Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-13
LootIng General in City After
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES to
Shoot Thieves.
THREE BLOCKS IN RUINS
IN BUSINESS DISTRICT
City Hall Burned and Carnegie
Library Partially Destroyed.
LOoters Ordered Shot.

which yesterday laid waste a great
| part of this city. Most of the fires
have been extinguished. but there are
occasional sporadic ortbursts of
flames
The police and military are having
the greatest difficulty in keeping the
thousands of spectators from the
wrecked premises, the walls of which
threaten to collapse.
ST. Patrick street. one of the main
! thoroughfares of Cork. this morning
presented the appearance of having
been wrecked by an earthquake
Looting has been general Outside
the fire zone the police seized a gang
of burglars who were killing a
woman.
LOSS About $l5.OOO.OOO.
The week end of terror and wild
destruction through which Cork
| passed left in its train a terrible
| welter of ruin. There have been no
! confiagrations mostly burned them
selves out, but today the finest part
of the city lay mass of ruins. In st.
Patrick street, which was the main
commercial artery Oh the city. SOIQ
blocks Of business premises, the most
imposing in Cork, have been wiped
out.
The city engineer stated today that
the destruction was on a scale too
great for him to make an immediate
estimate of the number of buildings
destroyed, but in other quarters il
was said more than three hundred
had been burned with the loss Of more
than 100000 pounds sterling.
Fro st. Patrick street the flames
passed rapidly to the more consested
! mass of buildings at the back and
at some points psnatrated a dis
tance of one hundred yards. The
| main area of destruction was con-
fined to this side Of the river Lee.
but on the other side the city hall
ss From tns nsss q Tsss sssss
witr relation ton the main are of
destruction 1t seems. clear they suffer
ed from Independent acts of incen-
! diariam.
| TUfrer Ii Unparalleled.
1t was matter of wonder in Cork
today that no one appears to have
| perished in the flames. This was dae
largely to the fact that most Of the
business premises were locked up
while in other cases residents ha.
been warned and fed.
The terror which possessed the city
Saturday night was unparalleled.
Many residents in the vicinity Of D:!-
Ions Cross. where the military cadets
were ambusaed Saturday .ight. fei
their homes in fear and syesr III.
night in the fields.
Throughout Sunday the panic con
tinued and an exodus from. .he ceEre~
of the city occurred. Strong mobile
| bodies Of soldiers took possession o.
the streets TO prevent further acts Of
.ncendiariSn and a
The curfew hours passed quietly
Today life in Cork was strangely
quiet. with crowds gaZeless, hopeless
and awed at the heaps of smoking
ruins. The belief IS general shat the
fires unQuestiouably were the result
of incendiarism.
TrOoPs on t:nArs.
LONDON. December 13.-Br;ish reg
ulars stood guard today ate: twi,t..,
and blackened ruins left b- lie Srs.
which Saturday night and yesterday
swept virtually unchecked through the
city of Cork, Ireland. Estimates of -,
loss run as high as sI5, ,01a .0pG
Hours of terror were spert by the
people of Cork during SATURDAY MGR
the widest disorder prevailing through
out the city. 1t is said seyefa. ;ives
were lost, and dispa tclles declare :wo
brothers named Delaney were called
from their home and shot. c'.e Of .;,s.c
fatally.
Two districts of Cork were swep; Nv
the flames. In the business sec;.o.i.
along st. Patrick's streer. IRON, Ce:E 10
MAYOR. hardly shop sas left cn-
scathed. This was The snUppuns cenuer
Of Cork. and in untroIblea times boastsd
many prosperous stores South os 81
Patricks street the fire rHn controlled
along Winthrop street and other .;:I.
row thoroughfares. as far as Old George
street. Thus an area of three biccxs in
this part of the town was redUc..i -
masses Of debris
Cit! Hall Destroyed.
1t was not in tins district, howevee.
thar the loss from The fire Was ceI-
Tered. The magnihcen. city Eal! OF
Cork, located on the southern end o.
the Parneil bridge that spans tac
River Lee. was also laid in ruins.
II addition. the Carnegie Library.
just across Anglesea street, to TIE
west, was burned. and the corn ex-
change. just behind the city hall anu
TO the south. was at least partially
destroyed. Reports say Albert quay.
lying along tie southern bank CT he
river. is a mass OF desolation-
Dispatches reaching LONDON today
said that Cork was quiet and tina.
orders iiad been given the regular
soldiers to shoot iootefs on sight.
Damaged premises have been plum
but the military is in absolute con-
troll at present. Rumors relative tp
the loss of life are conflicting aad
are. for the most part, vague aud
conjectural.
Exact details Of the events leading
I'D to the condagration Of Saturday
nigh. have not as yet been receives
here. Some reports tend to ques-
tiop the accuracy OF earlier dis
matches. but others repeat the story
told in first reports.
Traced to Ambush.
All Indicate that the disorders and
fires had a direct connection with the
attack made upon the iorry carrying
police auxilisries. Some newspapers
are frankly skeptical of these reports
and sug gest the fires might have been
caused py the explosion Of scored ex-
plosiyes. cuct as were found on Sat-
urday IN the city of Dublin. Others
indicate their belief the fires were
rep!y TO the establishment o. martial
Law. IN southwestern ireland. shd
it is remarked that dispatches bave
not furnished proof that the tres
were set by ,usn bsnr On repr:ssi..
Mgr Daniel Ccha,an. G:vro2 D.
Cork, is said to have a:Eoan-od in US
cathedral :sst evening 5is ,ntent-os