The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-15
ANCIENT LANDMARK GONE
FAMOUS CAmPANILE OF ST.
 MARKS COLLAPSES.

Now a Heap Of Ruins in the Piazza-No Loss of LIfe-surrounding Structures Damagsd-The First IntimatiOn of Danger Yesterday, When Crack AP- peared In Wall.
 Venice, July 14.-The Campanile, or detached bell-tower, of St. Marks church. 322 feet high. collapsed at 1O:4O o'clock this morning and fell with great crash into the Piazza, where it lies. heap of ruins.
 The famous church and the Palace Of the Doges are safe. but corner of the Royal Palace was damaged. Repairs on the Campanile, in which ominous cracks were noticed yesteray, were to have begun to-day.
 The ruins are now surrounded by a cordon of troops.
 The ruins are piled up to height of one hundred feet, and the Piazza di San Marco and the adjoining squares are covered with debris and dust.
 Closer investigation shows that the Campanile in falling carried away the Sansovino Logetta and the library of the royal palace. Fortunately, pre- monitory signs of the collapse allowed a partial clearance of the piazza and consequently there were no fatalities, but few persons were injured.
 The disaster caused an immense sen- sation. The town and communal coun- cils have been summoned to meet this evening.
 The first intimation of danger was the sudden appearance yesterday of longitudinal crack in the corner of the wall facing the clock tower and the breaking of two windows. A concert which had been arranged to take place on the Piazza last evening was stopped by order of the prefect in order to pre- vent concourse of people.
 A little before the collapse a noise of falling stones within the bell-tower warned the shopkeepers, workmen and tourists of the impending disaster, and the latter fled for their lives, crying: "The Campanile is falling!'
 When the disaster was comprehended Venetians were seen in the streets be- moaning the destruction of one of the oldest art treasures in the kingdom. Four of Sansovino's statues of Venetian nobles were demolished in the Sansovi- no Loggetta, while a beautiful example of a Paul Veronese painting was de- stroyed in the palace. The wing of an angel from the top of the bell-tower was thrown down to the front door of the cathedral, smashing the Bando col umn, which was hurled thirty-five feet, just escaping the column supporting the south angle of the cathedral, and thus averting a more serious disaster
 The Campanile Of St Marks sto q op- posite the Church, or Cathedral, of St. Marks. It was founded A. D. 911, was restored in 1510 and finally completed in 1591. The loggetta. or vestibule, on the east side of the Campanile was once a rendezvous of the Nobili and afterwards a waiting-room for the guards during IliC SE0SlpiS OL L1lS NISdI SuuICIl. llS bronze doors, cast in 1750, were much admired. There were bronze statues of Peace, Apollo, Mercury and Pallas on the coping of the Campanile, and at the top of the tower 8 watchman, with a telescope, was continually stationed. The ascent of the tower was made from the inside by winding inclined plane of thirty-eight bends and lastly by a few steps. At sunset magnificent spec- tacle could be witnessed from the top of the tower.
 The clock tower stands opposite the Campanile.
 The municipal council has decided tc open preliminary fund of 5O0,0O0 lire (abeut $100,000) for the rebuilding of the Campanile and the Sansouvino Logget- ta. A public subscription will also be opened for the same purpose.
 Queen Margherita and Count yon Bue. low, the German. imperial chancellor have wired expressions of regret at the ruin of the tower to the municipal council.
 Vienna, July 27. -- Professor Belar head of the Seismic observatory at Lai. bach, Austria, is of the opinion that the earthquake in Solinica, European Turkey, completed the destruction ot the Campanile of St. Marks, in Venice which had shown te effects of the re. cent disturbances of earth and sea ir northern Italy.
 Professor Belar says he noticed 2 marked inclination of the Campanile al Easter.
 
 -,, THE STOCK MARKET.