Weather Today. Showers and Cooler. SIXTEEN PAGES— SECTION ONE—. '-'B, The News . d Observer. VOL. LI. NO. 146. X©adsall Worth Carolina Dailies in Mews and Circulation RUIN WROUGHT BY RAINS INTHE WEST Buildings and Stock Swept Away at Marshall. PEOPLE PANIC STRICKEN Once They Feared the Village Would be Washed Away. SENATOR PRITCHARD LOSES HIS LIBRARY Miles of Railroad Tracks and Many of the Bridges Are Gone, No Trains Can be Run For Some Days (Special to the News and Observer.) Asheville, N. C., March I.—The Hood situation today remains about the same, all communication west of Asheville is still cut off. There have been no trains either to or from the west since Thurs day, and the probabilities are there will be no trains in this direction until some time next week. The damage to the Southern Railway is incalvulable. Milos of track in all directions are washed away. The Ashe ville and Knoxville division is almost completely submerged by whter and the railway bridges gone. Almost the entire Murphy division is also undermined and no trains will be run until next week. At Marshall the river rose over the thirteen foot wall and completely flooded the village, causing great destruction to property. The greatest apprehension pre vailed for fear the entire village would be swept away. Live stock and buildings were carried down by the tnde. Railway cars were washed away and whole sec tions of track carried off. The people of the village were panic-stricken for fear all would be lost. Among the losses sustained was United States Senator Pritchard's valuable law library. A reward of one thousand dol lars was offered to have the books saved bu of no avail. The library was valued at two thousand dollars. Almost all buildings at Marshall are undermined by the water and a number swept away. Much valuable stock were also drowned. The water was higher than ever before known. Considerable damage was done the Vanderbilt farms. Parts of the truck houses and the heating plan were swept away. HAVOC WORKED BY WIND. Destruction at Pulaski. Life Lost at Clifton Forge. Train Service Improved (By the Asociated Press.) Roanoke, Va., March 1. —The train ser vice is much improved over what it was in Southwest Virginia on Friday, though traffic is still seriously delayed on ac count of the many washouts and inun dated tracks. The Shenandoah tracks are still under water at Fort Royal for a distance of more than a mile and the train due here at four o’clock this after noon is not expected until some time Sunday. The Norfolk and Western main line west of Roanoke is open to Bristol and as far as Panther,. W. Va., on the Bluefield side. There is a washout at Panther, but it is thought that the rail ioad at that place will be opened some liine tonight. On the Clinch Valley divis ion a bridge at Cedar Bluff is bady dam aged and there is a bad slide at Kiser. Those breaks are expected to be cleared by Sunday. Bluestone river, near Blue field, W. Va., is higher than ever has been known and all the bridges crossing that stream for miles have been swept away. r l here are many coal operations along Bluestone river, but so far there has not been any damage of consequence reported to mining property. The town of Pulaski, Va., presents a scene of havoc and destruction, the dam age caused there by a whirlwind amount ing to many thousands of dollars. The entire roof f Hotel Pulaski was blown away. The damage to the hotel is more than $2,000. Scores of other buildings were unroofed. The rich farm lands along Roanoke river, betwen Salem and Chris tiansburg have been denuded of fences and crops. At Clifton Rorge last night. Guy Craf was standing on a bridge that crossed Jackson river, when it gave way beneath the pressure of the raging wa ters. Craft was thrown into the stream and drowned. Y. M. C. A. The twenty-sixth annual convention of the North Carolina Young Men's Chris tian Association, to be held at Charlotte, bids fair to be a meeting of unusual strength. The convention will open Saturday! evening. March Bth, and adjourn the fol lowing Tuesday night. On Sunday morning nearly all of the principal pulpits will be occupied by prominent association workers, in the afternoon there is to be a great mass meefing for men, conducted by Augustus Nash, of Cleveland. Ohio. A mammoth meeting for boys will be a special sea- , ture, conducted by O. B. Vau Horn, of Asheville. , On Sunday night there will be four union mass meetings, addressed by C. L. Gates. Atlanta, field secretary of the Iu- j ternatioual Committee; Don. O. Shelton, ' New York, religious work secretary of the International Committee; H. E. Rose year, Louisville, Stat seertary of Ken tucky; Augustus Nash, of Cleveland, Ohio. All day Monday and Tuesday the con vention will devote itself to the con sideration of problems relating to young men. The music will be a speial feature and is to be in charge of E. O. Sellers, of Washington, D. C. Rev. ark Carlisle, pastor of Washing ton Street Methodist church, Columbia, S. C., is down on the program for three heart-to-heart talks. Mr. Carlise is one of the leading men in the South Carolina conference. Another prominent man who will be heard with interest is H. Edgar Fry, educational secretary of the Atlanta Association. Mr. Fry will speak espe cially of the educational work of the association. A special invitation is extended through the columns of this paper, by the State Executive Committee, to all men who are interested in their fellows to attend, whether members of an association or not. It will be necessary, however, to write A. G. nebel, State Secretary Y. M. C. A. Building, Charlotte, N. C., and se cure proper credentials. There will be reduced rates on the railroads. All who come will be enter tained in the homes of the good people of Charlotte, provided credentials, have been sent in advance to the local associa tion. Parties who contemplate attending should send in their names to G. C. Huntington. Y. M. C. A. Building, Char lotte, N. C., prior to March 6t^. THE STRAWBERRY CROP. Acreage Increased 20 Per Cent. Death of Rev. P. C Morton. (Special to News and Observer.) Wilmington. N. C., March I.—The Caro -1 ! ina F r