ast rites occupied the time of thousands of persons on
Wednesday. Fifty-two funerals silently wending their way to cemeteries
brought home with greater force to the people of Omaha the full
realization of the extent of Sunday's tornado. All day long, as fast as
hearses could deposit the bodies at graves, a continual death procession
was kept up.

Many of the bodies recovered from Sunday's storm were cared for at
undertaking establishments, and a great number of the funerals were held
from those places. Whenever possible friends of stricken families took
care of bodies and had them prepared for burial. In many instances
churches were demolished in the districts covered by the storm and
others were so badly wrecked as to prevent their being used for burial
services.

LITTLE CEREMONY

There was little ceremony. As quickly as one funeral was over another
began. Undertakers co-operated in arranging burials. In several
instances where entire families were killed or where more than one
member of a family awaited burial one funeral service was held. The
funerals were a constant procession.

One of the most pitiful of the funerals was that of Mrs. Mary Rathkey
and two small children. Surviving Mrs. Rathkey is the husband and
father, who is nearly demented over the disaster. Mrs. Rathkey and her
children were killed in their home.

MORE CASES OF DESTITUTION

Many cases of destitution were reported on Wednesday. It took much time
to prepare card indexes of sufferers' wants and to make requisitions on
the central relief station at the Auditorium for supplies. While these
formalities were being carried out want stalked through disconsolate
homes from one corner of the city to the other. The task of caring for
those needing food, clothing, supplies and money seemed to be too large
for the relief forces.

PLANS FOR REBUILDING

As early as Tuesday plans for rebuilding the city were under way. The
business men formed a corporation to conduct the undertaking in a
systematic way, and to assist the unfortunates who lost their homes and
personal effects.

The Real Estate Exchange immediately took steps to prevent the raising
of rents. Cases of alleged attempted extortion, however, were reported,
some of them by members of the Exchange itself. Executives of that body
decided to deal harshly with any owners found taking advantage of those
forced to secure new homes on account of the tornado.

A public appeal sent out by th