Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1937, Page 6

A—0 ¥¥ INLONDON, ONT. Drinking Water Shortage Threatened in Worst Flood in City’s History. LONDON, Ontario, April 27 (Cana~- dian Press).—London mobilized today to repel an unprecedented flood of the Thames River—a flood that already had driven 6,000 residents from their homes, caused damage estimated in Qundreds of thousands of dollars and brought a threat of drinking water shortage. Rain-swollen rivers oozed over their banks in a score of Southwestern On- tario communities, through city streets, inundating farm lands, marooning many families and sending others to safety in boats. Four persons were dead. At Londan, the flood was the worst {n history. The Thames, fed by almost continuous rain and snow for four days, rose to an all-time high of 28 feet above normal, threatening to sweep out city bridges. Entire facilities of the Red Cross were pressed into service to care for refugees. Armories and hundreds of private homes were opened to flood sufferers. Hundreds of volunteers maneuvered through the flooded districts of London and other communities in boats to remove marooned persons. A shortage in London's water supply appeared inevitable. The flood put the pumping station out of commis- | sion and water from artesian wells was shut off after the overflow from the Thames poured into them That made London dependent solely upon the Springbank Park Reservoir, which has a capacity of only 20,000,000 gallons. Early today it was estimated only 10,000,000 gallons-~two days’ normal supply—remained. The flood area formed a rough circle around London, 30 miles northeast to Stratford, 30 miles east to Brantford and 50 miles southwest to St. Thomas. The wreck of a Chicago-Montreal express train, in which three men were Xilled, was laid to the flood. The train plowed through a flood-riddled em- bankment near Woodstock, 25 miles northeast of London. Flt;od (Continued From First Page.) was suffered by the oil companies, Whose plants bordered the river. Btandard Oil Co. put its loss at $100,- 000 and the Gulf Oil & Refining Co. estimated its loss at about the same amount. The Colonial Oil Co. also suffered heavily. Houses along the river were still dnundated today, with porches and foundations swept away. Two vessels were carried downstream. A ship from Lake Erie, which had just unloaded a cargo of alkali at the Sylvania plant, was torn loose and carried away with a crew of 15. A tie barge with four persons was also adrift. Nothing was heard this morning of the disabled eraft. Thus far no deaths or serious injuries have been reported, but many #ick persons were removed from their homes and may have suffered ill effects. Refugees crowded the Salvation Army station and private dwellings were thrown open to families dislodged | from their homes. The flood had re- ceded about 10 feet at 9 am. today and was falling rapidly. Train serv- ice has continued without interrup- tion, but bus and automobile traffic is practlcally at a standstill, wjth | from the path of the flood. State police were also dragging 40 feet of water where a roadway over a dam collapsed near Maidens. They sald Leslie O'Bryant, 26, of Jefferson, & newspaper motor route carrier, had disappeared on a trip through thai area. Richmond made preparations for a 26-foot crest on the James River dur- ing the day and Public Works Director George W. Whitfield warned that the gas works may have to suspend opera- tions. He held hope, however, that a 24-foot reserve supply would not be exhausted before the works could resume. Traffic on two of the city's free bridges was suspended by Public Safety Director John A. Cutchins because of the danger of excessive strain on the spans. Arrangements were made for the use of the Robert E. Lee Bridge without toll charges. Work All Night. About 200 W. P. A. workers and all available public works forces of Rich- mond labored all last night on the sunken dikes. F. N. Hibbard, in charge of the Richmond office of the United States Weather Bureau, predicted a crest of between 25.5 and 26 feet. The record crest, 28.3 feet, was reached during the flood of last Spring. Hundreds of sightseers, despite a plea by city officials that citizens re- main away during the emergency, thronged streets and highwhys in the flooded area. Damage at Cumberland, Md., was estimated by Chamber of Commerce officials at $100,000, a small figure compared to the $3,000,000 flood dam- age last Spring. George Oda Kinser, 42, died of a heart attack late' yesterday after re- turning home from & tour of the flood area, but there were no other serious casualties. The Potomac River and Wills Creek, which converge near the center of the city, began to go down late yes- terday, when a 36-hour rainfall ceased. As the water receded from the streets, Maryland's second city began to resume its normal routine. Traffic moved again while firemen flushed mud from the downtown thoroughe fares, and railroads and bus lines re- sumed