Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 7, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 May 1927 — Page 1

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yOLUME 39—NUMBER 7

200 U. S. TROOPS ADDED TO GUARD IN CITY'S STORM - SWEPT SECTIONS

REPAIR ARMY OF UTILITIES IN ADVANCE Only E. Washington Car Line Out—Normalcy Again Apparent, IRVINGTON AID SPEEDED > Complete Electrical Service by Friday Night. Suffering losSes of thousands of dollars, Indianapolis utilities placed an army of repairmen in the field immediately following the storm and service almost was re-established at normal by noon. Only the B. Washington St. car line remained out of operation. It is expected to have the cars back on regular schedule within twenty-four hours, officials announced. Leveled poles, trees and tangled wires were being cleared away rapidly, and broken trolleys repaired. Bus serviceh as been re-established. Traction lines, demoralized on Wednesday night, were running on time at noon. Union Traction reported curtailed service due to high water at Tipton. Aid to Irvington President Norman A. Perry, Indianapolis Power and Light Company, supervised efforts to restore electric service to Irvington and eastern sections. Light poles were leveled from Southeastern Avc. to Temple Ave., more than two miles. Perry expected' Irvington service reestablished by night. Complete electric service Is not expected to be restored until Friday night or Saturday. 150 at Work Working thrpughout the night, a crew of 150 men had service to most large industries at 7 a. m. “It is impossible yet to estimate the extent of the company’s losses,’’ Perry said. He pointed out that the interconnection system of the high tension loop about the city, containing four main and eleven substations, made (Turn to Page. 3)

EX-JUDGE BLOWN ALONG BY BREEZE Jurist" Hurled 100 Feet Down Street. Former City Judge Thomas WhalV>n limps today and tells of a unique experience with the tornado Wednesday evening. He parked his car on X Delaware St. and walked to Washington St., just as the gale swept along. He tells the rest: “It picked me up where I was standing and flattened me out on the sidewalk, then, like a, spinning plate, I went revolving and twisting down- the sidewalk. All the while I was giving this performance, plate glass was falling about my path like hall. “After I had been hurled about 100 feet I saw I was going to strike an iron trolley support pole. I did. It knocked me into the gutter. I tried to get up and as I did I was thrown against a parked auto. I clung to It until the storm passed and I could regain my feet.” Whallon's clothes were tom from him and he suffered severe body bruises. GLASS TO STORM AREA Kokomo Factories Ship to Indianapolis and Other Points. Bu Unite I Press KOKOMO, Ind., May 19.—Plate glass factories here today began to ship glass to replace the hundreds of windows that were blown out in Indianapolis and surrounding towns. Skilled workmen accompanied the glass shipments from Kokomof , WIND HITS WINCHESTER Mile of Telephone Poles Leveled During Heavy Bu Times Knceinl WINCHESTER, Ind., May, 19. About a mile of telephone poles were blown down along the Union Traction right-of-way by a high wind which accompanied a heavy rain storm here last night. Traffic was disrupted for several hours. No serious property damage or loss of life was reported. Hiller Office Supply Cos., Ma. 0618. We supply office needs—cneerfully. —Adv.

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Wind’s Havoc on East Side

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Here are two picture* which show tlie havoc the efit side by the terrific gale which struck the city Wednesday night. The typical views were snapped by The Times staff photographer from the attic at the lioin ■ of Mrs. Caroline Prang, 220 N. Hendricks Place.

Neighborhood Ghost in Gray Sky Evidences Nature’s Man Mockery

By Bert M. Demby The ghost of a neighborhood that was, silhouetted against a gray sky today— evidence of a mockery \ that nature sometimes makes of man-made glory. And into what but a few short hours ago were the homes qf hundreds of people living on the east side between Pine St. to Eastern Ave. and Michigan St. to the Pennsylvania tracks there has come the true meaning of the word devastation. . Out of the West Practically everything in the community is a loss because a seventy-flve-mile-an-hour wind swept out 6f the west shortly after 8 p. m. Wednesday and literally blew away all that had made the place a beautiful area in which to live. Houses were torn down, business places were ruined, trees were lifted out by the roots, autmobiles and other personal property were swept along like so much chaff, residents were injured, and —almost everything that amounted to anything has gone. I Today the scene a queer 'contrast to that which residents of the neighborhood have been accustomed to. Today to Salvage Where Wednesday morning the people came out of their homes and blithely went about Jfieir work, today they walked up to them to try to salvage what the wind had left. Sometimes they found part of their home, once in a great while the place was almost intact, but more often there was nothing to cheer them. Washington St. from Hendricks PI. to Tacoma Ave., looked much like the barbed wire in "no man’s land,” so entangled were wires and telephone poles which yesterday stood along each curbing. Hendricks Pi., from Washington

