New-York tribune., 1908-12-31

77he building collapsed Ct the first shock ana
,rn s,-n..ee were caught iixe rats. Several
rows Of cell. remained intact. and those who
were locked within them could be heard pound
sns the walls and crying aloud for help Iheh
rau,e another shock. which completed the oe-
s4ruction All were killed, with the excepuion
NJ the few who had escapedtafter the first shock
7,sa destruction Of the American Consulate
-. N~ssina and the death OF Consul Cheney ana
,,e-raps the death also of the former vlce-con-
sn, = H Peirce. together with the absence OF
~ y Bishop the American Consul at Palermo
leave The United States without representa-
.,-e IN Sicily at the present time. ofhcials III
,,.-,o era considering the possibility of the ad-
,,,,,,s+-a.ion a: washington ordering one or
,nore Of the ships ot the batteship hee' no"
c,p;sine around the world 10 go TO Sicily. in
order 20 protect American interests
co far ali reports agree that there were few
Il anv Americans in Messina al the time of the
5,sss.er with the exception Of Consul Cheney
.r6 his wife Mr. Peirce was an Englishman'
and for many years the Peirce family had lived
.n that city Several of the members were
,,7,e5 hut Miss Peirce made her escape. as well
as one of the male members Of the family, who
may prove to be the former vice-consul
Late reports confirm the fact that Taormina
sas almost entirely untouched by the earth
quake only the famous Hotel San Dominica
occupying the old Dominican convent was dam
aged
In more houses than one can count in Italy
rrief has entered through the greatest calamity
n, ,ne century. the terrible anxiety being ac-
renfuated by the impossibility Of comn1unicat-
ing with the south The few telegraph lines
u,h,ch have been restored are monopoized by
tne government for the purpose of making ar
rangen1ents TO carry the work Of relief
special efforts were made all through the day
ard night to learn the fate Of Americans and
English in the earthquake zone. but for the
most part the efforts were in vain.
The volcano stromboli is active, and the seas
s-o1,n5 the island are greatly ag1tated and dam
geruus 10 navigators.
Cable communication with the Eolian ISL
s,6s TWENTY-FIVE miles north of Sicily, is inter
r1pted. It IS evident that the line is broken
feared
devastated. The largest Of the group is the ISL
znd Of Lipari and the capital has population
uf twelve Thousand.
News reaching Catanzaro from the outlying
districts in Caiabria indicates that thirty-f1ve
towns and villages have been wiped out Win
tF,e number Of dead in that district alone ex-
reeding thirty thousand. The few survivors
ere mad with terror and have fed 20 the noun
tain slopes. where they are subsisting on roots
and the bark Of trees.
Il is impossible to eKaggeTate the despair u
fha thirty thousand Calabrians and Sicilians in
Fo-7e Most Of them have relatives in the
stricken area The telegraph Offices are be
ejeged by weeping men and women dernaholng
and beseeching information
Ambassador. Griscom communicated TO the
italian government to-day offer OF assist
sn7e from, the American Red Cross. A great
national committee has been formed TO collect
funds for the victims The committee is head
81 by the Duke Of Aosta, and includes the Presi-
GENTS Of the Senate and the Chamber Of DePu-
lies The Mayor Of Rome and ali prominent men
in the leading towns. The subscription list has
heer onened with $4,000 contributed by King
Victor Emmanuel All banks, clubs. civic and
commercial associations and the newspapers
have opered subscription lists