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,.M, Kvuta cHKoxicL&-E.b,bCd. 9oi: CHARLOTTE, N. C., SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 11, 1921. .ayga.t PRICE FIVE CENTS,
SINN FEINTCONFER WITH BRITISH CABINET;
! fiVh THOX 93 AND HOMELESS IN
I
V
MANY
CONFERENCE AT
NVERNESS SE
OR TWENTIETH
I Final Settlement of Age-old
I Problem Brought a Long
Step Nearer.
'epoch-making STAGE
I . . ,
Public Opinion Views the
j Irish Acceptance With
Deep Satisfaction.
BY EARLE C. REEVES,
International News Service Staff
Correspondent.
London, Sept. 10. Eamonn de Va
lera, cn behalf of the Sinn Fein peo
ple and parliament, late today accept
ed Premier Lloyd-George's offer of a
new conference on peace in Erin, to
be held at Inverness, Scotland, on Sep
tember 20. The dispatch reporting this
momentous development, which again
throws wide open the door to peace
that had been almost slammed shut
during the past week, added that thi
affirmative reply of the Sinn Fern
ebieftatn to the British Prime Minis
tor's communication of Thursday has
n! ready been dispatched to Lloyd
Oeorge, who is still at the Scottish iv
sort. The news was the signal for the out
pouring of conflicting and confusing
reports and comments, the keynote of
most of them being that Sinn Fein's
acceptance of the British offer means
I hat the Irish Republicans have resign-
on to the inescapable and abandoned
their insistence upon Ireland's separa
tion from the British Empire.
SETTLEMENT NEARER. .
Careful examination of. lho.. .facts,
however, showed to the more conserva
tive observers that the Irish answe:
meitns the thing hoped for by every
body: namely, that the negotiations
are to be resumed. Moreover, even in
these conservative quarters, the view
prevailed that a final settlement of the
age-old Irishproblem has been brought
an important step nearer.
The shrewdly-phrased condition with
which Premier Lloyd-George wound up
his proposal and which formed the crux
of his communication, read:
"His Majesty's Government must a?k
for a definite reply as to whether you
are prepared to enter a conference to
ascertain how the association of Ire
land with the community of nations
known as the British Empire can best
be reconciled with Irish national as
pirations." In a previous paragraph, the British
Premier had declared that, "to decline
to discuss a settlement which would
bestow upon the Irish people the full
est freedom for national development
within the Empire, can only mean thtt
ym repudicate all allegiance to the
crown and all membership in the Brit
ish Commonwealth."
READY FOR' DISCUSSION.
The Irish acceptance tonight, no
matter what its diplomatic phrase
f'losv indeed, the naked fact that
Sinn Fein accepts, as it is reported
that it does meann nothing more and
r "thing less than that Sinn Fein is pre
i r-i to "discuss" the peace problem
f n tho basi3 laid down by the Britisn
I'ff-mier.
Public opinion in London and
throughout the United Kingdom gre?.
fi thp Irish acceptance with deep sac-
fraction, and though, as has been
) 'lintf 1 out, there was tonight a. strong
t ndenov toward a mistaken, super
'P'imistic interpretation, it was admit
ted ' vrn by the skeptics that a new
T"Xh-making stage has been reach-
t-.
"This eorrespondence has lasted long
f n-u-h." said Lloyd-George in his last
r:'-, epitomizing the feeling on botn
With today's Irish acceptance,
tne letter writing "love note ex
fJ-friee." onp London paper called it
t f-uded. and the stage is set for a
r-iv conference ten days from now, At
v.h.ri, th issues will be clearly mark
f! ' from the outset, aad "brass
taH-H ' will be the keynote.
-!GN TRUCE IN BELFAST.
TtalfaL Cnt m A trusty vvn iIp
flared tonight between the contending
i;i'i;oni in Lister's rapitai tne t-ro-fUmt
Orangemen and the Catholic
Sinn Feinprv Tlile means that fltrht-
in-.'. sniping and bombing, which has
.-n sporadic, resulting in great io
'f life in thp nast vear. will cease
h. . a .. t A.