to E. New York St., perhaps the worst damaged of the territory, appeared in much the same light that southern Illinois was in the day after the great tornado there. One Home Intact For three blocks along Hendricks Pi. only one house was intact. Most buildings lay in pieces in the streets. Sometimes the roofs were gone, sometimes sides, and as often as not the house was wrecked. The scene was generally the same along Hamilton. Jefferson, Beville, Keystone and Tacoma Ave. Emerson once said that it takes great disaster to bring out the true nature of human beings. _ On any of these streets today Emerson might have proved his theory. There was the woman on Tacoma Ave., wjio went from house to house, among her neighbors, inquiring

Wind-Blown Bits

Scattered splinters and broken glass were all that remained of a garage on the rear of a lot at the corner of Sherman Df. and E. Michigan S|t. when a twister hit the structure, leaving an overturned automobile on the concrete floor. A part of what appeared to have been the roof was virtually wrapped around an electric pole at the corner of a lawn where the house was unscratched. A business block adjoining was caved in at the front, a drug store show case resting against the back wall. Electric lights crippled, a candle held in a monkey wrench was the only illumination possessed by the attendant of a filling station at the same intersection, evidently one of few stations remaining open in the.

INDIANAPOLIS, THURSDAY, MAY 19, 1927

whether any one was hurt. Her j hom£ lay in ruips. I Then there was another woman ! who once in the morning, while she | and her husband attempted to salj vage belongings, cried at him: ”1 wish you’d leave those told rags and fishing tackle of your alone and get out some of this stuff that’s still some good-” In another spot a man was telling an interested crowd how a chimney had blown around him and he had escaped unscathed. Baby Blithesome A baby, apparently 3 years old played blithesomely in the street. One family went industriously about the work of getting a stove out of the ruins, presumably that something to eat' might be cooked. • A woman asked to use the telephone in the D. W. Fowler drug j store and called a friend. “Oh, yes we loft everything” she

eastern part of the city. Many motorists were replenishing fuel there. y Dearborn St. just north of New York was closed when a .telephone pole, bearing a transformer, was blown over, carrying with it wires in which an auto became entangled. The roof of a two-story residence south of Michigan on Dearborn St. was supporting two power line poles which had toppled against the build ing. One of the many freakish acts of the wind was the crushing of two. sides of the drug store at the north- ' west corner of Dearborn and Mich- j igan Sts. end leaving unharmed a | grocery in the next room north. The (Turn to Page 3)

said, “but we re dry and have something to eat nnd we’re happy for that.” "And there was the dog which lay quietly in front of what wan once a home, but now is a jumble of timbers. Police Patrol Police patrolled the section. Once one of the officers was interrupted in his regular work to investigate a story that a 70-year-old woman, Mrs. Mary Franky. lay in a partly wrecked house. 40 N. Hamilton Ave., ill with influenza. Major Louis Johnson, in charge of relief work, ordered her sent to the hospital. High up on a building corner—only one wall left —a bird’s nest lay unharmed. Trees were everywhere. Sometimes they were uprooted, sometimes twisted in two. Some were split in dozens of pieces. Under Giant Hand Automobiles—or, rather, what were automobiles—were piled indiscriminately about the streets. Some were overturned, others wrecked. One, a Ford, No. 2407, looked as though a giant hand had crushed it. Hardly a garage was left. Many of the houses appeared as though they' had been crushed with a giant hammer. Others looked like a mammoth knife had v been useyj to slice them. In some places circular holes showed in roofs, as though they ha'd been taken out much in the same manner that one ‘‘plugs’’ a Watermelon. One house, at 242 Hcndricka PI. was untouched, Even the radio aerial was in niace. Like Stick- Candy Another house had only the drain pipe damaged. The pipe was twisted like the stripe on a piece of stick candy. A single wall of one home remained. On it a picture of a woman. (Turn to Page 6) j