their usual service on regular schedules. Merchants re-opened their doors and moved back downstairs the stocks they had hurriedly moved to upper floors when the waters began to rise Sunday night. The straightaway on the dirt race track at the fair grounds was washed away and a turn was damaged by several feet of water that covered it during the water's crest. Damage at Hagerstown was neglig- ible compared with that suffered a year ago. The interstate bridge at Hancock is closed, the center span having been carried away for the second tlme. Five hydro-electric plants of the Potomac Edison Co. were flooded and damaged to some extent at dams four and five on the Potomac, Millville and Warren on the | Shenandoah, and Cacapon on Cacapon River. Repair of washouts permitted resumption of traffic on the Hagers- town division of the Western Mary- land Railroad. Traffic West over the National highway is being routed around Hancock, where a block and & half of homes are still under water. The families were evacuated yester- day. All other routes were open. Residents Return. Conditions in Southern Maryland were near normal as the high tides | receded with lower winds, but con- | siderable damage to live stock and property was reported. No serious injuries to bumans were reported. ation—St. Georges Island and Great Mills, both in St. Marys County—re- occupied their homes at nightfall. Many small boats were destroyed and washouts were reported at sev- eral beaches along the bay. Damage hundreds of tourists stranded. Hotels | to roads in the waterside area was and boarding houses were filled to|heavy, as the 60-mile-per-hour wind capacity. drove the tide into inlets and streams Search for Car. | overflowed their banks. Early today firemen from companies 8t Orange and Culpeper gathered at the still swollen bridge over the Rob- inson River, where a car believed to bear four young persons from Cul- peper was submerged late Sunday night. The two young couples, all from Culpeper, were Misses Betsy Mor- rison, 22, and Laura Lindsey, 25, and Joseph McCrary, 26, and James I. Hogan, 26. Miss Morrison was secretary to the | town manager of Culpeper, and Miss | Lindsay was secretary of a farmers’ | union there. McCrary was manager of the Virginia Northern Ice Corp. at Culpeper and Hogan was a salesman for a Culpeper motor company. They had been to Orange for dinner Bunday night and were returning to Culpeper when their car struck the washout at the bridge approach. A piece of chromium plate, which might have been part of the radiator, was | the only clue the searchers had been eble to drag from the river with their grappling hooks. A light rain was faling this morning, but it was be- lieved that the water would recede enough for the work of recovering the bodies to continue by afternoon. The depth of the water was estimated at about 30 feet at the crest. Mr. and Mrs. Lester Hill, who live on a hill overlooking the spot nine Iniles north of here, where the high- | land torrent tore out a bridge ap- | proach, told Fire Chief E. H. Rouse of Orange and State Police Sergt. Carr that they saw a car drop from the bridge into the water about Sun- day midnight. George Beattie of | Culpeper said he was flagged down at | the bridge by a Negro who told him | he saw an automobile drop into the | flood-created chasm. Searchers Build Raft. Orange’s volunteer firemen and other searchers built a raft this morn- ing and will launch it in the river, Chief Rouse said. He believed that the car might have been rolled down- stream by the rushing waters. The washout of the bridge approach occurred on Route No. 15, 9 miles north of Orange, in Madison County. Waters cut a chasm variously esti- mated at from 15 to 30 feet wide in the earth approach. Hill told Sergt. Carr he was on his sleeping porch near midnight, watch- ing the river rise, when he saw an automobile run across the bridge and drop from sight. Mrs. Hill said she saw the headlights go out and a “crash” as the machine hit the flood. Apparently swept downstream by wood waters, the body of French Kidwell, 58, inmate of a Virginia almshouse near Manassas, was found in Bull Run, near Clifton Station, today. Deputy sheriffs said Kidwell disap- peared from the almshouse February 16. From the condition of the body it was believed he had been in the water most of that time. ‘The body was lodged in a grapevine in a tree. It was taken to an under- taking establishment at Manassas. The body of Prank I. Cawthorne, sr., 50, of Appomattox was found yester- day in & roadside pond where his car ‘Water began receding at 4 pm. after most of the 400 residents of St. Georges Island, south of here, and Great Mills had moved their house- hold effects to higher ground. Fifty of the islanders sought refuge in the Methodist Church. Also threatened by the rising water was Solomons Island, where several stores were flooded, and Piney Point, where the southeast wind forced waves into numerous cottages. Bridge Removed. Still isolated