1 HARRY DAUGHERTY TO
I i i: VE THE CABINET
w, York, Sept- 10. That Attorney
f ral Harry Dauehertv contemplates
sning from President Harding's
' t is reported in a special Wash-
n r crn Vi rr"Us Vaf "Vrrlr
i-vt
today. The dispatch says that
;ti annnnnwmpnt ia BYTiPftPn soon
'rnt it is reported that Daugherty
Ir
rit'l States Senator from Ohio, a
'r"r cherished desire. If elected, he
y o.;ic become Administration leader of
ade - ttn
vymnng run her negotia.tions eiwfen
iTdnier Lloyd-fteorge and Sir James
(r'tk, l ister Premier, to settle ihe
h'isli question.
I . ' i ; .
MECKLENBURG IS
T TO GET 52 MILES
OF PAVED ROADS
State's Money Was Allocat
ed Here Saturday to Two
New Projects.
TO BUILD THREE ROADS
Charlotte-Statesville High
way is to be Among the
First Undertaken.
Mecklenburg county virtually har
vested $2 miles of hard-surfaced roads
at Saturday's conference between Chair
man Fraiik Page, State Engineer Up-
ham and District Commissioner Wil
kinson, representing the North Car
olina Highway Commission, and mem
bers of the Mecklenburg Highway Com
mission with its attorney, J. Lester
IJeLaney.
It was definitely agreed; first, be
tween these two commissions that the
Mecklenburg end of the Charlotte-
Statesville road, a distance of 22 miles
and a project over which there has
been an interminable haggling over
the matter of which of the commis
sions should assume obligation for
rights-of-way, wijl be hard-surfaced just
as soon as waivers are signed by prop
erty owners holding both commissions
immune from liability for damages.
In addition to the progress thus
made on this project, Commissioner
U Iuns on succeeded in making an
agreement with Chairman Page by
which a sufficient sum of the State's
highway funds should be allocated to
Mecklenburg county to place a bitu
lithic surface on the Charlotte-Mount
Holly road and die Pineville road the
entire distance from Charlotte to the
South Carolina line.
THE MILEAGE INVOLVED.
The mileage involved aggregates 5
miles. .The road from Charlotte to the
Iredell county line is 22 miles. The road
from Charlotte to Mount Holly is 13
miles and the road from Charlotte
via Pineville to the South Carolina
road is 17 miles. The distance on these
two latter roads will be maintained in
view of the face that, under the terms
of agreement with the. State Highway
Commission the present macadam base
will be used and a tarvia form of bind
ing will be attached, making these
roads as good as a newly-finished city
street and rendering them as practi
cally permanent as they could be made
unless the macadam were to be taken
entirely up and a concrete base sub
stituted. The plans of the commission
is to get these projects under way as
soon as possible, probably within the
next few weeks.
THE STATESVILLE ROAD.
The Statesville road will be built
almost outright in view of the fact that
the present route will not be strictly
followed. The best estimates which can
be furnished of the probable cost of
this road indicate that the amount of
money which the State will spend on
it will be between $500,000 and $.600.
000. The work on the other two roads
will not be quite so expensive per mile,
but the aggregate sum involved in the
total of 30 miles will, perhaps, be half
what the Statesville road will cost, in
dicating that only slightly less than
$1,000,000 worth of new, hard-sur
faced highways are in sight imme
diately for Mecklenburg county. The
State commission agreed some months
ago upon the immediate building of
the Charlotte-Statesville roacj. It was
tne nrst project to receive tne ap
proval of the State commission in this.
district. The surveys have been made
for some weeks, but progress in let
ting the contract was interrupted
when the State commission sent to
the Mecklenburg commission a con
tract to be signed holding the former
responsible for no claims for dam
age that might be incurred from get
ting the rights-of-way.
BOARD REFUSES.
The Mecklenburg board refused to
sign , that contract. It was advised by
it.s attorney that it had no legal right
to sign such a contract in view of the
fact that the act providing for the
building of highways specified that
roads taken over by the State shall be
built out of the funds of the State
whereas if the local board should sign
such a contract and should causes for
damages arise, it would be forced to
take from its own funds whatever
amount might be determined as just
to satisfy the claimants for damages
thus the county board would in a
measure be aiding the State in the
construction costs of its own roads
Chairman Page, however, refused to be
(Continued on Fare Eleven.)
