The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-12-31
Final Shock Levels All Buildings Including Uni ted States Legation Theatre Falls on Crowd and Hundreds Are Killed When A.sylurns and Jails Collapse Red Cross Loading Relief Ship to Start at Once.

Various hospitals and asylums and the prisons were badly damaged and many patients and prisoners were killed
 The railroad depot. the sugar mills the post office. the American and British legations;. the United States consulate. and all the churches in the stty have been leveled.
 Deep Assures opened in the middle of the city. e..s s4s=s,f,
 The inhabitants. in panic, have fled from the capital. More than SO,006 persons are homeless.
 The stock of provisions in the city Is scant and aid is required promptly.
 The Salyadorean government has suspended the official New Year eel shration and entered into mourning n sympathy with Guatemala
 Washington, Dec. 81-Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala. has been wiped completely off the map by earthquake, and it's population of 125,0O0 persons are homeless in the streets.
 News of the complete destruction of the city reached Washington yester- day in a cablegran from Guatemala City, received eby the Navy Depart lnent through it's radio system. Orders have been issued, by the Navy De- partment to all of it's vessels in the vicinity of the Gulf of Honduras and the Pacific coast of Guatemala to render all the assistance possible to the stricken populace.
 The message received by the Navy yesterday stated that there had been another bad earth quake shock Saturday and that this had finished the work of destruction started by the earlier shocks. The message read:
 Bad earthquake yesterday finished the work of others. Everything in ruins and beyond description as a re- suit of Friday nights shock. One hunded and twenty-five thousand people are in the streets Parts of he country are very cold and windy. Tents are needed badly Quite num- Der killed Saturday by falling walls"
 First news of the earthc, iake reached the State Department off, cially in telegram from Charge dAffaires Thurston last week, stat ing that the earthquake shocks con- tinued on. Dec. 2S, that the water sit- uation then was becoming serious and sanitary conditions becoming eorres- poningly affected. The dispatch said that even then the destrurtion was continuing and thousands were with out shelter. although the foreign col onies we're safe Our Charge d d'Affaires was instructed by Secre- tary Lansing to inform President Cab rera that this country desired to be of every possible assistance to the sister republic.
 The wireless dispatch received yes terday explained that the earthquakes began on Dee. 25 Official advices Indicate that they have continued every day until Saturday when the work of demolition of the city had been completed The earlier quakes had destroyed 80 per cent. of the buildings. Martial law has been es- tablished and order prevails in the city,. 2 The American consulate was de- stroyed. The American e legation building which was standing on the 18th, but was filled with refugees. also has gone down, according to the latest report.
 The machinery of the American Red Cross has been set in motion to relieve the earthquake sufferers. In response to an appeal for assistance from Alfred Clarke, chairman of the Red Cross Chapter at Guatemala City a preliminary appropriation of s1O,- 900 has been authorized for the pur. chase of relief supplies. Materials for temporary shelters are being assem- bled, but miIdness. of the climate in the devastated region minimizes fears of suffering likely to be caused by ex- posture.
 At a Gulf port large quantities of flour, potatoes, crackers and other staple foodstuffs. as well as disinfect- ants and stores of galvanized iron for temporary. buildings, already are be- Ing loaded aboard vessel to sail for Barnios, on the east coast of Guate- msla.
 f1o SOOll@dSf IlSWS O1 LIl0 HTSL 6arLn- quake reached Washington the Red Cross cabled an offer of assistance to the President of the republic. The American Minister also was asked to organize ; committee of relief work CTS among the American residents Further relief plans will be made as soon as the relief committee forwards q statement of it's needs
 Guatemala has been the scene of
 many disasters, the results Of earth duakes. Since the settlement of the country in 1922 there have been more than fifty volcanic eruptions and in excess of 300 earthquakes. The or iginal Guatemala City was destroy ed in 541 and 5000 of the inhabitants were killed by a ,deluge of water from nearby volcano, which was rent by an earthquake. The second capital was destroyed by an earth quake in 177S. The houses of the present capital were built low in con- sequence of the liability to earth quakes
 Guatemala City is situated on plain at an elevation of 4,S50 feet above sea level. In the great square stood the old vice regal palace, the cathedral and Archbishop's palace, and government offices. The capital $ the centre of the trade of the entire republic which consists in the man. 4f, 1