More than 1,000 people died of the flu in the DC region alone; newspapers reported an equivalent number who succumbed to what was described as pneumonia, but likely was the flu or secondary respiratory crises brought on by the flu. Each day, the Washington Post published grim lists of the dead, along with their addresses and ages, on its front page. In Washington and elsewhere victims in their 20s or 30s far outnumbered the ranks of infants or elderly whom flu outbreaks typically claimed. As one survivor, William Sardo, recalled years later, the flu “wiped out entire families from the time that the day began in the morning to bedtime at night . . . it happened all the way across neighborhoods, it was a terrifying experience.”In early October, as the city shuttered most public gathering places, Congress began to feel the effects of the flu as well. On October 6, it was reported that Democratic Leader Claude Kitchin of North Carolina was stricken with the “grip,” and had been confined to his bed for several days. Then Speaker Champ Clark fell ill. Over the course of the next week, both men started to recover even as many of their colleagues fell sick and were bed-ridden.
On Monday, October 7, the House convened at noon and, after the announcement of the death of Representative J. Fred Talbott of Maryland (who had lost a long battle with kidney disease), moved to adjourn for the day out of respect. But before the gavel fell, Illinois Congressman Henry T. Rainey made an extraordinary request. “Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of common knowledge that an epidemic of alarming proportions is prevailing throughout the country. Out of an abundant precaution the Senate has ordered the galleries closed, which action, I understand, meets with the approval of the medical authorities, and so I ask unanimous consent that the Speaker be instructed to close the galleries of the House until further action shall be taken by the House.” The House consented to Rainey’s request.
While the flu outbreak did not close the House entirely, it slowed its activities to a crawl. For much of the first half of October the chamber stood in recess punctuated by brief pro forma sessions which few Members attended. Sickness, as well as the need to care for ailing family members, substantially thinned the ranks of the House.
Within days the decision was made to close the Capitol “to all visitors as an extra precaution.” In just the preceding 24 hours, 74 Washingtonians had died and health officials treated more than 1,600 new flu cases.