Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 January 1937 — Page 3

FRIDAY, JAN. 22,1037 - "SANDBAGS PROTECT RAILROAD . . . . .

TRACKS

THREATENED BY 10R

RT ST EETTETYY HIE Ea

RENTS . . . ROADS ARE UNDER WATER . . . .

3. PAGE 3

40,000 HOMELESS IN STATE: ~~ SLEET ADDS TO SUFFERING: STREAMS PASS 1913 STAGES

Troops and Boats Rushed to Stricken Downstate Communities; Several Cases of

Illness Reported;

Serum Also Sent.

(Continued from Page One)

night and opinion was divided as to whether they had drowned or had reached safety at a high spot. Two other men were rescued at Washington. The U. S. Weather Bureau reported at noon today that the Ohio River was 71 feet at Aurora, one foot above the 1913 level, and was 70.4 feet at Cincinnati, .7 short of the 1884 mark. Fifty thousand gallons of gasoline escaped from broken Standard Oil Co. tanks at Aurora and rolled down the Ohio. Radio fire hazard warnings were sent to downstream points. Machinery to get Federal and State funds for Indiana flood victims were set in motion. The Legislature was prepared to ‘vote between $50,000 and $100,000 for stricken families if the State "Emergency Fund gets low, and Clarence Manion, Indiana NEC direc‘tor, requested Federal funds from ‘Washington. . Governor Townsend announced today that the State was making ‘every effort to alleviate suffering in the flooded areas. “Everything will be done to relieve necessity and want. This is a catastrophe. If it becomes necessary, I will recommend that the Legislature pass an emergency appropriation.” He said that authority had come from the War Department to issue No. 2 supplies, or old blankets and cots, and that the War Department was expected today to release No. 1 or new equipment from the Jeffersonville Quartermaster’s Depot. Surplus Food Distributed Surplus food supplies of beef broth, peas and grapefruit arz being shipped down to southern Indiana by the Governor's Committee on Unemployment Relief. The Indiana Legislature was prepared to vote a $50,000 or $100,006 flood emergency fund if the present fund ig depleted. Four hundred Indiana National Guardsmen are on duty in flood areas and 1000 more are ready to go, Adjt. Gen. Elmer F. Straub said. The U. S:. Coast Guard today ordered 12 more cutters from Toledo into the Ohio River basin, and 40 men from the, Buffalo, N. Y., station to Evansville. Trainload of Food Sent Lieut. Perry F. Lyons, noted Coast Guard “mercy flier,” was ready today to take off from Salem, Mass., - for Evansville, Ind.

Lawrenceburg Is Flooded

Lawrenceburg and Jeffersonville _: appeared the most seriously affected ’ plong the Indiana shore of the Ohio. Only about 500 of the 4100 residents remained in Lawrenceburg after the Ohio reached 70 feet and flooded the town. Jeffersonville had more than 400 families homeless. Nearly three feet of water on the main street closed Business houses. Damage was exected to exceed $100,000. The water fos was turned on only two ours daily. Extra help to reinforce the levee was asked, and the town was isolated except for a bridge over the Ohio to Louisville. New Albany had about 300 families homeless when the river passed

OFFICIAL WEATHER

eee United States Weather Bureau...

INDIANAPOLIS FORECAST — Clou with snow. or sleet probable tonight or tomorrow morning; colder tonight with Jowest temperature 5 to 10 degrees.

| Sunset....... 4:52

TEMPERATURE —Jan. 22, 1936— Meovsesisnv 20

BAROMETER 3003 1 p.m

Sunrise....... 7:02

7a,

Precipitation 24 hrs. ending at 7 a. m. Total precipitation since Jan. 1 Excess since Jan. 1

MIDWEST FORECAST

Indiana—Cloudy. snow or sleet probable tonight and Saturday morning except extreme northwest portion. Colder tonight and extreme southeast Saturday. Illinois—Cloudy, snow or sleet south, colder extreme east and extreme south tonight; Saturday fair preceded by snow along Ohio River. Continued cold. . ! Lower Mishigan Mostly cloudy, snow flurries tonigh and southeast portion Saturday morning; colder tonight except alon ake Michigan, colder extreme southeast Saturday. ° Ohio—Snow in north and rain or sleet changing to snow in south portion toight piobaniy engme Saturday morning; fder tonight and Saturday. Kentucky—Rain changing to sleet or now Tonight probably ending Saturday morning; colder in west and much colder in aor portion tonight; colder in east and central portions Saturday.

WEATHER IN OTHER CITIES AT 7 A. M.

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the 1913 stage, about 400 out of work because factories were flooded. The business section appeared safe from anything more than flooded basements.

