Evening star., 1915-01-14

Meu1Ca1 men are bSSiuhihS ~ to'fN vi
the possibility of epidemies among
s.rhose who escaped. very large num-
Der of people fled from the stricken
area and will have to spend some time
doubtedly will suffer from exposure
and from the lack of food.
Relief committees are being or.
ganized in each locality that has beer
stricken to work under the direction
and in cooperation with the central
committee in Rome. which is under the
supervision of Premier Salandra.
Soldiers by night will have estab-
lished tent colonies in which the home
less thousands may find temporary
shelter.
Transportation Interrupted.
- Lines Of communication. especially
: railroad tracks md telephone and tele-
/. graph wires. have been interrupted
: seriously throughout the entire earth
; quake belt. and the transportation OF
supplies furnished by the government
and private sources is e,oins forward
by automobiles and horse-drawn
wagons.
: The forces at work relieving distress
8 face the scenes of the greatest tragedy.
: Families have been separated. fathers
Z have returned 10 their shattered MONIES 3
4 10 find their children and wives dead
or missing. children are fatheriess ana
: wives have become widows.
: In every stricken section temporary
: hospitals have been established and 10
these have gone nurses ana doctors 70
, care for the injured The list lncludes
(: the Duchess of Aaosta. who has gone to
NIoateroduni as nurse.
Buildings in Rome Damaged.
Buildings on both sides of the Porta
del Popolo, the north entrance to Rome,
threatened to fall, and the eagle deco
:. rating the gate crashed to the ground.
= At the capital two magnificent can
dlesticks fell and were broken. At the
). Palazzo del Drago. where Thomas Nell
I, son Page, the American ambassador,
): lives. several cracks IN tne ou,rdins .ians
: which already had existed opened Wloer
!. and plaster fell in several OF the
rooms. The glass was broken IN the
= embassy office
:. In addition to the statue OF nt, az
:. on the column of Marcus Aureiius, the
{. facade of the Church of ST. John Lat.
: eran was damaged, and the statue oi
Z the Savior, which is fifty 1eet nlsh'
/. was twisted out of plumb.
{. The obelisk in ST. Peters Square was
shaken and badly damaged. while the
: statue of st. John Lateran ana the
statues of the apostles surmountlns
!: the Basilica are in danger OF coiiaps-
fling. aooora+iny St
. Peters Square was lowered 1our Ieet'
while the adjacent house: e,na once pins oo'
sDlcd DS' tic
..was badly cracked +b,+
!: In the Lateran Palace. especiaiiy tnat
mart occupied by the Profane muse um'
.the earthquake caused aida craeks ,irbt He to
.nsnetrate the building. The hall on
the chamber of deputies likewise "aS
Tcracked. .a ue.ee
/ the Churches of St. Andria Fratte aiso
aSt. Agatha of the Goths. the ia..I ';a
Iibeing the oldest church OF Teutoiiic
i'origin in Rome.
I; Pope at His Prayers.
/, Pope Benedict was reciting the
after the morning mass
.;when the shock occurred. The pontfh
!, orders Immediately that the damage
,,both inside and outside the Vatican
/. be ascertained, and requested report
whether assistance was required.
. In the Church of the Divine Provi-
=dence at Naples, sisters were praying
around the bier of a dead nun. when
the first tremor of the earthquake
sisters at first cried out that a miracle
of resuscitation had taken place, but
simultaneously the candlesticks and
crucifixes in the chapel began falllng.
Then they realized what was happen
ing and rushed, terror stricken, to the
street.
Great crowds of the populace in
Naples also fed into the thorough
fares when the earthquake came. Tney
formed into professions. reciting the
Litany of Saints. Many of the people
in their excitement declared the earth
quake was punishment for tne .sn,s sins
of men who are fighting against their
brothers in the European war.
It is reported that many houses feil
in Caserta. northeast of Naples. All
the glass in the observatory on Mount
W hrnkan
The fate of Avezzano and the sur
rounding Abruzzf country, called the
Italian Switzerland. and which has be.
come one of the most fertile lands Of
Italy, has plunged the whole country
into the deepest mourning.
In this section, which suffered most
severely from the ~earthauake' ~ there ere
earthquake disaster at Messina. 1t Is
in part a rocky and inaccessible coun-
try and practically all communication
A train which should have arrived in
Rome yesterday morning from AQuila
has disappeared and so far it has been
impossible to trace 1T.
Survivor From Avezzano Arrives.
young Italian driver who left Avez-
zano few minutes before the earth
quake gave a brief account of his ex-
0erience when he reached Rome at an
arly hour this morning. His first in
imation of trouble was when the
horses Of his carriage suddenly refused
TO go further. They stood trembling.
and at the same moment there came a
deep rumbiing like the roar of a rail.
road train going over a bridge. Three
minutes later the standing walls Of
some quarries along the road had
crumbled and were lying in dust-cov-
cred heaps.
From Avezzano there came the cries
of the frightened people. Amid the
roar of falling houses could be heard
the voices of women calling on the
saints to help them. The city was
under a cloud of dust To the driver
it looked as If the earth had opened to
emit columns of white smoke.
This young man tried to drive back
to Avezzano, but he could make no
headway. He and his horses were blind
ed by the dust. Soon he saw survivors
struggling to make their way from the