Outside of Marion County 12 Cents Per Week. Single Copies

RED CROSS CITY RELIEF UNDERWAY Canteen at Washington, Keystone—Guarded by Fort Squads. GOVERNOR TO SCENES Accompanied by Kershner —Mayor Offers Aid. ✓ Red Cross emergency relief was begun today in the east side area devastation work. William Fortune, Indianapolis Red Cross chairman, announced no campaign for funds would be started yet. If permanent relief is necessary the Red Cross likely will ask for funds, Fortune said. A canteen was set up at Keystone Ave. and Washington St. this afternoon to feed needy families, police, volunteer guards, and United States soldiers from Ft. Benjamin Harrison on guard duty. Governor Jackson and AdjiUant General William H. Kershner inspected the stricken district at noon. Mayor Duvall offered Fortune any assistance the city can give. It was the first time the city Red Cross chapter had been called on to administer disaster relief here, although it has served many localities in the ten years of its history. Home Service Director W. C. Foster headed the army. Foster said whrtever “family relief’’ was needed would be provided. Family Welfare Society and public schools social service workers conducted investigafions. Fortune said he hoped to avoid the relief fund if possible. City Council President Claude E. Negley said the council will not consider relief funds as “it unfortunately can not do ihat. If relief is needed City Controller William Buser may recommend an appropriation. Negley pointed out that the city is cooperating in every way in the emergency.

ANOTHER STEVE CHANGE Shift From South Bend to Be Asked by Kane. Request for change of venue, based on the statutory plea of local prejudice, will be filed by Attorney Ralph Kane, special represenfiitive of the attorney general in the Stephenson mandamus suit Friday in the South Bend court. The suit was brought by Attorney Robert H. Moore, Michigan City, to mandate Warden Walter H. Daly of the Indiana State Prison to permit him to interview D. C. Stephenson in the prison, accompanied only by his stenographer. Moore took change of venue from South Bend from Michigan City on similar grounds. If Kane’s piea is granted the case _ will go to Stark, Marshall or Elkhart Counties. WOMAN DAZED-BY BLOW Screen Prevents Serious Injury When Glass Breaks. Mrs. Wanette Johnson, 220 N. Hendricks PI., was dazed when she received a blow on the ear in the kitchen of her home. ShSe went to the rear of the house when she noticed the rising storm and looked out the window. The wind crashed through the glass. A screen inside .the window prevented her from being seriously cut. “I heard a great grinding noise like a gigantic motor. There was screaming, as if every one was being ground up in a great mill,” said Mrs. Johnson. C., I. & L. Bond Permit Bu Unitril Pr< ss WASHINGTON. May 19.—The Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway was authorized by the Interestate Commerce Commission today to issue $1,000,000 of first and general mortgage 5 per cent bonds to be used as collateral security for notes It may issue in the future. t Parade Postponed The Junior Chamber of Commerce safety parade scheduled for this afternon was postponed on advice of Police Chief Claude F. Johnson. ) Hourly Temperatures ' 8 a. m 62 10 a. m 59 7 a. m 60 11 a. m. 58 8 a. m 60 12 (noon) .... 58 9 a. m 59 Hie Best-Grand Laundry, Main 0774. Economy finished. 10 lbs., $1.51, if half flat. Everything ready to use.

THREE CENTS

Regulars From Ft. Harrison Called to Duty to Aid Police—No Re- j ports of Looting. WIND DAMAGES 1,000 BUILDINGS Injured Near 150 Mark—Loss Placed ' • High.as $2,000,000. a