by rapidly dropping water was the farm of James J, Brad- ley, near Millstone, where two creeks flowing into the Patuxent rose to cut off his residence from the mainland. Normalcy prevailed at all other af fected points. Most heavily damaged of the Solo- mons Island buildings was the store of J. C. Webster. The first floor was inundated by 6 inches of water. At Governors Run the highest tide since the disastrous storm of 1933 was re- ported, and at nearby Kenwood Beach numerous cottages, boats and fish nets were harmed. The speedy current removed = small bridge over the St. Marys River, between Dreyden and Great Mills, from its foundation, and a large strip of the Point Lookout beach was de- stroyed. Nearby Beaches Hit. At North Beach and Chesapeake Beach, popular Summer resorts for Washingtonians, long sections of bulkheading, erected to prevent ero- sion, were ripped away. North Beach was isolated when a low spot in the road connecting it with Chesapeake Beach was covered Damage to the Britten Bay wharf here was estimated at $50. The Pa- tuxent ferry wharf at Solomons was almost submerged and double moor- ings were arranged for small craft at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, where salt water broke over the sea- wall to flood the parade ground. Abatement in the high winds at Alexandria, Va, which yesterday forced the tide up two blocks into King street, today brought a welcome relief in the flood situation. Merchants and manufacturers along the water front prepared to move back into buildings hastily evacuated yes.erday. Business houses all along the water front spent the day yesterday in mov- ing all stock from their buildings under the threat of the flood. The Ford Motor Co. plant, on a peninsula in the Potomac River, was evacuated early yesterday, the lapping waters of the river threatening to flood the building. All Creeks Out of Banks. All creeks in nearby counties were reported ~ut of their banks, but dam- age was reported to be slight. Holmes Run, Accotink Creek and Hunting Creek became raging torrents under the downpour of the last three days. Hunting Creek inundated U. S. Highway No. 1 to a depth of several feet just south of Alexandria. Traffic was routed over the higher old Wash- ington-Richmond highway throughout the day. The water was receding slightly today, highway officials de- clared. had wrecked during Sundsy’'s rain- A Trees, blown down across highways Residents in the centers of evaeu- | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1937. — e e e storm. Hubert Ridenour, 56, of Shen- andoah County, dropped dead while assisting in moving farm machinery ’ in Fairfax County, caused traffic hazards. Bull Run near Clifton Sta- tion was far out of its banks, flooding flelds and causing minor damage. More than a dozen boats along the Alexandria waterfront were sunk after being battered against pilings and wharves. Several houseboats, fast- ened to wharves were covered by water, their occupants fleeing before the flood. The rains caused considerable dam- age in the Skyline Drive area, wash- ing away many recently landscaped slopes and washing out sections of the roadway. A landslide near the tunnel at Panorama and on the re- cently completed construction near Crescent Rock made necessary the re- paving of about 9 miles of the road. Residents along Hawksbill Creek in Luray, Va, moved their belong- ings to upper floors when the water fell only 3 feet short of the high mark reached last year. Damage at Colonial Beach, Potomac River resort, was unofficially estimated at $20,000. The steamer wharf was carried away. A fire there Sunday night destroyed the unoccupied Stoney Drake home and the adjacent home of Col. H. C. Manney, retired, causing damage estimated at $70,000. The town of Remington, Va. was under 18 inches of water and a bridge over the Rappahannock there was closed to traffic. Orange was also cut off on routes 15 and 3, but traffic was still moving to the South. Families were reported being moved along the Repidan River. Officials of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad announced their main line westward was blocked by 3 feet of water over the tracks a few miles west of Martinsburg, W. Va., but that through traffic was being maintained over other lines. The bridge at Harpers Ferry was clear, but traffic was halted because of water covering the approach on the West Virginia .ide. The level was 25 feet above normal, but still below the crest of the 1936 flood, which swept out the bridges. = TR Ice Cream on Ships. Ice cream is manufactured daily aboard United States battleships at sea, a substitute for fresh milk being employed. WHEELING FAGES 30 FLOOD IN YEAR Pennsylvania Waters Re- cede—IJohnstown Stream Is Falling. By the Assoclated Press. ' WHEELING, W. Va, April 27. —TFlood-accustomed Wheeling—an in- dustrial city of 85,000 people—went calmly and methodically today about the business of preparing for another inundation, the third this year. All night and