51-Foot Stage Expected

Evansville was unable to anticipate its fate when McLin Collom, Government expert, predicted the Ohio next week would reach 51 feet, never before experienced. Judged on the basis of the 1913 flood, when the water reached 48.4 feet, it was assumed between 8000 and 10,000 homes would be flooded, some of them in the finest residential section, the waterworks would be endangered as would the generating plant of the Southern Indiana Gas & Electric - Co., supplying a dozen counties in the area. The new WPA plaza, which has held back the water from Evansville's business district so far, is designed only to care for a crest of 49 feet. . More than half of Aurora was under water this afternoon. Four high places in the city formed four islands in the rising flood waters.

Beds Are Needed

Red Cross officials reported a critical lack of bed clothings and beds, and said drinking water must be boiled. Two families exposed ta two reported cases of scarlet fever were isolated. A pneumonia patient was expected to die. Supplies, reported on their way by National Guard trucks, will have to be ferried into the town, Red Cross officials said, because all roads leading to the town have been inundated. ? Workers are searching for kerosene stoves to prepare food for the refugees. All gas and electricity supplies were shut off. The Princeton-Hazleton-Vincennes area, for two days threatened by two weak spots in the extensive Brevort Levee system, today reported the levee appeared to be holding. WPA workers still were sandbagging it.

White River Stationary

White River at Ha%leton was reported stationary at 12:30 p. m. at 31.5 feet. Princeton's water supply still was being taken from storage tanks. It was estimated that only enough water remained for one day. The Indiana National Guard Armory at Evansville was filled with refugees, and headquarters in Indianapolis reported that other families driven from their homes were applying for aid so fast they could not be cared for. A convoy of trucks loaded with blankets, tents and medicinal supplies was to leave Ft. Harrison this afternoon for Evansville.

Because regular routes were blockaded by .water, the trucks were to go down Road 41 to Road 43, over 43 to Spencer, then 67 to Vincennes. They will be met there by a State Highway Department employee, who will lead them over county roads to Evansville. State highway road reports were read to members of the House of Representatives today before they left for their homes. Many will be unable to get him because of flood conditions.

Tell City Power Off At Tell City, down the river, elec-

dy | tric power was shut off, the water

company was down and people were saving drinking water in gallon jugs. There were no local phone calls because poles were down, and the city had no intercommunication. There were no reports of disease threats, but persons today said the flood work had not as yet been well organized. Boats were scarce as persons sought to go from business to residential sections, which are cut off by water. National Guardsmen were sent from Salem this morning to aid in rescue work. Waters were expected to continue rising and every street in the city was expected to be inundated before tonight. Th: water was reported to be more than one foot over the levee. State roads and U. S. highways were under water in 75 places, the Highway Department reported today. Snow and ice covered the roads in northern Indiana while southern Indiana roads were flooded by the Wabash and White Rivers. State school facilities have been thrown open for flood relief in gl inundated areas, Floyd McMurray, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said today.

Use Schools as Relief Centers

School buildings were being used as flood relief centers, and busses were used to transport persons out of flooded districts. In many places schools were closed and school buildings seriously damaged by high waters. With communications cut off between Indianapolis and some southern Indiana towns, telephone com-

Damages; Family

By United Press

lars damage.

and one at Cincinnati.

Cincinnati, where the flood stage is 52 feet. More rain was in prospect, Meteorologist W. C. Devereaux said, but a sharp drop in temperature also was imminent. The rescue of several persons from a house drifting down the river above Fernbank Dam, near here, was reported today. An employee at the dam said the family had been rescued by the crew of a private launch after the house had lodged against driftwood. Their names were not learned; Dean Harvey, 39, Rockland, O., was drowned when He drove his automobile into the Little Kanawha River at Parkersburg, W. Va. He lost control of the car and plunged into 20 feet of water. A report that a man was missing at Portsmouth was believed erroneous.

temporary lines in service. Service between Cincinnati and Indiana flood area towns was shut down. A temporary exchange in Lawrenceburg was the immediate objective of the phone companies. Disaster relief workers estimated 18,000 were homeless in Kentucky, 36,000 in Indiana, 20,000 in Illinois. They said they believed their estimates conservative, that the figure may be doubled by next week. The Ohio River rolled over tops of levees throughout its course. Dozens

much as several miles in width. Evacuation was almost complete at Shawneetown, Ill. *

Rains Still Falling

Louisville rescue workers prepared for a peak flood level at least equmaling the 46.7 feet of 1884, worst flood year in the city’s history. Red Cross headquarters at Evansville received scores of reports from outlying districts in Indiana and Kentucky that flood conditions already are as hazardous as in the great flood of 1913. The great sheets of water swirling over the southern third of Indiana, the northern third of Kentucky, and the lower fourth of Illirois must drain into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Ill. A giant seawall there was patroled by a score of men searching for leaks, cracks or other signs of weakening. At least 300 families in the lower sections of Cairo were warned to leave their homes.

