The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-19
The Water Works System on
the Stricken Island of ia
maica Completely Demo'-
ished by the Earthquake.
KINGSTON HARBOR STILL
REMAINS PARTLY INTACT
Americans on the Island Very
Fortunate, Most of Them
Having Been Accounted for
Food Supplies Coming.

st. Tnomas, d. w. /. Jan. Is.-With
but a single solitary cable line work
ing from the island of Jamaica and
that the old fashioned line that is
landed at Holland Bay, it begins to
seem as though it was an impossible
task to get an absolutely coherent
story through, telling exactly what
did happen at Kingston. Every word
that reaches here adds to the horrors
of the situation. While up to $50
tonight many direct cablegrams
have been printed in most of the Brit
lsh isles and the United States. 1t Is
Just as well at this writing to state
for the benefit of the hundreds OF
people who have friends and relatives
on the island. and who are anxiously
awaiting direct news. that the lone
solitary cable operator who IS at work
sending out the dispatches that have
been filed with him, is not only so
badly swamped with work that ne
is already SO hours behind, but that
the government dispatches are being
put ahead, throwing him further and
messages and dispatches. The old
routine of insisting on messages TAX
Ing their regular course. is now being
absolutely insisted upon and the re
suit is that many persons who have
tried TO get word to their friends out
side of the island, and who now be-
Iieve they have reassured those
friends. that have simply the satisfac-
lion of knowing that their messages
are ION file
No. PestiIence as Yet.
The dispatches of the Publishers
Press Association for the past AS
hours tell practically the entire truth
of the extent of the disaster. No pes
thence has as yet broken out and
order has been restored. That there
Is suffering is, of course, certain.
Why should there not be? Food sup
plies are of the scantiest and al
though every steamer that has been
in the harbor and the American and
British warships that are there, have
been "combed" of every biz of food
supplies that they had on hand the
mere fact that there are 10000 men,
women and children encamped in the
refugee camps shows the magnitude
of the task of feeding those who real
~ need rations. But it is not food
alone that is most badly needed
Many are suffering from the pangs
of thirst. The water works system
was entirely demolished and all of the
water that it is possible to supply to
the camps is surface water and that
from the wells that were sunk in the
t;.,I #
this is unfit for use because the earth
quake seems to have opened up sub
terranean passages that have let the
waters of the ocean into many wells
that heretofore have been absolutely
wholesome
Harbor Partly Intact.
Kingston Harbor is for great part
intact. The report that ii had been
entirely demolished is but in part
true. The force of the earthquake
shocks. of course. was sufficient to
cause the crumbling of the wharves
that stood on made ground into
the bay. while the surface of the mar
Dor was raised in spots so that all
existing charts are absolutely use
less. A great ledge has been created
for a considerable distance across
the harbor mouth. but it is still pos
sible for navigating officers to bring
vessels into the harbor with the free
use of sounding lines"
Americans Were Fortunate
The last word received by the Pub !
ishers Press correspondent seems TO !
indicate that the Americans who We're
pn the island were singularly fortu-
nate All but half a dozen have so
Tar been accounted for. although not
yet reunited to the families and
friends. There are a number of En- |
glish and Ca ladi2l; ru.ong the dea J, |
but most of the whites killed were !
either natives of the island or people /
who have lived there long enough TO /
De practically considered so.
The great damaged zone is King !
ston and the territory Immediately
adjacent TO it, There is not a brick |
building left in the city proper A !
good many of the wooden and lime |
stone structures, especially those that
stood in the old residential quarter. |
are suitable for occupancy and the mil /
itary authorities have already started /
the work of assigning to them sur
yivors who actually need shelter The |
American marines, members of the |
American hospital corps. and the sur |
geons from the American warships |
that are now off the harbor. are doing |
splendid work reli. yirg the tired 4
put British officers and men who have i
been standing watch ever since the
first shock of the earthquake. Gov