Evening star., 1937-02-08
RECKLESS FLOOD
PREDICTIONS HIT
Mississippi Citizens Cite
rehabilitation Order" Is
sued Here During Crisis.
BULLETIN.

AS.~s~@~
TTPTONVILLE, Tenn, Febru-
ary 8 R.-An earth movement
which "shook everything in town"
was reported here about 1890 pm.
Central standard time) today.
"They are not certain whether it
was dynamite or an earthquake"
said Paul Fairleigh. a newspaper
man. "The slight shake here about
two weeks ago did no damage"
BY the Associated Press.
MEMPHIS, Tenn, February g.
High winds churned powerful waves
against the levee system today while
the crest of the Mississippi Rivers
greatest food pushed slowly south
ward.
From one source came a complaint
Of Official blundering" in the ham
ding Of the valleys high-water fgn-.
The Weather Bureau gauge a.
Memphis showed 48.4 feet today. Me
teorologist F. w. Brist said the hig.
wind was responsible for a tenth c.
a foot Of the rise because 1t held bac',
surface waters and that the crest
was at hand.
Wind and rain handicapped thH
levee force at Tiptonville. A larg
section of Reelfoot Levee at Mi
Seven slid off into the water lsf
night. The section, miles belo"
Hickman, KY, was reinforced immc-
diately.
While United States engineers cor
tinued their inquiry into the bars
sinking a week ago in which "a mo-
died and 6 more were missing in tho
Birds Point-New Madrid, Mo, flood
way, New Madrid County opened il
own investigation today.
A half-dozen men who escaped who
the barge submerged were summoreG
to testify before a coroner's jury in
paneled to determine where respons.-
bility for the safety of the men la
and whether reasonable precautio.
had been taken for their protection"
Louisville firemen conbed wreckago
Of a three-story building for bodief
fire from which 10 have already been
recovered. The city's official death
toll OF the flood stood at 285.
The Greenville. Miss, Rotary Club
deplored the reckless manner in
which unwarranted predictions Of
disaster have been made by a few of
those charged with the duty OF our
protection" and resolved Ito fix later
on the responsibility therefor to the
end that it shall not happen again"
Panic" created by high-water pre-
dictions has now happily been most
ly anayed" in Washington County. the
club asserted, urging delta citizens to
return to normal business.
Specific reference was made In the
resolutions adopted yesterday to
Washington order calling for the
Army high command to mobilize for
the evacuation as many as 100000
residents within so miles of the Mis-
sissipi River from Cairo to New
Orleans, If 1t became necessary.
I'VE specially deprecate the blunder
In Washington abount enforced evac-
uation of the Yazoo Basin among
other areas" the club said. That a
feeble attempt at correction later
was made does not minimize the
original error" The club also cri-
ticized some newspapers and radio
stations for their handling Of food
news.
Army engineers charged with di.
rection Of the flood fight made no
comment on the charges.
Meanwhile, engineers continued
battling sand boils and seepage. but
reported they had mo adverse reports
from any point" in the levee line from
Cairo south and that tributary con-
ditions showed steady improvement.
The Weather Bureau said any rain
in sight in the Ohio Valley will not
affect the river stages and that local
rains would serve only to worry food
fighting forces in the Memphis dis
tTict.