Three Reported Dead as Ohio River Driyes 100,000 From Homes Along Banks

Record-Breaking Stages Reported From Portsmouth To Louisville, * Causing

CINCINNATI, Jan. 22.—Three deaths attributed to the Ohio River flood were reported today as record-breaking water stages were reported from Portsmouth, O., to Louisville, causing inestimable millions of dol-

One man died at Parkersburg, W. Va.; one at Huntington, W. Va.

The United Press estimated that 100,000 persons had been driven from their homes by high water along the river’s 1000-mile course.

Millions of Dollars Rescued at Dam.

The river rose to 70.5 feet ate

of its tributaries were swollen as.

tional Guard trucks with food,

STATE TOWNS: HIT BY SLEET

Falling Temperatures Add to Suffering in Flooded Communities. ;

¥

(Continued from Page One) °

cations are cut off. Water supplies kept in gallon jugs filled yesterday. Electrical generators imported from Chicago replaced the City plant. No disease is reported. Both business and residential sections are cut off by water.

Mount Vernon—Break dis threatened in Illinois: Central Railroad levee along the Wabash River at Griffin. A break would inundate New Harmony which already is almost completely evacuated. A rescue party of four men headed by ex-Sheriff Louis Holtzmeier in a motor boat, is reported missing overnight, Opinion divided as. to whether they drowned or have reached safety at a high spot.

INDIANAPOLIS — Army officials at Ft. Harrison requested 5000 additional cots from Ft. Hayes, Columbus, O., at noon. Officials fear a shortage both in blankets and cots following an urgent request at noon from Jeffersonville for 1000 blankets and 2000 cots. Adjt. Gen. Straub sends 27 Na-

clothing and supplies for flood victims at Princeton, Mount Vernon and New Albany.

CANNELTON—Food and coal supplies are running low with no roads open to ship more into town. Water covers the first floor -of river-_ front buildings. Light current is shut off = One baby reported born today shortly after flood waters cover the first floor of a river-front home. Mother is rushed to another nome on the hills,

OWENSBORO, KY.—The Ohio River was at 48.7 feet at 9 a. m. and

RESCUE TRAIN MAY NOT REACH LAWRENCEBURG

10,000 Reported Marooned; Distillery Near Collapse, . Reporter Hears.

By HEZE CLARK Times Staft Writer

ABOARD RESCUE TRAIN AT GREENSBURG, EN ROUTE TO LAWRENCEBURG, Jan. 22—We

have come half way from Indianapolis and no one, not even the railroad men, knows how much farther we’ll be able to get. Reports reaching here were that the Seagram’s Distillery warehouse at Lawrenceburg, one of the largest in the world, is expected to collapse at any time. It was completed only recently. A creek has undermined the structure, it was reported. More than 10,000 in Lawrence= burg and Aurora are reported marooned, with all communications cut off. Water was reported running over the Lawrenceburg levee, built after the 1913 flood. More than 5000 of the towns 6000 residents are reported to have fled to higher ground.

Food Supplies Loaded

Most guesses are that we will have to stop the train several miles from

‘Lawrenceburg. We'll have to make

the best of it from there. The train consists of four baggage cars and a passenger coach. Railroad and relief men are trying to find a coal car to add here. We took on 11,000 pounds of food supplies here and would have taken more if the Charles F. Johnstons Son Co. had more to take. The food consisted of milk, sugar, meats, corn flakes, pork and beans, potatoes, coffee and salt.

Phone Service Down

One of the passengers on this train is Arthur Rudolf, 334 Elm St., Lawrenceburg. Yesterday he went to work in Cincinnati. He has been trying since quitting time yesterday to get back. When and if he gets to Lawrenceburg he will have ridden 288 miles to get from Cincinnati to his home, which ‘is 19 miles away. He said his home, where his wife and two small children await him; deeply covered by the 1913 flood. There is no phone service into Lawrenceburg and telephone com-

pany officials were reported work- |

ing desperately to set up emergency equipment.

rising at rate of .1.foot each hour. The crest in 1913 was only 48.9. The river was expected to rise three feet above that mark. All railroad and highway connections severed. Surrounding countryside under water. Owensboro, on high ground, appeared safe. Raining and temperature dropping.

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Rising Rivers Slop Over Into Pittsburgh Streets As Wheeling Is Menaced

Biggest Flood Since Last March Hits Smoky City’s ‘Golden Triangle’; 10,000 Persons on Wheeling Island Evacuate Homes.

