Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-17
DEAD REACH A THOUSAND
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vice and deputy consul, William IL Or
rett, at Kingston had sent the dispatch.
A reference in the cablegram to the fire.
proof safe Is understood to convey assur-
ances Of the safety of the consular records
and papers 1t was also regarded as pos
sible that the message might have come
from Nicholas r. Snyder, the American
consul at Port Antonio on the island OF
Jamaica.
However, the dispatch was regarded as
varranting taking of instant measures Of
relief Indeed the navy department had
been In advance in this matter, for through
Captain Beehler, the officer in charge of
the naval station at Key West, wireless
communication was early established be-
tween the navy department and Admiral
Evans, commanding the Atlantic feet at
Guantanamo, Cuba, and when Secretary
Root later indicated the desirability OF
sending warshps at once TO the distressed
island 1t turned out that Admiral Evans
had anticipated the direction and had
started on a torpedo boat destroyer, the
swiftest vessel in the American fleet for
Kingston, ordering two of the slower bat
tleshps to follow as soon as they could.
MetcnIf Cuts Red Tape.
The appeal for food supplies directed at
tention to the fact that under ordinary
condition none of the government supplies
could be used for outside relief save by
special authority of congress. That fact,
however, did not prevent Secretary Met
calf from ordering two supply ships with
full cargoes of food at once to Jamaica,
leaving for tomorrow the question to
how the supplies are to be given to the
needy inhabitants.
The War department up to the close Of
business had not acted upon the applica-
ton for food, but 1t is assumed that in
anticipation of the passage Of the neces-
sary legislation by congress 1t will at
least take care TO get supplies to the island
ready for distributing agencies. There are
stores of food at San Juan. Porto Rico
and at Havana that might be used for
emergencies, leaving the department to
draw later upon the large stocks at New
York.
statement by weather Bureau.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.-The weather
bureau today issued the following bulletin
relative to the Kingston earthquake:
TAe earthquake recorded at the weather
bureau on Monday afternoon at 33S:23 Is
undoubtedly a record of an earthquake
Jamaica at the same hour, BY the use of
well known archaeological formulate. we
may deduce from the records made at
Washington that this earthquake began at
8 hours, 80 minutes, seconds, p. m, 18th
meridian time.
Judging from the magnitude of the mo-
ton received at Washington we regard the
present disturbance as Of relatively slight
Intensity as compared with other recent
great earthquakes, as for example, that
az San Francisco, Valparaiso and the great
earthquake reported In the Indian ocean
October Is 1906 This is especially true in
view of the fact that the distance of Kings
ton from Washington is only about 1,42C
miles, while San francisco is distance Of
2435 miles and Valparaiso is about 4,OC
miles, that u.s. nearly three and a halt
times as far away as Kingston, both lying
almost exactly south OF Washington. The
amplitude OF the motion at Washington in
the present case was distinctly less thar
in each OF the other great earthquakes, and
we may therefore conclude that the VIC
lence Of the motion at Kingston was also
less (Slgned) WILLIS s. MOORE,
Chief United States Weather Bureau.
Kingston HRrbOr il Closed.
SANTIAGO, Cuba, Jan. 16.-Kingstor
harbor, as a result of the earthquake Is
closed to shipping, but Bowden is open