The True Story of Our National Calamity of Flood, Fire and Tornado Part 37

"We have now gotten the Fort Wayne road open from Chicago to Mansfield with single track over the points where the breaks were, and we are actively at work, both east and west, for a distance of about seventy miles between Canton and Mansfield, where there are four bridges gone and quite a number of washouts, and the best figures we have now are that we will probably get the Fort Wayne line open by Monday morning.

"We have found out definitely that our bridge at Piqua is still standing, although there are vast washouts at each side of it. We also know definitely that our bridge at Dayton is gone; also the four-span bridge over the Muskingum River at Zanesville is gone and there is some question as to whether our bridge over the Scioto River at Circleville is gone or not, as we have no definite information on this.

"We have men and material all a.s.sembled and starting actively at work here and there wherever the water has receded sufficiently to permit us."

On the Pennsylvania Railroad alone the loss amounted to millions of dollars. There was not only the tremendous loss due to the loss of tracks, roadbed and bridges, but also the loss of pa.s.senger and freight revenues. Everywhere it was conceded that the tie-up was the most serious and extensive in the history of the road.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photograph by Brown Bros.

Hundreds of substantial buildings were lifted from their foundations and piled up like broken cigar boxes simply by the awful sweep of the wind]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photograph by Underwood & Underwood.

Some of the most prominent society women and girls in Dayton shouldered hoes and shovels in the work of cleaning up the city]

HEAVY LOSS ON BALTIMORE AND OHIO

The financial loss to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad aggregated millions of dollars in the destruction of property alone.

President Willard was asked on Thursday for an estimate of the damage wrought by the floods. His reply was:

"I cannot tell. I haven't an idea. I wish I could say that it would be $2,000,000, but I cannot.

"I know that half a dozen bridges on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton have been destroyed and bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio have been washed away. We have lost one of our largest bridges on the main road to Chicago, at Zanesville, Ohio, and it will probably be six months before we will have another completed bridge there, although we will have some bridge there soon. We hope to have our main line to Chicago open in twenty-four hours, and our main line to Cincinnati open in the same time. We cannot tell when we will have our line to St. Louis open."

ESTIMATED DAMAGE

Conservative estimates of the damage to railroad property in the flooded Middle West, plus the loss entailed by the suspension of traffic, ranged from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000.

The entire railway system of Ohio and Indiana was practically put out of business for five days by the floods in the Middle West. To repair and replace the railways affected by this disaster, railway officials stated, would practically wipe out the surplus earnings of many railroads. In other cases dividends were threatened. The reason was, they said, that all such damage must be retrieved out of current earnings and could not be charged to capital.

As an ill.u.s.tration of how the railroads spend money in such an emergency, it may be said that the Pennsylvania sent one hundred and fifty expert bridge builders out West from New York in one day soon after the flood. These men received record wages; they traveled in sleepers, with special dining cars. The company was sending steam-shovels and pile-drivers on limited trains and a first-cla.s.s laborer could get a private compartment quicker than could a financier.

"There will be improvements in railroading through all the districts every day from now on, but there will not be anything like a restoration of former conditions for months," said one railroad official. "It takes time to rebuild steel bridges, especially as the big steel plants have been experiencing a little trouble of their own."

FLOOD PLAYED HAVOC WITH MAILS

Storm, flood and fire in the Middle West played havoc with the United States mails. Postmaster-General Burleson announced on March 26th that the destruction wrought by the floods in Ohio and Indiana was so serious that it would be ten or twelve days before a regular mail service could be resumed with the remote districts.

Reports showed that never before in the history of the service had there been such a serious interruption to the mails on account of floods.

There was practically no local service on the railroads in the territory bounded by Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Terre Haute and the Ohio River.

Mails to New York from points in Kentucky and Tennessee, from Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, Ohio, and all points south of the Ohio River came by way of Was.h.i.+ngton and were from five to seven hours late. The Arkansas and Oklahoma mails traveled by way of Chattanooga and Memphis.

The representatives in the field were directed to be in constant communication with the department at Was.h.i.+ngton and to make every effort to supply the people in the flood districts with mail as rapidly as arrangements could be completed. Mails for distant points which regularly pa.s.sed through the flooded sections were detoured north and south, resulting in unavoidable delay.

GENERAL PROSTRATION OF TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE WIRES

Never before in the history of the United States was there such a general prostration of telegraph and telephone wires as during the great flood. Chicago was "lost" to the East for part of a day, and it was found impossible to reach that city via the South. Throughout eastern Ohio service was paralyzed, and such few wires as could be obtained were flickering and often going down.

The Western Union and Postal Telegraph Companies in New York announced on March 26th that they did not have a wire working in the thousands of square miles roughly marked by Indianapolis on the west, Pittsburgh on the east, Cleveland on the north and the Ohio River on the south. The Postal had but two wires working between New York and Chicago and these were routed by way of Buffalo. None of its wires south of Was.h.i.+ngton was working.

An army of 10,000 men was sent into the region to repair the wires, but their work was almost impossible because of the inability of the railroads to transport their equipment.

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company had the only facilities in the stricken sections and turned them over without reserve to the press a.s.sociations, believing that in this manner the public could best be served.

At the offices of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Union Telegraph Company in New York, on March 28th, joint announcement was made as follows:

"In the use of the necessarily limited wire facilities reaching the flooded districts of Ohio and neighboring states due importance is being given to messages to and from public officials, relief a.s.sociations, the press and to such urgent messages as have to do with measures of relief, believing that thus the public will be best served until full service can be restored.

"There has been no time during the past week when the combined facilities of the two companies have not afforded communication with the larger cities and towns, but local conditions render it impossible in many cases to deliver telegrams or to make local connections by telephone."

CHAPTER x.x.xI

THE WORK OF RELIEF

PRESIDENT WILSON PROMPTLY IN DIRECTION--WAs.h.i.+NGTON ASTIR AS IN TIME OF WAR--BACKING OF CONGRESS PLEDGED--AMERICAN RED CROSS TO THE RESCUE--RAILROADS BRAVELY HELPING--RELIEF FROM STATES AND INDIVIDUALS--AN ARMY OF PEACE.

The sympathetic response of the American people never fails to measure up to the summons of any calamity. Relief is plentiful and prompt. The awful story of the flood and tornado was no sooner told than the machinery of government, the organized forces of the Red Cross and individual efforts in every city within reach were co-operating to provide succor and supplies to the sufferers. Tents for shelter, cots, food by the trainload, hospital and medical supplies, were almost immediately on their way to the stricken district.

WAs.h.i.+NGTON ASTIR AS IN TIME OF WAR

The Federal Government was alive to the needs of the flooded districts of the Middle West with activity that almost surpa.s.sed the hustle and bustle of war times. Every department from the White House down, directed its energies toward the relief of distress and suffering in Ohio and Indiana. As the result of appeals from Governor c.o.x, the American Red Cross and others, President Wilson issued an appeal to the nation at large to help the sufferers.

President Wilson's Messages For the Relief of the Stricken States

To Mayor Dahlman, of Omaha:

"I am deeply distressed at the news received from Nebraska. Can we help you in any way?

"WOODROW WILSON."

To Governor Ralston, of Indiana, and Governor c.o.x, of Ohio:

"I deeply sympathize with the people of your state in the terrible disaster that has come upon them. Can the Federal Government a.s.sist in any way?

"WOODROW WILSON."