The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado Part 11

The medical authorities forbade the use of old clothing until after it had been fumigated. It was urged upon the general public that old clothing was not desirable for fear it might bring a pestilence in some form to a city unable to cope with more disaster.

Nothing to indicate the approach of an epidemic due to flood conditions was reported, although the number of diphtheria cases was slightly above normal. Eight persons suffering from diphtheria were at the Miami Valley Hospital. Seven of them were caught in a house with a person who had recently become ill with the disease. Four persons hemmed in with one who had measles were suffering with that disease. Typhoid fever and pneumonia were a little more prevalent than usual. Clear skies and warm suns.h.i.+ne contributed to the comfort of the city and made possible good progress in the work of redemption.

Two hospitals in Dayton were flooded on the first floor, so all sick and injured were taken either to the Great Miami Hospital or to the state insane asylum. Eight persons whose minds temporarily became affected because of hards.h.i.+ps suffered in the flood were cared for at the latter place.

With warmer weather, the greatest problem was the removal of the carca.s.ses of dead horses. Every available automobile truck and all the horse-drawn drays were impressed by the sanitary officials and hundreds of men were engaged all day removing the carca.s.ses to the different incinerating plants and to vacant lots on the outskirts of the city, where they were burned.

George F. Burba, Governor c.o.x's private secretary, reported to the state's executive that there were 40,000 persons in Dayton who must be fed and sheltered for at least a week, and 10,000 who were dest.i.tute.

The latter were without either sufficient clothing or food, and until business activities were restored, they had to be financed and maintained in lodgings until they could become self-supporting.

Theodore A. Burnett and T. H. Smith, government food inspectors, took charge of the food supply, in so far as inspection was concerned, and appointed twelve deputies. All s.h.i.+pments of supplies from other places were carefully examined before being given to the refugees. Particular attention was paid to meats and canned goods.

Announcement was made that the particular need of the people was drinking water, shoes, clothing, picks and shovels. Money also was wanted, although a considerable amount had already been subscribed by cities throughout the country.

Food was on hand in ample quant.i.ties, free to all, but the variety was limited to staples such as beans, potatoes, bread and canned vegetables.

Of fresh meat there was practically none and b.u.t.ter and eggs were scarce. All food supplies were those contributed by the outside world and distributed from the various relief depots on the requisition of householders. Neither provision nor other stores received any consignment of goods.

Citizens and visitors alike were impressed with the facts that Dayton's condition was distressing. A review of the streets from sunrise until the curfew bell's toll furnished a practical ill.u.s.tration of this.

Except for the comparatively few householders who had supplies on hand in considerable quant.i.ties, daily sustenance was secured by the market basket method. This was as true of the fairly well-to-do families as of the laboring cla.s.ses.

HOW RATIONS WERE ISSUED

The head of a family made out a requisition each morning stating his needs for the day. This requisition was presented at any of the supply depots, and on it were issued rations consisting of potatoes, canned meats, prunes or preserves, beans, biscuits or bread. Men, women and children with their baskets were seen in the streets throughout the day.

Most of the absolutely dest.i.tute were cared for in one or another of the buildings comprising the huge plant of the National Cash Register Company, which is on high ground at the southern end of the city, untouched by the flood. On the ninth floor of the administration building, known as the office's club, and where there is a dining room with a capacity for 1,000, more than 5,000 dest.i.tute persons were fed daily. The menu for Sunday was a typical one, as follows:

Breakfast--Oatmeal and milk, coffee and bread.

Dinner--Vegetable soup, stewed canned meat, stewed corn, coffee and bread.

Supper--Bean soup, potatoes, coffee or tea and bread with b.u.t.ter.

John F. Patterson, head of the plant, had his dinner in this general dining room on Sunday. The only luxuries enjoyed by him and not provided for the others were hard-boiled eggs and preserved peaches. Among the most active of the uniformed waitresses was Mr. Patterson's nineteen-year-old daughter. Volunteer waitresses helped out their paid sisters during these days of hards.h.i.+p.

Monday in Dayton was much like the days that immediately preceded it, except that rapid progress was made toward the restoration of the city to a habitable condition. Electric current was supplied Monday night in a limited residential district and in a few downtown buildings, and the narrow zone of street lighting was extended. Automobile fire engines were brought overland from Cincinnati to a.s.sist in pumping out bas.e.m.e.nts.

Ample telegraph equipment was installed in the Beckel House. Thousands of telegrams remained undelivered, and it was still impossible for the telegraph companies even to attempt delivery. The line of citizens waiting in front of the Western Union's temporary office, to ask for messages from friends, extended during the morning a full block.

The Bell Telephone system promised partial restoration of service by Tuesday. Its plant manager, John A. Bell, complained of his linemen having been impeded by refusal of guardsmen to honor the military pa.s.ses. This was called to the attention of Brigadier General Wood, commanding the Ohio Guard, and relief was given.

Practically no newspapers had been received here since Tuesday and the people of Dayton grew very anxious to learn of conditions in other cities. News of the death of J. P. Morgan first reached the public through a bulletin posted by a representative of the a.s.sociated Press.

