooded the main highway.
The water dropped off slightly
when low tide was reached at II
a. m, but was expected to climb
again as the flood crept nearer
Troops Stand BY
Troops at Fort Myer were stand
ing by for emergency orders, while
in the Navy and Munitions Build
ings important papers were moved
to upper floors in event the dykes
should not hold.
The AnacoStia River was high
and the AnacoStia golf course
was under several feet Of water,
as were Boiling Field and the Navy
Air Station at Anacostia.
Roads All Closed
Much of BladenSburg, Md, was
reported to be under more than
three feet of water. as the East
ern Branch of the AnacoStia
River overflowed its banks, shut
ting off the Baltimore-Washing
ton Boulevard and the Defense
Highway to all traffic.
The United States Coast Guard
ordered a 75-foot patrol boat from
Norfolk to assist officials and en-
ployeS in evacuating the Army
radio station at Jones Point, near
Alexandria. The boat was to dock
at the Navy Yard and stand by
for further rescue work here.
The buildings Of the SmithSo-
nian Institution, the Department
of Agriculture and structures
north of Pennsylvania Ave. are
sufficiently high to avoid the wa
ters if the dyke should break.
By 8 a. M, the flood had risen
to such an extent that practically
all the highway around East Po-
tomac Park, most of the road at
the edge Of West Potomac Park,
and a part Of the Mt. Vernon
Boulevard at the Railroad Bridge,
were under water.
Water Street was scene Of
much confusion as fish dealers
and commission merchants hastily
removed their wares; lumber was
floating away from two lumber
yards; the municipal wharf was
entirely under water and a small
portion of Water Street itself was
Tapped by the brown torrent.
Workmen from the Capital
Transit Company were working
frantically to pump water from
the conduits- on the Water Street
trolley line, to permit service to
continue as long as possible.
The wharf of the Norfolk and
Washington Steamboat Company
and the administration offices of
the Potomac River Line, were
flooded. The floor Of the District
Morgue was but one foot above
the rising river.