Omaha daily bee., 1915-01-16
TOO MANY HOUSES OF STONE
A.. R. Groh Says This is Reason Of
Such Great Loss of Life in the
Italian Earthquake.
WAS AT THE MEssINA DISASTER


Yes. I can SEQ just how things look
va Avezzano. sora and other earthquake
devastated cities of Italy" said A, r.
Groh of Omaha yesterday,
Mr. Groh was in Italy at the time Of the
Nessina earthquake, December, 1905 and
visited that city within thirty-six hours
after It was lain in ruins
Il was in Naples together with James
IT, Pope. also formely Of Omaha. when
the great Messina earthquake came" he
said. 1--WE were fortunate enough TO get
away by ship TO Messina almost at once,
The first sight 1 saw when we landed
from the small boats on the ruined stone
docks OF the city was three large trucks
piled high with dead bodies OF men,
women and children. 1 think we saw al
least 10000 dead bodies that day. Some
had been gathered ard laid In rows
Others lay where they had fallen, struck
by flying stones or partly protTuding
from tho debris. From a third story
window az a building not entirely demol-
ished hung a woman's body head down
ward, the hair swinging IN the breeze.
Makes Rough CasIet. -.ty,
~ few rude huts had been built out
of doors and shutters by the few sur
vivors. In front of one of these l saw a
weeping man hammering together a rude
coffin out OF rough boards, using a cob
hlestone for a hammer A child of
years sat by silently watching him. And
at one side the body OF his wife, covered
with cloth law waiting the completion
Of the casket.
"a middle-aged woman, her hair stream
ing in the wind and her skirt dragging in
the nuG walked wildly along and &C
easionally gave voice to piercing
shrek and tore her hair.
Parties of soldiers were still passing
over the debris seeking survivors. A lit
tie dog ran up and down on the sagging
roof Of a second-floor room, barking. A
soldier leveled his rifle and brought the
little starving body tumbling to the
sround.
These are but few pictures of the
horror that we witnessed all day long in
that horrible devastation. Cut off from
the rest of the world. It seemed iISo a
cold. drizzly. muddy inferno where the
streets were literally sprinkled with dead
bodies of men, women and children.
Houses of stone.
THE reason why earthquakes in Italy
have such awful consequences is that the
houses are built almost entirely OF stone.
Even the floors in most cases are made
Of shallow stone arches. An earthquake
tremor disturbs this skillful masonry
work and the whole heavy mass descends
and brushes those in the houses and near
them.
q presume martial law has been de-
claIed in the district now devastated, as
in Messina.2I remember seeing a man
L. Va
trying to pass the night under steel
shed, formerly a market place, and about
the only building left in that city. The
searchlights from the warships in the
harbor were playing up and down the
ruined front of the Bank Of Italy, where,
it was said, S0,O0OO00 Ira in cash lay in
the vaults. A squad of soldiers came
marching past the shed where we were
seated arounda bonfire. At that moment
the searchlight revealed the figure OF q
man making 'his way carefully into the
debris-cluttered doorway OF the bank,
The officer in, charge of the squad saw
him He gave a sharp command TO halt
then TO aim at the erounching figure. The
rifles rang the figure dropped. and the
soldiers marched briskly on about their
business.
Better to play safe.
1T was horrible as I look back on it.
Yet at the time, in the midst of that
awful city of unburied dead, it scarcely
seemed unnatural or extraordinary. But
we remained carefully by our fire. 1t
was extremely desirable to be unsupported
even OF looting.
Later that same night we saw line
OF refugees moving down toward a little
improvfsed floating dock. We hurried TO
it and there found two young German
officers. / spoke to them and they said
they we're from the German cruiser
Hertha, which had been ordered from
Crete to Messina TO take refugees to
Naples. They told us we we're welcome
20 go along. A powerful launch steamed
up, drawing a big lifeboat We helped
load the wounded into this boat and the
ablebodied refugees into two others, and
then went along ourselves and were well
coined aboard the good ship. where a
goodly meal was all ready for US and the
wounded were cared for. I'll not soor
forget the pleasant sensation of getting
into the orderly and comfortable German
ship after the horrors of the earthquake
ridden city, where over 10000 human
beings had been killed in quake thai