The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-12-31
Forty Per Cent of the Houses
Were Demolished.
United States Consulate Among
Ruined Buildings.
100000 PERSONS HOMELESS
Prison, Asylum, ChurcheS-All
Large Edifices-COllapse.
L. 5. Govt and Red Cross Send
Quick Relief to Stricken City.

New York Dec. 3I.--An estimate
1000 persons died in the earth
quake ruins at Guatemala City. is
contained in a telegram received here
from the Central & South American
IT iegraph companys manager at san
Jose Guatemala, who returned to san
Jose from Guatemala City yesterday
afternoon. The message reads:
The legation and American con
suIates are badly wrecked Forty per
cent of the houses in the city are de-
mol.shed; most of the others have
collapsed and are uninhabitable. The
% nitcntiary. asylum and ministerial
] 4ildings are all wrecked. The post
.ffice and large churches are demol-
ished
Looters Are shot.
Marital law has been declared and
several looters have been shot me
president Of Guatemala has ordered
the inhabitants Of the city to leave.
Terrific earthquake shocks continue
at intervals of a bout five minutes. The
death toll is estimated at one thou
sand. All telegraph wires in the in
terror are again silent"
Rn-il Aid from United States.
Washington. Dec. 31--Still without
detailed information of the earth
ouakes which destroyed Guatemala
city. costing many lives and leaving
100 600 homeless. American officials
to-day prepared to send aid to the
icken sister republic Red Cross Of
Gcfals conferred with navy officials
as to the supplies to be sent forward
on American warships ordered to
Guatemalean seaport.
While the American diplomats are
safe. archives OF the legation and con-
sulate are believed to have been lost
as the buildings are reported to have
been shaken to the ground. Unoffi-
cigI adVices indicate that the foreign
colony escaped without loss Of life.
-Four earthquakes apparently have
sraken Guatemala City. Records on
the Georgetown university seismo-
log cal observatory instruments here
show the first shocks were felt on
Christmas night shortly after mid
night A second series of shocks
came ABOUT a m on December &c.
Further shocks were recorded on Fri
day re~ruber IS, at 4:23 p. m. but
the r~aviest shocks came AZ 5:57 p. m.
saturday, December %. 1t appears
that this last disturbance was the one
(which caused the most damage.
0unkc killed 8 600 in 1871.
Earthquakes have been prevalent
IN Guatemala since the day after
'hr stmas. when shocks were general
thruout the republic. With each re-
current shock the damage in Guate-
rH4 crown more extensive. Last
Thursday it was reported that from
tom 20 forty persons had been killed
ir Oh" disturbances Of the previous
ri ht while dispatches of Friday and
s turday indicated that so per cent of
Cu7tCmala City mad been demolished
an3 tH"t thousands of persons were
homeless.
Guatemala has been the scene of
many disasters. the results OF earth
Ouakes. Since tile settlement Of the
country in 1922, there have been more
than fifty volcanic eruptions and in
excess OF 800 earthquakes. The origi-
nal Guatemala City was destroyed in
1881. and 5000 Of the inhabitants
were killed by a deluge of water from
nearby volcano which was rent by
a. earthquake. The second capital
's destroyed by an earthquake in
1913 The houses of the present cap
ital We're built low in consequence of
the liability of earthquakes
Capital and Principal City.
en- mlla City has a population of
nearly 100000. L is situated on
plain al an elevation of 1850 feet
above sea level In the great square
ST cd the old vice regal palace, the
cathedral and archbishoD's palace and
govern ment offices. The capital is the
ceL'er Of tie trade of the entire re
public, which consists in the manu-
facture of musiins, cotton yarns of fine
{ Nture, articles of silver and embroid-
e-ies.