POLISH CABINET HAS
RELINQUISHED POSTS
Lndn. Sent. 10. The Polish Cabinet
has resigned, according to a dispatch
from Warsaw today.
Vincent! Witos, Polish Premier, ten
dered his resignation to President P'i
sudski four months ago, but at the time
it was not accepted and the uaoinet
was reconstructed. Dissatisfaction over
inaViiHtv nf the Government to set
tle the Silesian question is said to be
the cause of the Cabinet s resignation.
- CaroMoas Exposition Opeins Monday At
MORE NAMES
SUGGES1D F
E COURT
Believed Governor Will Se
lect Man from Central or
East Section.
MANY- POSSIBILITIES.
One Suggestion 'Would
Make Manning Justice and
Clarkson Att'y- General.
BY JULE B. WARREN.
Staff Correspondent of The News,
Raleigh, Sept. 10. The only develop
ment today in the appointment of a
new associate justice to succeed Judge
William R. Allen was the addition of
a number of new names to the pros
pective list and the growing impression
that the Governor will make an effort
to secure some man from the Central
or Northeastern part of the State for
this place. While Governor Morrison
has made no statement about the situa
tion other than that he has the matter
under serious consideration and doesn't
know just when he will make up his
mind about it, the impression that he
wants to preserve the territorial divi
sion on the Supreme Court is gained
from sources close to the administra
tion. Should the Governor adopt this line
of reasoning and course, it would
eliminate Heriot Clarkson, of Char
lotte, the home of Associate Justice
Piatt D. Walker and Judge Ben Long,
of Statesville, who is in the same gen
eral section of the. State, which, also
has Associate Justice Hoke, Lincoln
county. The Governor would like to s je
either Mr. Clarkson or T. C. Guthrie,
of the Charlotte bar on the bench, but
endorsement by the Charlotte bar o
either -omr-of these men would put- the
executive in a rather embarrassing po
sition.
JUDGE ADAMS ENDORSED.
Judge W. J. Adams, ,of Carthage, is
being seriously considered for the place,
but Judge Adams, while living in the
South-central part of the State, is as
signed) to the Western district, and the
same objection lies there, except in
smaller degree, that holds against the
Mecklenburgers and the Statesville
jurist. Judge Adams will perhaps get
many endorsements from all parts of
the State, and he is being seriously
considered by the Governor.
There are many reasons for believ
ing that the Governor would not ob
ject to appointing Judge George Roun
tree, of Wilmington, who is regarded
as one of the most able an4 scholarly
men who has been on the Superior
Court bench, but he hails from As
sociate Justice Stacey's town, and his
appointment would give New Hanover
county more than its share of repre
sentation.
NORTHEAST SECTIONi ,
The Northeastern section of tho
State has Judge Walter Clark on the
bench, of course, but he has lived in
Raleigh so long that he is considered a
Wake county man. From that section
suggestions have come for Tasker Polk,
of Warrenton, Judge Guion, of New
Bern, N. J. Rouse, of Kinston, candi
date for the Supreme Court in the last
primary and Judge F. D. Winston, cf
Bertie county. It is understood that
the name of the former Lieutenant
Governor and Superior Court jude
from Bertie will be formally presented
to the Governor some time in the near
future if a decision is not reached soon.
Likewise the name of Atlas Finch, o
Wilson, has been suggested and it is
understood in Raleigh that the Wilson
bar will either endorse Mr. Finch or
John E. Woodward of that place. Both
men have been active in the Deraocri
tic party in that section of the State
and both are recognized as very ao.'e
lawyers. .
BAILEY OR MANNING.
J. W. Bailey, collector of revenue
for the State, has also been suggested
tn the Governor. Judere J. S. Manning-
Attorney General of the State, is also
getting serious consideration, accord
ing to information from some quarters.
Judge Manning was appointed to the
f!mirt hench durine the KitcTi-
in administration, and made a very fine
record on the bench, but was deleateu
by Judge Allen in 1910. Mis appoint
imont would meet the approval of a
large number of people in the State, it
is declared.
