Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 83, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 April 1913 — LOGANSPORT AND PERU VISITED [ARTICLE]

LOGANSPORT AND PERU VISITED

O. S. Baker Found Sons All’ RightDestruction So Great That It Begars Description. •>* s . "''Z■ • ’ . r O. S. Baker returned Sunday from his trip to Logansport and Peru, at each of which places he had a son living, and not having heard from them he went to find out how they were. When lie reached Logansport he found his son, Frank, who is chief engine inspector in the Pan Handle shops, and while he was making out a report of three engines he had inspected the water raised so high that he'could not get to his locker in the lower office to get his coat and hat. A man with hip boots got them for him find he had to wade almost up to his knees to get out of the yards. There was lots of damage in the yards; an 8-foot fence about the yard was washed away, cars were upset and engines stood for two or three days in four feet of water. Frank lined on 17th street, iVhieh was out of the danger district. In the business district, Mr. Baker states, more than half the plate glass windows were broken out and the damage was great. One merchant' suffered damage from $40,000 to $50,000. No man can describe conditions so that one not seeing it ean realize how terrible was the destruction. The Third street bridges that were washed out have not been found at all. His other son, William, had moved from Peru to a farm two miles southwest of Peru. He is a car builder and works at repair work for B. F. Wallace,, the showman. Will was on dry ground himself. Mr. Wallace told him that his loss will be $150,000. He had seventy head Of Aberdeen-Angus cattle drowned, besides losing many of his show animals. v The business, district at Peru was not so badly damaged, but* the residence property loss was greater. A Peru merchant was asking sls to sl7 a pair for rubber boots, while another had the price from $lO to sl2. A third was not disposed to profit at the expense of the n,eedy people and gave boots away. as long as they lasted. ' • The newspapers have not overstated 'the property damage and their descriptive accounts are not able to convey a knowledge of the extent of the damage. It was very natural that the estimate of those drowned was too high. Any person that was an eye witness to the rapid rise of the water as it inundated the homes would have thought that death would certainly have.conie to many of the residents. Mr. Baker states that after the waters receded people climbed down from the attics of their homes where they had been for two or three days without heat or food. The trip is worth taking and Mr. Baker says he never saw' such sights in all his life.