The Washington times., 1909-01-03
Government Heads Off More
Narrowing Stories of
Disaster.
KEPT BUSY DENYING
SHOCKING REPORTS
Believed Veil Was Drawn to Hide
IneficienCY of Relief
Leaders.

CATANIA, Jan. 3.-Dyna
mite was used on scores c.
wrecked buildings in this city
today. The frequent explo-
sions threw the nerye-racked
people into another panic Of
fear, and they refused to be
assured.
ROME, Jan 3.-King Emmanuel sent
word this afternoon that he and Queen
Helen viii leave for Rome tomorrow,
providing no unforeseen emergency
arises.
! ROME, Jan. 3.-The Italian gov
ernment today clamped an iron cen
Isorship on practically every tele-
graph wire in Italy.
! HencefOrth the stories that The
scores of foreign correspondents
write must he softened in tone to
| Insure their transmission.
The government has virtually
/ drawn the veil on the more horrible
! features of the staggering cal2ratg,
for no other apparent reasyn than
] that some of these stories have re-
Elected on the efficiency Of the relief
work.
Your correspondent succeeded IN
! getting out this message ahead ef
the censorship. Otherwise he vooa
Undoubtedly have been prohititea
from making these declarations.
Denying Stories.
The government is busy today
with denials of the stories Of fights
between the soldiers and looters. the
mad rush of crazed and starving sur
vivorS for the supplies of food, the
lack of system in the work of re-
lief, the devouring of bodies by
mad dogs and carrion birds, and
many other of the fearSomely grew
some reports from the stricken re-
gion.
/ Yet every one OF these stories is
/ vOuched for by eyewitnesses, including
( correspondents who declare that Sam
/ guage is incapable OF expressing the fuH
} horror of the situation.
/ king Emmanuel himself made bitter
/ complaint OF the lack OF effective or
/ gauizaton, which resulted among other
/ things, I'm a shiDIoad OF provisions par
J TALLY rotJIng iH the strait of Messina.
/ The correspondents at the various
news ceuters are complaining bitterly 81
/ the censorship. and say the policy viii
/ greatly hinder the work OF relief from
abroad. as il tends 10 rob the situation
of it's narrowing features
/ There Is no change today i'm the esti-
mates OF dead. No estimate is below
/ l50.0J0 few are above 100000.
Nation M0urns.
italy today was nation of mourn
/ ing. The day being Sunday, an the
grief and anguish that had been sup
/ pressed under the stupefactIon of the
week seemed TO break forth, and 1t is
doubtful if there is a family in an Itair
/ that did not give way TO-DAY 20 tears
over the sorrow that most of them felt
/ personally and am of them from a ma
UonaI standpoint
/ Churches throughout Jle nation held
! special services. and the outpourir -
! the people was so great that in scofEs
/ of places outdoor services were held
In the cities that are hIed with the
/ survivors these services Were parliCl-
/ larly tragic. Thousands Of dollars were
{ realized i'm collections taken for the sul-
I fereTs-
/ A special mass for the dead was cele-
hrated mt the vatican The Pope spent
/ much of the day iu going among tiee
[ 500 survivors to whom he has given
refuge I'm an improyised hospital i'm Use
vatican.
Words of Comfort.
| No labor seemed TO be unworthy oi
his holiness and many of the sufferer
were completely overcome 10y his kindly
ministrations. The Pope llneIt by many
of the cots. speaking words of Comfort
''It is one of the saddest days IN mE
life he remarked, "and yet iu anothef
sense it is one of the h3ppiest- III has
given me the opportunity Of minister
ing personally 90 the needs of the dis
tressCd- I wish 1 could do 10 always
NV poor children, my poor children, oh
how INV heart goes ont to them 4 oul}
wish now that I had followed the KinS
example and gone TO the scene"
/ The Eing and Queen are expected To-
Ireturn 60 Rome tonisht though the last