The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-04-26
|MEss|NA WILL
| NEVER Be REBUILT
Mrs. Sisco, Who Visited Ruins, Says
Destruction By Earthquake Is
Too Complete.

NEW YORK. April 26.-Mrs. Claire
C.. sisco who. In conjunction with Miss
Katherine b. Davis. had charge Or
American relief work In Syracuse,
Sicily. after the earthquake. has visit,
ed Messina. In a letter describing the
first visit she expresses The opinion
that the city can never be rebuilt
In all the pathos Of H." she writes.
one has FEELING OF satisfaction over
Job thoroughly done. The ruin 10
absolutely complete.
Il knew that with several hundred
Messina acQuaintances who had been
under my care as refugees | would
surely meet some TO show me about.
ana that proved TO be the case.
For four hours I was led over plies
OF debris three stories high, under
standing arches and In the shadow OF
unsupported walls. The buildings Tor
the most part had thick walls OF brok-
er rock aud stone mixed with plaster,
all covered with veneer OF plaster
tainted like stone This looked strong,
but IL was really ready at little provo
cation to crumble into rubbish heaps.
This rubbish Is not worth cartins
on IL is like bread crumbs. Excava-
tons merely shift the heaps. remov-
Ing none of them. Hence after three
months the ruin is as misshapen aud
as chaotic as at the beginning, and
so II will remain.
IL encountered strange sights In my
tour Scarcely any furniture remained
whole. but many big oil and wine
TASKS survived unbroken. l saw
lamps resting on shelves four stories
in the air. In a doorless closet wo-
mans hat hung on u nail. In the mass
which was once the best hotel many
bodies still lie. No one Will accept
the task OF excayating there for some
of the walls stand and menace death
To any one touching the ruin
MY deepest sympathy goes out ID
the Italian authorities. they nave a
hard problem. both on account OF
phyeical conditions here and also be
cause of the Sicilian character, ami
the officigl brain is not OF the species
that We call practical. Had | palace
Jul! OF treasure In Messira | would
say addio and start life fresh in new
scenes.
i. The people who escaped death In
Messina were the hut dwellers, so ~
speak II Is estimated that less than
one fourth of the refugees were or the
small merchant class. the others be-
ing labor ers and slum Eeople. All
who could live in the better kind OF
dwellings persisted.
AN American who has been en-
gagged in relief work here for three
months said TO me: i feel as IL had
given my time to the very unscientinc
work OF aiding in the survival or the
rnfttest. and with the best possible
motives | have thus been hlnderins
human progress
The bulk OF the people now here
are better housed, better fed and may
get higher. wages than before the
earthquake. Yet many OF them had
rather prowl about the ruins In. the
hope OF finding treasure than to earn
good pay in helping To bald quarters
which outside benevolencs has placed
here. The surviving masses lack SELF
respect, and there is Among them
much dishonesty and envy and vicious
Ignorance. At first was all sympathy
for them, but with increasing contact
| think that even my powers OF com
passiou have disappeared.