-wrhotVioT- nr nnt thi Attornev Gen
oral wnuld be interested is not known.
for he has b,een out of the city all the
week, appearing ior me na.rua.wiy
onnstrnctinn Comnanv against the
Duke interests in one of the biggest
suits ever instituted in tne biate. tie
is attending the Mecklenburg session
nf Snnerior Court. The Governor wis
na nttnrnev in this case. 'bu.
nrVion nnmina ted asked Judge Manning
to take his place in the suit. Judge
(Continued on Pagre Eleven.)
FAIR
North and South Carolina: Generally
fair Sunday and Monaay.
SUP
EM
WNED WHEN BRIDGE COLLAP
THIRTY OR MORE
ARE PLUNGED TO
DEATH IN RIVER
Hundreds Crowd on Bridge
to Watch Rescue of Boy
in Water.
LOAD IS TOO HEAVY.
Hundred and Fifty People
Are Hurled Into Swiftly
Moving Stream.
By JACK VEIOCK.
International News Service Staff
Correspondent.
Chester, Pa., Sept. 10. Thirty-four
identified bodies lay at the morgue and
12 seriously injured persons were at
hospitals shvtly before midnight
victims of the collapse at about 7
o'clock tonight of a fifty-foot section
of an iron bridge spanning Chester
river which plunged a crowd of at
least 150 men, women and children into
the swirling high tide.
The body of a 70-year-old man lay
beside that of a four-year-old girl at
the morgue- Rescue work by hun
dreds of police and volunteers, includ
ing divers, is stiU in full swing.
Only two blocks south of the bridge,
the Chester river flows into the Dela
ware. A huge net has been spread
at the junction of the two streams to
catch the victims swept southward by
the ebb which se in shortly after the
disaster. - .
FIBTY-FOOT SPAN BREAKS.
A fifty-foot section of the bridge
gave way as a throng, conservatively
estimated at 150, watched the attempt
of a man to save a drowning Italian
boy, ..and , the crowd of men, women
and children disappeared as if swal
lowed by a trap door.
Within 35 minutes after the crash 25
bodies had been recovered. The rescue
work is Still in full swing.
The town is staggered by thf
catastrophe. Thousands, many of then
in neglige are lining the shores of
the Chester river, aiding in the rescue
or inquiring for relatives.
Other crowds are besieging the two
hospitals and the morgue. Third street
at the foot of which the bridge
spanned the river, is the town's main
thoroughfare, which accounts for the
great crowd on the bridge at the tim
of the crash. Te bridge was in
spected only last year and found "O.
K." by the county commissioners and
the county engineer and was subse
quently repainted. s
Two divers volunteered their services
as soon as they heard of the disaster
and they are now busy searching
the depths of the Chester river, which
was formerly called creekt but has
gradually grown into a considerable
stream with a swift and vicious cur
rent. One of the first persons to lend a
hand to the bridge victims was Alex
ander Harris, of Philadelphia, a -bookkeeper.
Tonight he told the following
story:
STORY OF EYE-WITNESS.
'I heard the crash and thought the
peculiar noise was made by the beat
ing of drums- At first I made no
effort to even look as I have heard
enough drum music to last me a life
time, being a veteran of the war.
''Finally, I saw several persons run
ning and I joined the crowd rushing
toward the bridge.
"As I reached within several feet ,of
the bridge. I could hear the screams of
the drowning.
"I counted the heads of at least
four women and half a dozen children.
Their arms were thrUst into the air
and grasped and held each other.
"It was siihply awful to see how
the struggling mass fought to free
themselves from ea,ch other's dying
grasp.
"Above it all were the terrifying
screams of the women and children
and the curses of several of the men
who were caught in the collapse.
"Several small boats, mostly row
boats and steam launches, had al
ready put out from nearby docks and
had rescued several of those thrown
into the water.
"I suggested to several other men
who were apparently spellbound by the
sight to go around to the river by the
way of Edgemont avenue.
'When we arrived we found that the
only help we could gjlve was to assist
the already numerous volunteers in
placing the drowned into trucks and
automobiles and rusing them to the
hospitals.
