The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1908-12-31
Awful Disaster
NEARLY 10000 KILLED

that has occurred In nearly century
came Monday morning TO Southern
Italy and Sicily, which are I'm many
ways the garden OF the world. A
tremendous earthquake. accompanied
by a volcanic eruption, and followed
by q wave thirty-five feet high run
ming In from the sea and fires every
where that the wave did not reach
killed bstween 100000 and 10000
human beings. and wiped from the
face OF the earth dozens of towns and
two large cities. In that beautiful,
wealthy iuxuriant country which, ON
Sunday was as happy and fertile and
charming as any In the world, there
Is today nothing but ruin. desolation
and death In a hundred horrible forms.
Following the disaster, came, as
always does come. famine, There -
no food. no shelter. no way TO get
warmth or TO cook People, what Is LEFT
Of happy families. are living In caves
Men who were rich Sunday are dying
today for lack Of bread. All railroads
have been destroyed and IL is almost
impossible 20 get food to the suf-
ferers. tho Italy is doing les best And
now pestlience Is beginning 20 appear
and another horror win be added TO
the misery which has overwhelmed
the people.
The first warning OF the impending
danger came with low rumble
about five O'Clock Monday morning.
A moment later the shocks began, but
nothing accurate has yet been re-
eelved as to ls"s many they were, or
how they as,, m that is known is
that eisles lied TO ruin, houses
every where disappeared In du@
clouds. aud that when the shocks had
paused thousands we're lying mangled
and dead or dying In the ruins ~
their homes And then, along the
shores OF the beautiful sparkling
sea, came death In a new form. A
wave thirty-five feel nigh rushed
far up on the land Great ships In
the harbors were carried miles. Some
times. and when the waters receded.
left high and dry. Human beings pin
ned In the ruins were drowned like
rats and those who had fled to the
streets 10 escape death from falling
walls, met death from the wall OF
water, or were sucked. struggling
back into the ocean. Over five hun
bred vessels were lost-many OF them
with all on board
And, where there was nc water,
came the worse horror OF fire. Flames
began 10 break out In the ruins Soon
whole cities were blazing-iu one
city. where there have had been
fifty thousand inhabitants, only a
few people are left allve-it was
almost impossible to help those i'm
prisoned In the ruins, and they. too
died In the seething flames
Then came theft and murder The
jaiis were destroyed and flood Of
criminals turned loose. The police
forces were In some places almost de-
stroyed-law officers were busy saw
ing the remnants OF their own
families-aDd crime reigned supreme.
Dead and dying were stripped OF every
valuable and those helpless but not
dead were made so Some attempted
resistance, and there was fighting mp
and down the corpse-filled streets.
Helpless women and children, seeking
their dear ones in the ruins, were
not spared-men showing themselves
less merciful than Nature had been.
Chen followed starvation. and then
pestilence. Troops have been sent IN
and the country IS now under their
control. but the fighting and stealing
are not yet over. and the misery and
suffering cannot be over for weeks.
II we had no independence. We
should always be running the risk
OF the most degraded kind of des-
potism-the despotism OF the party
boss and the party machine.
The greatest danger Is that .
man will be servile tool Of the
boss" or machine" of his own par
~. IN which case he can very rare
ly indeed be a good public servant
An ideal machine has for its Of
fioeiz men Of the marked force, cum
ming and unscrupulousness. AID FORTS
common soldiers men who may be
either corrupt or moderately honest,
but who must be Of low Intelligence.
That man is a dangerous citizen
who 50 far mistakes means for ends
as TO become servile In his devotion
to his party. and afraid 10 leave II
when the party goes wrong. They
dore Roosevelt.
.JJ19t