STORM AT A GLANCE

The 76-mile-an-hour tornado which swept into Indian- *j apolis Wednesday night from the west left behind it: Hundreds homeless. I*2 One hundred and seventy-five blocks of property dam. aged. Damage estimated at $750,000 to $2,000,000. More than 150 persons injured, forty-six seriously . enough to be treated at hospitals with six reported critical. Public utility service crippled, and miles of wires j down in east side devastated area. Telephone Company damage estimated at SIOO,OOO. / Minor damage in the downtown district. j Two hundred United States doughboys will be on guard tonight in the east side storm devastated area of Indianapolis to prevent possible looting of homes ivrecked by the 76-mile-an-hour tornado which swept the city from the west shortly before 8 o’clock Wednesday night. Adjutant Thornton Chase of Ft. Benjamin Harrison promised the troops to Police Chief Claude F. Johnson. They will go on guard in the stricken area at 3 p. m. to strengthen the guard of police and firemen on guard when the storm struck. Relief Survey Begins Chief Johnson declared modified martial law in effect. In the meantime Red Cross and city officials surveyed the district in which it is estimated 1,000 homes and garages were badly damaged to determine what steps should be taken to aid the hundreds who labored to bring order in the wreckage of their homes. , With about 175 city blocks of property damaged, the tornado's property toll was estimated conservatively at; from $750,000 to $2,000,000. Six personsjwerc critically injured in hospitals. Hospital records showed a total of foryt-three seriously enough hurt to ba treated at hospitals. Twenty-six were still in hospitals. More than 100 others injifret\ were treated at drug stored and doctors. Escape With Lives Remarkable The marvel was that there were no deaths. Police Chief Claude F. Johnson after two surveys of the worst stricken east side district estimated the damage there at $750,000. Coronei* Paul F. Robinson and Major Louis Johnson estimated it at) $1,000,000 and probably more. ( j Mayor Duvall estimated the damage at $2,000,000. All declared definite figures would not he obtainable sos, several days. Dawn today revealed two stretches of wrecked homes, store buildings and garages in the east end. The first district was hounded roughly by Pine St. on the west, Michigan on the north, Eastern Ave. on the east and the Pennsylvania railroad tracks on the south—a section eighteeni blocks long by six blocks wide.

The second district was from the Belt railroad east to Chester St., -between Walnut and Ohio Sts., an area five blocks by about four blocks. The majority of home in the first district were either leveled or so badly damaged it will be necessary practically to rebuild them. In the second section the damage consisted mostly of ripped off roofs, and demolished porches, necessitating repairs (only. Although no complaints of looting have been received, Police Chief Johnson askfd the aid of the- Ft. Harrison troops to remove any possibility of vandalism tonight. Johnson has ordered all police to work on twelve hour shifts. Modifier! martial law Vvas declared in effect by Johnson in the district hounded by New York and Washington Sts., Temple and State Aves. Makes Strict Rules Sightseers were barred from the district and the'chief ordered that even residents of the section must remain on their own properly or go to jail. Two-thirds of the police force worked all night guarding the ea*t side and standing watch on wires down in other parts of the city. Some 100 firemen aided in guard duty and this morning Fire Chief Jesse Hutsell assigned the platoon of 3W> men who ended fire dtity at 8 a. in. to aid. Police who worked all night were relieved. They will go back on duty tonight. The firemen will be relieved by the United States troops. Two hundred Technical High School R. O. T. C. members aided in directing traffic as thousands of curb (Turn to Page 15)

Forecast Mostly cloudy tonight and Friday; probably thunder showers, not much change in temperature.

TWO CENTS

MARION COUNTY

Injured List

Os the forty-three injured seriously enough to be treated at hospitals, six were reported in critical condl* tion today. Os the thirty-seven treated at the city hospital, twenty-si* were still there this morning. The rest had gon% to (heir homes. CRITICAL FRAMES SHEETS. 12, 2030 E. Washington St., lacerations, possible skull fracture, City Hospital. LULU HIXON, 19, of 330 N. Rural St., scalp lacerations, bruised arm, possible skull fracture, City Hospital. KARL WOLVERTON, 17, of 406 S. Harlan St., broken shoulder, arm cut nnd possible internal injuries, City Hospital. MRS. JULIA LYONS, 36. of 208 N. Jefferson Ave., head injury, St. Vincent's Hospital. MRS. MARIE Dl DERSTADT, 241 Hendricks PI., 69, City Hospital. MRS. LAURA STI’ART, 70. rear of 61 N. Keystone Ave., punctured lung, city hospital. 1 OTHERS INJURED CITY HOSPITAL MRS. ANDREW SHEETS, 29. o? 2030 E. Washington St., head and upper body lacerations. . I HOWARD COCKRELL, 1706 E, Forty-sixth St., fractured arm. JAMES SMITH, Newcastle, lacerated foot. lONA KOKN|G, 50, of 2315 Hoyt Ave., lacerated foot. R. J. LINDLKY, 329 N. Oakland Avc.., lacerations. ’ (Turn tq Page II) k