Later the Dayton _News_, whose plant was inundated, put a two-page paper on the street in which a few details of the death of the financier were printed.

Impressed and volunteer laborers were put to work Monday refilling the broken levees. Removal of dead animals was the most pressing work of sanitation.

Major Thomas L. Rhoads, President Wilson's aide and personal representative in charge of sanitary work, said that the situation was quite encouraging; that hospital facilities so far were ample; no epidemics of disease were in evidence and in two weeks there would be substantial relief, although it would require two months to remove the dirt and debris.

WOMEN SHOVEL IN STREETS

Monday for the first time, offensive odors came from the mud and slime that was shovelled into the streets by householders and storekeepers. In this work men, women and children were engaged. Wives of prominent citizens were seen with shovel and hoe, some of them wearing their husbands' trousers and rubber boots, doing as best they could the work of men.

On Monday, John H. Patterson, chairman of the Citizens' Relief Committee, issued the following statement:

"Our committee has now at its disposal all the food and clothing necessary. Money, however, is required to put our city in condition to prevent the outbreak of diseases and to rehabilitate the thousands, many of whom have lost their homes entirely and all of whom have lost their household and personal effects.

"The committee sends an urgent appeal to the citizens of the United States for the necessary funds. All contributions should be sent direct to W. F. Bippus, treasurer of the relief committee."

MILLIONAIRES IN THE BREAD-LINE

In the bread-line on Monday was Eugene J. Parney, a multi-millionaire, whose gifts to charity have been very large and who recently included $25,000 to the Y. M. C. A. of this city. The day after the flood he was offering $1,000 for enough wood alcohol to heat malted milk for his infant grandchild. Monday he was no more successful in buying provisions. He appeared with a basket on his arm, rubbed elbows with those nearest in the motley line and apparently none was more grateful than he when his basket was filled with beans, potatoes, canned vegetables, rice and other staples. He was eager to pay for his supplies, but money is refused at the supply depots. It was arranged to change this system on Tuesday to enable those well able to pay to do so.

Fred B. Patterson, only son of John H. Patterson, stopped work in the morgue at his father's factory long enough to tell for the first time of the part he took in the rescue work. Like his sister Dorothy, who worked as a waitress feeding refugees, young Patterson was doing the things that many poor men had avoided.

ORVILLE WRIGHT'S ESCAPE

Orville Wright, the aeroplane builder, and his family, who had been marooned in the west side, reported to relief headquarters on Monday.

The flood stopped just short of wiping out of existence the priceless models, records, plans and drawings--all in the original--of the Wright brothers, who gave the airs.h.i.+p to the world.

Out in West Dayton live the Wrights--Orville, his father, Bishop Wright, and Miss Katherine Wright, the sister, in a small, unpretentious frame house. Orville Wright and his father and sister were in the old homestead when the flood swept in.

The aged father was placed in a boat, but instead of conveying him to a place of safety, the boatman carried him to a house nearby where he was marooned until the waters subsided three days later. Orville Wright and his sister escaped to safety on an auto truck, being carried through four feet of water.

In fleeing, however, the inventor of the aeroplane was compelled to abandon the small factory adjoining the homestead in which were stored all of the originals from which the plans for the air craft were perfected. Had these gone, there would have remained nothing of the priceless data save what exists in the brain of Orville Wright.

At the height of the flood a house adjoining the factory took fire.

There were no means to fight the flames. For several hours the factory was in peril, but a special providence protected it and it came out of both flood and fire unscathed.

"We were lucky," said Orville Wright, whimsically, on Monday. "It is the irony of fate that at the critical moment I was not able to get away with my folks on one of my own machines. However, we came through all right and there doesn't seem to be anything more to be said."

Just one week after the coming of the deluge Governor c.o.x entered his home city for the first time, accompanied by several of the members of the Ohio Flood Relief Committee.

Governor c.o.x praised Mr. Patterson for his invaluable part in the relief work. "Mr. Patterson is the one man who is in the eye of America more than any one other man," said the Governor.

Mr. Patterson, after he returned Tuesday night in company with H. E.

Talbott, chief engineer, from a tour of sections of Dayton that were swept by the flood, issued a statement in which he said:

"Dayton is facing one of the gravest problems that any city of the world ever faced and we want the world to know we need money and food for our stricken people."

In speaking of a tentative plan to ask the Federal Government for a loan of from $20,000,000 to $40,000,000 to be used in reconstruction work, Mr. Patterson said:

"At a meeting of bankers and officials of the building a.s.sociations this evening it was decided to make an appeal for Federal aid. The banks and building a.s.sociations have $60,000,000 worth of a.s.sets which they will put up as collateral. It may be deemed advisable to ask the Government to give us some financial a.s.sistance. We feel that the disaster is an emergency which would justify extraordinary action on the part of Congress."

Since Sunday more than $750,000 in cash was received from banks in Cincinnati to replace damaged money in local banks which remained closed until April 8th.