‘By United Press

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 22.—Monotonous rainfalls pushed rivers out of their banks into Pittsburgh's “Golden Triangle” business district, bringing the bizgest flood since last March and brought a serious flood threat

to Wheeliig, W. Va., today.

As th: Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers rose toward an expected crist of 33 feet, eight feet above flood stage, and slopped the first water intc the “Golden Triangle,” the Ohio River at Wheeling was rising rapidly, ciusing the first of 10,000 on Wheeling Island to evacuate their

Homes.

The firs} death due indirectly toe

the flood (tcurred early today when Walter Wadoviak, 23, died in Allegheny General Hospital of a fractured skul suffered as he assisted fellow wor :ers move groceries from a firm in {he Lawrenceville district. With the Ohio reaching 37.9 feet at 9 a. m. at Wheeling and rising at the rate of six-tenths of a foot an hour, ihe river will be at the 45-foot le'¢l tomorrow ' morning. Capt. J. R. Hill, supervisor of dams, would not predict that 45 feet would be the cress.

Island Resident Flee

Wheeling Island, supposedly the largest inhabited river island in the country, would be submerged at 46 feet. Islan residents were rapidly evacuating iieir homes and trucks, loaded with their household goods, clogged the bridges to the mainland. ’ Water pou:¢d into homes in South Wheeling as well as Wheeling Island as the 35-foot flood stage was passed. A 4t-foot level would place water in the second floor of many Wheeling Is'and homes. In the Wheeling bisiness district, merchants prepited for high water, which pours nto a Main St. at 40 feet. The water will block Market St. at 43 feet. os In eastern (}hio, steel mills closed down at Mailin’s Ferry and two glass plants si $pended operations at Bellaire. { Wheeling retorded 1.51 inches of rain in the last 24 hours and Pittsburgh, 1.8 inci ¢s. The rain had virtually ceased at Pittsburgh this morning, but: in other places the

rainfall continued. Further north, at Kane, Pa., the rain had turned to snow, and Franklin, Pa., reported snow flurries. At the point in Pittsburgh where the "Allegheny and Monongahela form the Ohio River, the waters reached 30.1 at 9 a. m., and were rising at the rate of three-tenths of a foot an hour, The first water .to invade the Triangle here flowed into Duquesne Way from: the Allegheny, and the Monongahela crept into Water St. Lowland sections of Pittsburgh area in the greatest danger were Sharpsburg and McKee’s Rocks, both in the “bottoms.” McKee's Rocks Bottoms were under water from rampaging Chartiers Creek and 75 men aided residents to evacuate their homes.

The Allegheny River had flooded |

Main St. in Sharpsburg and Etna was endangered by Pine Creek.

Officals Visit Area

Gavernor George H. Earle of Pennsylvania ordered Maj. Gen. Ed-

ward G. Shannon, commander of the National Guard; Dr. Edith Mac-bride-Dexter, health secretary, and Maj. Lynn G. Adams, superintendent of State Police, to go to the Pittsburgh area immediately to “look over the situation” and prepare for any emergency. Johnstown, Pa., merchants in the central part of the city prepared to move merchandise to higher floors as Stony Creek rose to 11.6 feet. Heavy rains pelted that area and

U. S. PREDICTS 50-FOOT CREST AT LOUISVILLE

River Now at 46.7 for First Time Since 1884 Flood.

By United Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. Jan. 22.—For the first time since the recordbreaking flood of 1884, the Ohio River reached a stage of 46.7 feet at Louisville today. U. S. Meteorologist J. L. Kendall said the river would rise to 50 feet late today. He said he could not estimate how much higher it would go. About one-third of the city's streets were under water, a flood area of 350 blocks. Broadway, the main thoroughfare, was. closed to traffic in several places. Only two street car lines were operating,

: Rail Station Closed The Louisville Gas & Electric Co. warned that power for the city’s homes probably would be turned off tonight. Gas service was expected to be continued longer. The Central Railroad Station was closed when water covered the tracks and seeped into the first story of the terminal. Three telephone exchanges ceased to operate. Radio appeals for residents to refrain from flood hysteria were ise sued at 15-minute intervals. Warehouses were used to house refugees, of which there were an estimated 6000.

the crest was not expected to be reached for several hours. Several families located along Quemahoning Creek near Boswell, Pa., evacuated their homes. Prison Cellars Inundated Eighteen inches of water was in the front yard of the Western Penitentiary, on the Ohio River in Woods Run, near Pittsburgh. But Warden S. P. Ashe did not believe any of the 1149 convicts were in danger as a 3.8-foot level would have to be recorded before the first tiers would be flooded. The block cellars were flooded and the electric motors had been pulled up.

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