early today truchs rumbled over Wheeling Island, a residential section of 10,000 persons, removing furnishings from some of the city's finest homes. Others, little excited by the threat of a 48-foot stage, 12 feet over the official flood level, just moved upstairs to second or third floors. J. R. Hill, observer at Warwood Dam, predicted a stage of 48 feet for sometime Wednesday. The crest at ‘Wheeling ordinarily is reached 18 hours after Pittsburgh’s highest level. The office of W. 8. Brotzman, Pitts- burgh weather observer, predicted tentatively a 45-foot crest here. A 46-foot stage would cover the island, putting water in many first floors, and inundate much of in- dustrial and residential South Wheel- ing. Merchants along several blocks of Main street sand-bagged doors, moved stocks to higher floors and obtained pumps to keep basements clear. Rain stopped cleared last night. At Martins Ferry, Ohio, just across the Ohio River, Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp. and Whee!ing Steel closed their plants, throwing 1,600 men idle. About 16,000 coal miners in the dis- trict were idle because they were un- able to get to the pits and because railroads could not carry out the coal. The Red Cross openec a refuge 'in Market Auditorium, in Central falling and skies FERATURES (o P g ot Just as the newspaper through which it comes to. you, THIS WEEK is edited to interest your whole family. It has everything from mystery yarns to cooking hints, from romances to cartoons. And all by the “tops” of America’s authors and illustrators. Take a look thru this ad, and you'll see why THIS WEEK is the favorite of over 4,700,000 American tamilies. Then spend a week-end with this magazine, and you, too, will become one of its enthus stic readers. Wheeling, and announce* it expected scores of refugees today. Moundsville, to the south, was cut off as highways were flooded. Most street car and railroad trafic will cease if the river reaches the pre- dicted stage. Downstream, New Martinsville ex- pected 3 feet of water in its business section. JOHNSTOWN STREAM FALLS, City Is Safe Unless More Rain Falls in Somerset. JOHNSTOWN, Pa, April 27 (#)— Johnstown called again today upon the courage and determination that en- abled it to rise from the ruins of two disastrous floods in half a century. On the same ground where rushing waters spread.historic disaster in 1889 and 1936, workmen began to clear away the traces of the muddy torrent that swept in upon the business dis- trict yesterday from the Conemaugh and Stony Creek Rivers. Both streams fell. Pumps operated on the sidewalk in front of virtually every building in the downtown area, drawing water from flooded cellars. Robert A. Tross, United States weather observer, sald the city had only one thing to fear—more rain over the area where the Stony Creek aas its source in Somerset County. Of the $100,000 that Johnstown counted as its loss in yesterday’s flood, $12,000 was marked up when the tem- porary Franklin Street Foot Bridge was swept away. FLOOD HITS OHIO VALLEY. Waters Expected to “Flatten Out” Below Marietta. EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio, April 27 (#).—The third April flood in 125 years swept into lowland Ohio River Val- ley communities from East Liverpool to Marietta today. River men, advised that a crest of 35.1 feet had been reached at Pitts- burgh, where the Allegheny and Mon- ongahela form the Ohio, predicted that the flood would “flatten out” be- low Marietta. Only lowland residents and Mdus- trial plants were expected to be fected The 8 am. stage at Martins Ferry Augustus Muir's “Crown Jewels Mystery” is one of 1937's most dramatic crime serials. A daring plot 10 rob the Tower of Londen, written by a man who knows his British background, it's a ‘must” for mystery fans. STORK VS. DICTATOR Do you know why dictators can‘tincreasethe crop ofbabies? Read Dr. Ira Wile. And read also our many other articles on anniversary parties, b ty hints, “unloaded” guns, amateur photography, etc. was 305 feet, 313 feet above flood stage and rising seven-tenths of a foot an hour. A crest of 44 feet by midnight was predicted. Army Engineers at Marietta pre- dicted & crest under 40 feet by late ‘Wednesday. This would not put water into the business district, which was covered by 8 to 10 feet in January. The 8 am. stage was 26.8 feet. About 25 miles down the Ohio, at Steubenville, steel mills prepared to cease operations. W. C. Devereaux, Cincinnati’s “flood forecaster,” said the only chance for & flood of any consequence there would be if heavy rains fell before the week end. D. C. Flood (! conungd From First Page.) came from the southeast or east, would aid a flood, are not on the program tomorrow, the forecast pre- dicting “gentle shifting winds, becom- ing westerly.” First Lieut. Willlam J. Matteson, assistant district engineer for the War Department here, who supervised plans for the March, 1936, flood, is now Maj. Luplow’s assistant and is bringing his previous