The Washington times., 1908-12-31


city hmriedIy. the King sklrted the
shore in "a small boat, and finally
boarded. the Nlttorio Emanuele and re-
turned 70 the city He entered many OF
the ruins against the protests of his
suite and subjected himself TO dangers
that many of the others shTank from.
i am here 10 do all ] can he re-
piled sternly III answer TO the protests
and no danger is too great for me 10
face"
COrpses Heaped Up.
The railway station at Messiua. where
many people gathered after tho inst
shock, hoping 20 escape Dy train. was
uncovered today, revealing scores OF
corpses packed together. The number
Of dead here was not even counted. the
rescUers having more urgent work u
do.
Parliament will meet in extra session.
as soon as the King returns from the
scene OF the disaster. 20 frame special
measures bearing upon the relief Of
the sufferers and the national recovery
from the terrific loss sustained.
The most important act contemplated
is the levying Of special taxation for
period Of five years. and the increase
In railroad rates The earthquake SUI
tererS are to be exempt from this bur
den and from all taxation Tor a long
=
per cent national loan.
Since the repair Of the official seismic
recording apparatus. which was practi-
Cally wrecked by the violence OF the
great shocks Monday morning. ninety
five fresh shocks have been registered,
several Of them Of a severe nature.
Refugees Starving.
The need Of food in Messina is sin
desperate. as it is also in every other
a. nj In q. 4
occurred among the survivors over a
small supply Of food that was dug from
the customs house ruins. The hunger
crazed and grief-maddened people used
knives on each other and a number
were killed before the authorities could
stop the combats.
COrpses carried to sea by the tidal
wave are beginning to wash up from me
straits and hundreds are floating on
the surface and lining the shores.
The survivors are fearful of another
collapse, and do not want TO again risk
themselves 20 falling walls and roofs.
There are innumerable cases Of IN
sanity among the survivors. many of
them so hOpelesSIy bereft of reason that
their minds Will never clear.
One OF the chief things thar renier
all estimates Of the dead inaccurate is
the utter absence OF news from scores
Of small places that were IN the line Of
the quake The investigation so far
has naturally concerned itself with the
larger places There are many little
towns Of from 800 TO $500. from which
no word has been received. and If the
deaths in these places are proportion
ately as great as In Messina and Reg
gio, the highest estimate Of the dead
yet made Will not prove excessive.
Work of Rescue.
So far approximately 100000 refugees
have embarked in warships from Sicily
and Calabria- Sixteen battleships and
cruisers are now on the scene, and
France has started five additional bat
teships from ToulOn.
Ships navigated the Strait Of Messina
today without difficulty The pilots had
to pick a new course, and piled with
the utmost caution. While the course
of the strait has been materially
changed, It is believed that it Will be
more easily navigated hereafter. II is /
believed that the strait has been deep
ened by the seismic disturbances.
The extent OF the second series Of
shocks has not vet been definitely an
nOunced- The sudden increase in the
estimate of the dead has given rise 10
the fear that the shocks OF yesterday
may have proved far more disastrous
than at first suspected.
Reports from MeSSina today make no
special reference TO yesterdays dis
turbances, other than to say that many
tottering walls were shaken down.
As most of the survivors We're endur-
ing the tOrtures Of exposure to the cold
and rain rather than nter the ruins
of their former homes, il is not be
heved that yesterdays quake claimed
many victims except among those who
were imprisoned In the ruins.
Fire Again Raging.
Fires are again blazing in many parts
Of the city. but they no longer have the
terrors that they possessed immediate
ly following the quake, for the victims
that they might have claimed have
practically died.
The military at Messina telegraphed
TODAY that unless word was received
frOfn the American. French. English,
and German residents within the next
few hours, no hope cOuli be Entertained
for their safety
''I cannot offer much hope TO those
who are making inquiries OF u.s. the
commander says Most of the for
eigners are probably dead, but even this
fact can not be positively established !
for many days. It will be absolutely
impossible TO identify many Of the