The Penn's Grove record., 1909-01-08
100000


Rome, Italy.-Horror has beer
heaped upon horror to such an extent
that it is still impossible to give ar
official estimate either of the loss OF
human life or the destruction oil
property in the awful catastrophe
which overwhelmed Messina and Reg.
glo and the contiguous towns and vii
lagos in the gray dawn of that awful
morning. One thing only seems Ger.
tain. that for once the tendency to-
ward exaggeration natural under
such circumstances of demoralizing
disaster has fallen short of the ap-
palling reality, and that the calamity
is the greatest recorded in the history
of Europe.
Two hundred thousand has been
mentioned as the probable total loss
of life, and ever the most c~onserva-
tive present estimates do not fall
much below this figure. In Messina
city and district alone out of a popu-
lation of 175,000 not more than u.s.
900 are reported to have escaped,
and such figures as are available in
regard to Reggie and other Calabrian
towns and villages point to a tre-
mendous addition to the total, so that
present indications are that zoe, 900
will not be found to be a greatly ex-
aggerated figure.
1t is pointed out, however, that in
the light of past experience with
other disasters of a similar kind even
the most careful estimates cannot be
made too conservative.
As regards the value of the prop
erty destroyed computations are
equally hazardous upon the data at
present available. One estimate may
be mentioned merely al an indication.
1t places the damage to private prop
erty at Messina at $500, 900, 900; to
public property at Messina, includ-
ing the harbor works, at 100000
900; to private property at Reggie
at 5000 $1,000, 900; to public property
at Reggie at $1O,O00,O00; to fortii-
cations, Straits of Messina, and light
houses, at $60,000,000; and other
items, including public and private
property at Palmi, Bagnara, SAINT
Eufemia, Seminara, and towns, VIII
lagos and country estates in Sicily
and Calabria at $780, 600; a
grand total of 81. 000,OOO,O0
Figures like these, of course, are
valuable only as a rough and ready
indication of the tremendous mag
nitude of the losses. Two facts stand
out from all fragmentary reports re-
ceived: That the number of the sur
vivors accounted for is extremely lin
tied, and that all the witnesses agree
that both Messina and Reggie are
practically nothing but heaps of
ruins. The only deduction to be
drawn is that the loss to both life
and property has been on a scale
which the imagination can barely
grasp.
News from the stricken districts in
Italy is still coming through slowly
and fragmentarily. The Govern
ment's demands are almost monop-
olizing the telegraph wires. Even
Q Rome to London there is con-
siderable delay in transmission, and
ordinary press messages stand small
chance OF getting through.
Though rescuers are making much
progress, thousands of survivors are
still in want. Starvation and pneu-
monia are adding to the deaths, and
many suicides are reported.
Living persons are still being taken
from the ruins of Messina. The in
Jured have filled the accommodations
OF all cities near the devastated re-
gion. Many of the survivors have
been taken to Rome, where the King
has thrown open the military bar
racks and the Pope has given the use
of the Lazaretto.
Major Lands, of the American
Embassy, is at Messina with sixty
soldiers digging in the ruins of the
Consulate there in hope of finding
the bodies of United States Consul
Cheney and his wife.
Instead of burning the ruins of the
city to prevent a disastrous epidemic,
1t is now understood that the author
tiles have decided to clear Messina of