experience to bear on the problem. Roads in various sections of the park system were still barricaded today, but the high water had receded considerably. Around Hains Point, almost com- pletely inundated yesterday, the water was still over the seawall in places. Other spots in East Potomac and Anacostia Parks were covered, and Rock Creek ran higher than usual but within its banks for the most part. Blossoms Not Damaged. Although the doubie blossom Jap- anese cherry trees around the Speed- way were flooded yesterday, horti- culturists do not believe they have been damaged to an appreciable extent. Although flood water at Anacostia Naval Air Station and old Bolling Field was reported 6 inches higher than yesterday, and still rising, there has been no permanent damage to buildings or equipment, it was re- ported. All airplanes and portable CHIN UP! George Sokolsky says there's a silver lining, even in these troubled times—and no one can call him a soft-soap philoso- pher.Read hisarticle,and watch next week brighten up! equipment have been raised above the water, All officers and men remained at their posts at the Naval Air Station 1ast night, and will remain until the emergency has passed. At Washington Afrport the paved runways were all dry today, but flood waters from Boundary Channel had backed up across Military road be- tween the bosthouse aud the main runway, into a part of the landing fleld. Regular flight operations were expected to resume this afternoon, after interruptions due to thick weather along the coast. Let-up in the rath was particularly welcome to three Takoma families who had faced evacuation because of a broken drain which sent a small river flowing by their home at 727 Fern place. The run-off yesterday threatened to undermine the foundation of the house, and engineers advised Mr. and Mrs. V. B. Price and two other couples living there to prepare to vacate. Today this appeared un- neocessary. f;ittsburgfi (Dont?nued_?rom First Page.) night throwing up sand bags in front of windows; pumping out their cellars and hanging flood gates. The murky waters slopped over the edge of the triangle into Liberty and Penn avenues, the Allegheny and Monongahela wharves and Dugquesne way. The low-lying sections of Pitts- burgh’s North Side were inundated and people were carried from their homes by police. River avenue was the hardest hit. There more than 100 families either moved out after ample warning or sat around in the second floors of their homes. Up and down the Allegheny and Monongahela watersheds the flood left its mark at Verona, Oakmont, New Kensington, Kittanning, Taren- tum and Pranklin, but without caus- ing serious damage. Nearby Sharpsburg had 7 feet of water in its main street. At Millvale, another suburb, water poured into the First Ward Public School. FLOODS RECEDING INPRINGE GEORGES 250 Were Taken From Homes—B!adensburg Open to Traffic Again. Three areas in Prince Georges Coun- ty, where some 500 persons were af- fected by the high water, were rapidly approaching normalcy this morning. No injuries were reported, Before the flood reached its crest with high tide at 8 o’clock last night, volunteer firemen had removed sbout 250 persons from inundated homes in Edmonston aud Brentwood Closed to traffic for nearly 24 hours, the Peace Cross area in Bladensburg, at the junc- tion of the Defense Highway and the Washington-Baltimore Boulevard, was opened to transportation at 9:30 a.m. From its height of & feet the water at the cross had dropped to about 2 feet when barriers were removed as it continued to fall rapidly. Using its small rowboat, the River= dale fire company took 75 colored per- sons from their homes in Brentwood and 175 others were removed from |1solated residences in Edmonston | A frequent flood scene, where water | overflows from the northeast and northwest branches of the Anacostia River, Bladensburg, suffered a loss which could not be estimated today. Two restaurants, the Dixie Pig Bar- becue, and Del Rio, were completely stranded throughout the period. The flood was the worst to strike the county since 1933 | The most dramatic rescue was | staged by two men reported as De | Forest Jackson and Woodrow Alford, who were caught in the swift current | as they prepared to remove Jackson's i elderly parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Jackson, from their inundated home in Bladensburg. The pair were swept from the building, but managed to lash themselves to a telephone pole until the Riverdale lifeboat came to thelr | ald. MAN FIGHTS DOG! And it's one whale of a tighy, you'd expect of a Vingie Roe thriller. Don't miss “Smoke Eyes.” IN ROMANCE-LAND: Cupid kills two birds in one issue, what with “Spring Snowball” by the popular Phyllis Dugann and “Send " by’ Chester OF CABBAGES AND KINGS: Actress Marguerite Churchill describes some interesting recipes that go over big with her guests. And Margaret Culkin Banning gives the woman'’s side of the Simpson affafr, in “Charm Begins At