Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-01-02

| mas Deem ulSpdlCHCu " SAAS ASANAS 49,
Iawaited anxiously.
| The presence OF the King and Queen
Iof italy in the stricken district has
done much to infuse energy into the
different relief committees, considering
1.-The means at the disposal of the rescue
workers are being done.
The Queen is exhausted and the ter
rible scenes she has witnessed have
affected her strongly. She weeps fire.
lauently and on more than one occa-
sion she has covered the hands of some
unfortunate woman with her tears.
The King desired his wife to return
Ito Rome but this she refused, say
ling she could not sleep from thinking
/ Of the miseries of her subjects
Trains leaving here for the South
lare filled almost entirely with news
paper men, relatives of victims or vol
Iunteers on rescue committees. These
committees are composed of every ma
tionality Of Europe. All volunteers are
thankfully accepted and there is room
| for thousands more.
| Prof Alfani of the Florence obser-
vatory predicted that the seismic ac-
Invites will continue for three years
l
ment of restrictive building laws in
/ the earthquake zones of Italy.
| The personal accounts of survivors
obtained today only add to the grue-
some recital of suffering and inability
to help the injured One feature of
the disaster at Reggie is the large
number of homeless children. In some
cases babies were found creeping in
the ruins. 1t seems impossible to res
tore the INTO their parents even if
the parents are alive. sailor engag-
ed in rescue work at Reggie found I'M
der fallen beam, twins about year
old, in basket. They were uninjur-
ed and their clothing was Of the best.
They have not yet been claimed.
| In many cases survivors recovered
consciousness to find themselves far
away from the scene Of the disaster.
They they would make desperate and
pitiable efforts to go back and search
| for their devoted ones. Numbers Of
survivors have gone suddenly insane.
They try to throw themselves over
board, if they are at sea, or to hurl
| themselves out of car windows.
| What has taken place at Reggie has
been a REPETITION of the scenes at Mes
sina, but the proportion Of the pop
| ulatiOn to perish at the former place
is higher. Today the conditions at Reg
giO are fOrse than at Messina owing
| to the danger of epidemic from de-
| composing bodies. 1t has been proposed
in small villages where not one house
remaineds standing. to set the whole
on fire as means of publication.
| Lloyd c. Criscom, the American am
bassador has decided that he had bet
ter not go to Messina personally at
present. He will await tho expected
arrival of the American batfleship
fleet. now approaching Suez from the
Red Sea in the stricken district. The
warships probably will get to Mes
sina next week Mr.. Griscom will then
go to the South.
The ambassador this morning sent to
Messina Maj. j. F. Reynolds Landis.
the American military attache; Bayard
| Cutting, Jr., the American consul at
Milan; Winthrop Chandler Of Philadel-
phia, and the interpreter of the en-
bassy. with full instructions concern
ing the methods to be adopted in the
search for Americans supposed to have
been in Sicily and Calabria at the time
Of the earthquake.
The Ambassador has communicated to
the government the receipt of the con-
| tribution for sufferers of $4,000 from
the American Red Cross, as we'll as
| a first contribution of $4,000 from
| the Christian Herald. These donations
have been received with the highest
appreciation.
1 Wild rv1o nj 4
| ror which like a leaden weight OppreSS-
es the land that by all countries has
been called the garden spot of Europe,
two notable figures stand out as guar
dian angels watching over the affiict-
ed population. They are Queen Helena
and another Helena the Duchess of
Aosta. The Queen has given the suffer-
ers her tears and with her own hands
She has bound up their wounds. She
has given also of her worldly possess
sions, including the rings from her fin
gers. The Duchess of Aosta is perform
ing miracles of love. pity and endur-
ance at Naples. where the wounded
are arriving in great numbers.
| Throughout Italy the tri-color flag
is at ilalf-mast as an expression of the
universal sorrow. The national grief is
manifested also by numberless reli-
gious professions and the collection
of money. clothes and medical supplies
for the relief Of the stricken.
Naples, owing to the arrival there Of
several thousand survivors has had
greater opportunity than her sister
cities to demonstrate her generous i'm
pulses The members of the aristocracy
have loaned their motor cars and their
carriages for the transportation of the
injured from the docks to the hospitals.
The British and Russian sailors who
| worked SO devOtedly at Messina are
the heroes of the day Whenever they
pass through the streets Of Naples hats
! and caps are raised in their honor.
The desolation of the Straits of Mes
sina recalls the sinister prophecy found
in an old Slcilian legend: 1.-THE day will
come" the oracle answered question
er, "when the navigator will make his
way through the strait saying here
| once was Sicily"
To the destruction of Messna, Reg
gO, Saint Eufemia, Bagnara, Palmi
and Seminara must be added the fol-