The Washington herald., 1907-01-17

engaged IN maneuvers IN the vicinity II
4 Guantanamo. has gone 20 Kingston on
board the destroyer Whipple with medical
supplies. and the battle ships Missouri
and Indiana are following to render any
assistance they can. The State Depart
ment has taken up the matter Of relief
for the sufferers in jamaica with the
British Embassy. and further steps viii
be taken within few days OfclaI con-
frmation of the disaster did not ruacn tie
/ government here until late yestefday
afternoon. The first news came 90 the
State Department in a rather puzziug
dispatch from Jamaica, with the name
Of the place from which % was actually
sent missing. and signed The American
Consul" The dispatch follows.
Fearful earthquake. followed by
fire Kingston destroyed Hundred
Cor hundred) Of lives lost Food sadly
needed. Consulate partly destroyed.
Fireproof safe"
The last ,wo words mean that the
papers OF the consulate were il a fire
proof safe. and hence not likely TO be
damaged
Hear from key West.
At f:3o o'clock yesterday afternoon Capt.
/ ". H. Beehler. cUmmandant OF the naval
station at Key West. sent the following
message 10 the Navy Department.
/ Wireless from Guantanamo 10 Key
/ West. Admiral Evans on the Whip
/ pie has sailed for Kingston with medi-
cal aid"
/ A few minutes later this message came
/ from Key West:
Missouri and Indiana have sailed
/ for Kingston"
/ Despite the lack % official informant N
/ Of the extent Of the disaster officials 3f
/ the government began 20 plan measures
I Of relief. Secretary Taft who is presi-
dent Of the National Red Cross. an
/ nounced that il Kingston needed help
I the Red Cross would send ouJ an ap-
/ peal. Secretary Root sent a note to Esme
/ Howard. charge d'afaires for Great Brit
/ ain. rendering the service of the United
States navy for the relief Of Jamaica
/ Mr. Howard replied by telephone that
/ he had had no adyices concerning the
disaster. and was uniformed Of the eX-
/ tent of the disaster except by the dis
I patches ia the newspapers This was be-
/ fore either the State Department or the
I Navy Department had received their dis
/ patches. When these came ln they were
communicated 10 Mr.. Howard. who got
/ in touch with his government
Plans for Aid.
Thai end of the navy IN the vicinity Of
Jamaica having gone into action without
waiting on Washington. the officials here
considered what else could be done To a.d
/ Kingston and the other towns Of Jamaica
which may be suffering II was found
that great assistance could be rendered II
necessary. Not only could vessels of the
/ fleet be drawn uDOn for medical supplies
and food. but the supply ship Celtic is in
the vicinity Of Guantanamo. only 1S5 miles
/ from Kingston, with a considerable sup
ply Of dried meat. -four. and other kinds
Of food on board.
There is a quantity Of supplies az the
naval station a Guantanamo, and the sup
ply ship Glacier sailed yesterday from
New York. if she adhered 20 schedule.
with 10000 pounds Of fresh beef. 10000
pounds Of -four. an equal amount Of fresh
vegetables. and great amounts Of coffee,
canned meats. and vegetables. and many
other articles of food.
The Glacier is on her way 10 supply the
feet. The vessel is equipped with wire
less. and should it be decided 10 send her
to Kingston. her course could be easily
diverted and the supplies could be has
tened directly 20 the stricken CITY.
Celtic Well Supplied.
The Celtic has on board more than 150.-
600 pounds Of -four, 10,00o younds Of salted
beef. 15,000 pounds Of saltcd pork. 25.O0O
pounds Of timed vegetables. between
5000 and $500 pounds Of coffee, 1900
pounds OF sugar. 1000 pounds Of butter,
5000 pounds Of macaroni, and other sup
plies. The Celtic has been at Havana,
from where she sailed for Guantanamo
yesterday. and there disposed Of all her
fresh meat and fresh vegetables.
The supply Of food at the Guantanamo
naval station Is not great Among other
things the navy has there 1000 pounds OF
timed bacon 1900 Of timed corned beef,
and more than 1900 pounds OF timed
roast beef. There are also 1900 pounds Of
flour. 1900 Of condensed milk. and 9.000
Of timed fruits. It has not been the Gus
tom of the Navy Department TO keep
large quantities Of stores at Guantanamo.
The ships of the fleet are supplied by
purchase, and by the supply ships Celtic
and Glacier. When the vessels Of the
feet left Hampton Roads early this
month their larders were full
At the Navy Department il is said that
the Glacier could be sent to Kingston
and the supplies given 10 the people there
without seriously affecting the feet and
if conditions in the jamaican capital are
as serious as they seem, this viii proba-
blv be done The Glacier could get %
Kingston by next Sunday or Monday.
Can Order More ships.
Admiral Evans will probably have no
difficulty in running into the harbor at
Kingston with the Whirple, but the bat
tie ships Missouri and Indiana win have
TO proceed very carefully. If the earth
quake shook up things very much the
chances are that the harbor has changed
and where before there were many faith
oms Of water there may now be dan
gerous reefs Accordingly the Missouri
and Indiana will probably lie of Kings
ton until the condition of the harbOr is
ascertained. Admiral Evans can. on his
own responsibility. order more ships over
to Kingston from Guantanamo, and If
he finds that conditions warrant such
action he will doubtless do so.
weather Bureau Bulletin.
An official statement by the United
States weather service was made yester-
day afternoon. II follows.
Judging from the magnitude Of the
motion recorded at Washington, we re-
gard the present disturbance as Of rela-
lively slight intensity. rs compared with
other recent great earthquakes. as, for
example, those al San Francisco and Val
paraiso, and the great earthquake re-
ported in the Indian Ocean on October 1.
1905. This is especially true in view Of
the fact that the distance of Kingston
from Washington is only about 1,420
miles while San Francisco Is at a dis
tance Of 2.455 miles. and Valparaiso IS