"One of the sad sights which brought
home the force of the calamity was
two little chilren that accosted me near
the end of the bridge. I asked thenv
what they were crying for and they
answered, "because Mama fell into the
river.'
"Among the many men of Chester
who were quick to volunteer then- serv
ices to the bridge victoms was James
Emberbe. He was only a short distance
from the bridge when the foot section
suddenly gave way.
"I had just crossed the old struc
ture," he added, "when I heard a queer
noise and then a loud shout like a
bunch of excited baseball fans.
"Looking .round, I saw the crowd on
(Continued on Pagre Eleven.)
TheExposition In Tabloid
Name: Made-In-Carolinas Exposition.
Place: Charlotte, N. C.
Purpose: To impress upon the people of North Carolina and South
Carolina particularly the quality, diversity and quantity of the products
of Carolina manufactories
Number of exhibitors: 200; products displayed, more than 3-000.
Opening date: Monday, September 12.
Closing date: Thursday, September 29.
Daily program: Doors open, 10 a. m.; close, 11 p. m.; musical,
concerts, 3 p. m. and 8 p. m.; address of the day, 3:30 p. m. Doors
open at 1 p. m. on opening day only.
Location: On West Palmer street, one block west of McNinch
street.
Route of approach for motor cars: First: from the Square west
on Trade to Cedar; south on Cedar across P. & N. tracks, and follow
row of lights to building. Second: from the Square south on Tryon
to Bland, west on Bland to Mint, south on Mint to Dowd road and
follow Dowd roact to the point where pavement turns to left. Take
right turn on to unpaved street, and continue to building. Alternative
of second route: west on Trade to Mint, then on Mint to Dowd road,
continuing as above.
DAYS OF SPECIAL INTEREST AND PRINCIPAL SPEAKERS.
" September 155, Opening Day Address by Governor Morrison, of
North Carolina, 3:30 o'clock.
September 12, 8:30 o'clock Specially prepared musical program,
.rendered by the Official New York City Concert band, four famous
singers, Marguerite Ringo, soprano; Charlotte Peege, contralto; Charles
Troxell, tenor, and Frank Cuthbert, basso; and Marie Caslova, violinist.
September 13 3:30 o'clock Address by. Colonel Joseph Hyde Pratt,
director, North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey.
September 15 Statesville Day Address by Former Lieutenant
Governor W. D. Turner, of Statesville.
September 16 "Textile Day Address by Dr. P. P. Claxton, of
Washington, former Federal Commissioner of Education, at 3:30 p. m.
September 11 Farmers' Day Address by Dr. Clarence Poe, of
Raleigh, editor of The Progressive Farmer and spokesman for the
agricultural interests, at 3:30 p. m.
September 19 South Carolina Day Address by Governor Robert
A. Cooper, of South Carolina, at 3:30 p. m.
September 21 Winston-Salem Day Address by Mayor J. G. Hanes,
of Winston-Salem.
September 22 Bankers' Day 1 p. m. Banquet to Governor W. P.
G. Harding, of the Federal Reserve Board, other distinguished guests
and probably 1.000 Carolina bankers and business men at the City Audi
torium, with the American Trust Company, Word H. Wood, president,
as host. Dr. D. W. Daniels, of Clemson College, will deliver the prin
cipal after-dinner speech. At 3:30 o'clock Address by Governor Hard
ing at the exposition.
September 24 Educational Day 3:30 o'clock Addresses by Dr. E. C.
Brooks, North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Dr.
D. B. Johnson, of Rock Hill, S. C, president of Winthrop College. This
daj' also may be known as Rock Hill Day, as hundreds of Rock Hill
people are planning to attend the exposition then.
September 26. Community Sing Day 3:30 and 8:00. It is expected
that Professor John Paul Weaver, director of the school of music of the
University of North Carolina, will lead the singing.
September 29 Closing Day 8:00 Jubilee night.
Impending Cabinet Changes
Add To Problems Of Harding
Secretary of Treasury Mellon is Expected to Resign
from the Cabinet Very Soon While Movement to
Consolidate Departments Will Cut Off Others.
