Imperial Valley press., 1923-07-23
BY r. A. DONALDSON
Ey Press STAFF Correspondent


inventories on fallen walls. broken
sidewalks, cracked walls and brok-
en- plate glass windows today as n
result of an earthquake last night
which was felt in practically every
district south of the Tchachapi
mountains-the dividing line be-
tween Southern and Central Cali
fornia.
Only one injury was reported.
GEORGE Fisher of San Bernardino, a
e ledger in Il room.ng house, was
crushed and seriously injured by
= falling debris from the new Hall of
Records, which was under construc-
tion nearby and which was serious
ly damaged.
The county hospital at San Rer-
nardino was damaged to the extent
of about 900 as result Of plaSt-
er falling from most of the rooms.
All the patients escaped injury, and
cool headed work of attendants pre-
vented hysteria and panic.
Wild Scenes at Asylum
Wild scenes took place 1T the Pat
ton insane asylum, where plaster
crashed from one Of the walls.
"Strong arm' methods on the part
of attendants were necessary to
quiet n number of the more violent
patients who were thrown into the
widest mania and fear.
Plaster fell from the wall Of one
restaurant in Los Angeles but no
other damage was reported to the
police No one was injured and no
fire calls were turned in. Curious
~ enough, even though thousands
upon thousands of people who have
never felt the uncanny trembling
of the earth before were awakened
end rushed to the street, not a
single call for the police or for po-
lice ambulances was turned in-not
even n false alarm.
Pendulum clocks were almost uni
versally stopped throughout the
score of cities and towns in the
earthquake belt.
Telephone service was Temperate
" cut off in parts of Los Angeles,
but was restored within an hour.
Telegraph service was not inter
ruptcd, and operators from all towns
along the railroads lines and III
Western Union and Postal offices
rushed to their keys to report the
quake within three minutes.
Great Rumbling Noise
The quake was made awesome by
great rumbling, as of an approach
ing thunderstorm. In Los Angeles
the noise heightened to "a shrill
clatter rs undulating earth waves,
like wind en- field Of wheat,
moved across the town, rattling cV-
crv window and breaking many.
Later reports received today
showed the strength Of the quake
centering east and south of San
Bcrnardino and Rcdlands and di-
minishing in intensity as it reached
the Imperial Valley and Mexican
border ON the south and Ventura
and Santa Barbara on the north.
Thus far no freak tides or ocean
manifestations have been noticed
along lnt cbdSl.
In Caion Pass many summer
cabins on the sheer mountainsldes
are reported to have been tilted
from their flimsy foundations.
Earthquake weather. hot
breathcss day with a high haze in
the sky-prcvailed this morning
while Southern Californians Wcndcd
their way to work after a night III
wlsich the most severe earthquake
in THIS region since 1920 was felt.
Predict More Shocks
Earthquake weather" by tradi'
tioa is the result of n long dry hot
spell with humidity in the air usual
ly resulting in a hazy day. Shift
inc of the earth along the faults
due to increasing depth Of dryness
is popularity believed to cause the
quakes.
Men and women in the street
were today freely predicting more
makes unless the weather cools OIL.
Predicting earthquakos-cspecial-
" bv laymen-is highly scoffed at
by scientists who declare it is i'm
possible, but the popular unrest per-
gsists. Stenographcrs, elevator men
and employees in high office build
ings were openly nervous when
they went to work today.
The big quake in June, l92o,
l,bich caused much damage at the
iown of Inglewood, IL miles from
Los Angeles was followed by sever
nj more strong quakes at intervals
during two months of the summer,
which was an exceptionally hot one.
The trembling was most severe
at Riverside where many persons
were thrown from their feet.
Mojave reported a heavy ~ see
ond shock at II 80 p. m. Operators
along the Santa Fe said it was felt
from Bakersfield to Needles
PASADENA NOT DAMAGED
DACAnENA Gal JulV 23.-laSt