MR. THOMAS E. McGRATH of New York City writes:

MY CONTACT WITH THE GREATEST BLIZZARD NEW YORK HAS EVER KNOWN

"Although a youth when the great blizzard of March 12, 1888 paralyzed New York, I vividly recall the highlights of the terrific storm.

"We were living in Harlem at the time. And on the north side of the street. This is a funny twist of the storm, as there was little or no snow on the opposite side of the street.

"On the evening of March 11th clouds began to gather about 7:00 P. M. Soon rain and sleet began to fall. The elements were raging when we retired about 10 P. M., but we supposed that the sun would be shining, as usual, next day.

"We lived on the first floor of a three-flat brown-stone house, and what was our horror next morning to find snowdrifts about 35 feet high right up to our windows. The whole house was in a panic. Husbands, wives, and children had reason to believe that starvation was in sight. Milk and bread rations had been cut off, of course, and there was no way of getting in touch with the outside world. Telephones those days were only for the rich.

"On March 11th I had secured my first job. I was to report at the office of the New York Sunday Dispatch, where, as copy boy, I was to receive $3 a week. For the next four or five days, however, instead of being at the call of the editors, I shoveled snow. How my back ached! And how my heart ached as I thought of those three dollars lost, to say nothing of the loss of that job. It turned out, however, that even great editors turned to their shovels, and the job was still open, even if a copy boy had a lame back. . . .

"The sights on the street after the blizzard was over were astounding. Think of snowdrifts from 35 to 40 feet high! All traffic was at a standstill, of course. Many people starved to death, or were frozen, and all activity in the greatest city in the world was at a standstill. We were forced to tunnel our way to the street for food, and thousands of other families were in the same state of distress. It was many days before conditions were normal again."