By ROBERT T. SMALL.
Staff Correspondent of The A'evi.
Copyright, 1921, by Hews Publishing Co.
Washington, Sept. 10. With the com
pletion of President Harding's first half
year in the White House, .reports have
come of impending Cabinet changes,
reports which have the merit of plaus
ibility if not official verification.
Some of these rumors have grown
cut of the movement to consolidate two
or three of the Executive Departments
presided over by Cabinet members,
while the best authenticated report is
attributed to remarks made by a Cab
inet member himself.
Ever since the day of the inaugura
tion last March, it has been a fixed pol
icy of the Administration to consolidate
the War and Navy Departments into
a single department of National De
fense. This sonsolidation would affect
two of the most popular members of
the Cabinet in Washinton, Secretaries
Weks and Dnby, and naturally there
has been much speculation as to which
UNEMPLOYMENT
IS ON THE WANE
Business is Coming Back
More Rapidly Than the
Optimists Thought.
By HARDEN COLFAX.
Staff Correspondent of The News.
Copyright, 1931, by News' Publishing Co.
Washington, Sept- 10. For the first
time since the beginning of the indus
trial crisis, the Government is taking
a' census of the unemployed.' That
census covers the men actually out
of, work through no fault of their
own in every city of more than twenty-five
thousand inhabitants 231 cities
in all. It will be completed next Wed
nesday, passed on to -the President and
used in the forthcoming conference on
unemployment. Many reports from
many industries already are at hand.
They show:
1. That business is coming back
more rapidly than even optimists
thought it would.
2. That unemployment is de
cidedly on the wane; that a steady
trend back to work in factories,
mills and mines is general.
3. That labor has liquidated
largely its war-time wage excesses .
and that few more material cuts
are in immediate prospect.
4. That Secretary Davis' recnt
estimate of more tnan five million
as the size of the army of the
unemployed understated the case;
but .that the swing back to a gen
eral business revival has resulted
in hundreds of thousands of that
army returning to the pay rolls
during the past month.
5. That in almost every city in
Continued on Page Twelve.)
would be "let out" when the impending
changes should take place. President
Harding stated to the writer prior to
his inauguration that the Cabinet mem
bers involved were acepting offices on
the understanding that they might be
affected by the departmental re-organization
he had in mind.
However, if current reports be true,
the dilemma as to Secretaries Weeks
and Denby is in a fair way of solving
itself. While official denials have been
made, the report persists that Andrew
W. Mellon, of Pittsburg, Secretary of
the Treasury, soon will retire from that
position. These reports became so in
sistent recently that George Christian
secretary to the President entered a
formal denial of them.
WEEKS TO RELIEVE MELLON
It is perfectly understood in Washing
ton that, if Mr. Mellon should ask be
be relieved from the treasury portfolio,
(Continued .on Page Twelve.)
DEATH TIDINGS
COME WITH DOG
Strange Canine Visitor Re
appears and News of
Death Follows:
A woman in deep black entered the
local rooms of the Charlotte News Sat
urday night, and, as she paused in the
door, an expression of horror was seen
cn the faces of The News' local staff
for behind her in the darkness of the
corridor gleamed two red eyes under a
white cross.
And then the Siberian Grave Robber
entered the room!
Lean, gaunt and restless he seemed to
be. For four weeks the gruesome looking-
dog had not shown himself at The
News. At the moment of his list ap
pearance, four deaths were immeriintely
reported to The News, after which the
animal retired into the gray mists of
the early morning. His appearance at
that time was but one of th-3 many
mysterious visits the strange javiine
has made to The News during the last
eight -months. No one claims him. Not
one pets him. Not even a kindly word is
spoken to him. And he retaliates with
death. Never has he failed to bring
news from the Grim Reaper. Because
of his sinister appearance and the
weird white cross on his head, the
guant dog has been " known to The
News as the Siberian Grave Robber
since his first cryptic visit.
The woman in black seated herself
in a chair. The Siberian Grave Robber
crouched at her feet. Not a sound broke
the silence. It was useless to ask why
the - woman had come. The Siberian
Grave Robber answered that.
The woman reported the death of ha-
(Continued on Pagre Nine.)
SES
MANY HOUSES
NG FLOOD
Twenty Square Blocks in
Business Section Almost
Total Loss.
HUGE PROPERTY LOSS.
Thousands of People, Warn
ed by the Police, Failed to
Heed the Warning.
By WEBB ARTZ
International News Service Staff v
Correspondent
San Antiono, Tex. Sept. 10. With
41 bodies recovered and with scores of
persons missing as the result of the
cloudburst and flood which swept
through sleeping San Antonio early to
day, the city was settling down to
night to a full realization of the hor
ror of the mad, raging waters.
The narrow, shallow San Antonio
River, fed by a seven-inch fall of rain,.,
tore from its bank and swirled through
the business and poorer residential dis
tricts, causing $15,000,000 damage.
Mjost of the bodies are those of wo
men and children helpless victims of
the deluge. .
In the Mexican quarter of the city
more than 1,000 homes were smashed
to bits like cardboard by the wall of
water.
Tonight more than 5,000 persons,
made homeless by the city's greatest
disaster are being sheltered in tents
provided by the United States mili
tary authorities. '
Some 20 square blocks of the down
town stores almost a total loss from
the 12 feet of water, which so weaken
ed the walls of the building left stand
ing that they trill be razed, Dirt from.-
the hills has been ; left in the business
district as a deep muck that will have
to be dug away. Stocks . stored in
basements, are ruined. ' '
FAILED TO HEED WARNING
Much of the property loss was un
avoidable, but around the loss of the
life is the old story of people refusing
to heed a warning. For last night,
two hours before the flood waters
swept into the city, police from Cen
tral headquarters here went from
house to house in the Mexican dis-
trict along Alazen creek in west San
Antonio, notifying residents that the
entire district was certain to be flood
sweqt.
The warnings were disregarded.
San Antonio, these folk replied, had
been flooded before, and the waters had
never reached that district.
There is not a whole house left in
that entire district.
Most of the 1,000 or more persons
that were residing ther have vanished.
Only a heap of splintered and
twisted debris, piled high and at fre
quent intervals along the area encom
passed by the raging waters, remains.
WITHOUT LIGHTS AND WATER
Tonight the city was without elec
tric lights, without drinking water,
without -telephones, without sewage
disposal. There was a hungry and
homeless horde, rescued in the dead
of the night, without proper shelter.
At sun-down, the military police
cordon thrown about the business dis
trict was widened and all spectators
barred even those who, lost relatives
and friends in the disaster and groed
about the wreckage on the .fringes
of the scene of death and destruction,
hopinjg and wondering.
All the banking institutions wrecked
by the flood were under guard of soldi
ers tonight, to pi event looting.
The flood waters rose to a height
of 10 to 15 feet in the business streets.
The greatest less of life occurred in
the Mexican district in the western
part of the city where the waters swept
through a district, half a mile wide and
two miles long, piling up frame houses
and carrying to death many persons
before they were ableto leave their
beds.
It is impossible to even estimate the
number of dead in this district. The
onrushing waters swept through the
city, the San Antonio River rising" over
its banks and bringing complete de
vastation to the business district. In
the torrent of rain, wind and flool
waters, five of the bridges crossing the
river in the heaVt of the city were
torn away, taking with hem trolley
tracks, electric wire and sewer con
nections. ,
On Houston street, the main thorough
fare, the water rose to a height of ten
feet, every store for a distance of five
Mocks being wiped out. The water
rose in the lobby of the Gunther Hotel,
driving hundreds of guests to safety In
the floors above. . .
During the height of the storm, the
water and electric service were put out
of commission by 'the complete inunda
tion of the power plant and pumping .
station, and, in the darkness, bands of
unemployed swooped down on jewelry
stores and looted with freedom until
the arrival of soldiers from Fort Sam
Houston.
The property loss in the business dis
trict alone will run to ten million dol
lars or more, none of which is covered
by insurance. ,
PICTURE OF BATTLEFIELD
The business district late today pre
sented more the picture of a devasta-
(Continued on Page Eleven.)
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