Evening star., 1925-06-30

Continued from First Page)
chopped into fragments a foot square
by the grinding force of the successive
tremors.
In the older and less pretentious
residential districts the earthquake
had played queer pranks with the
wooden homes built a quarter and a
half century ago.
One sagged crazily in front, its ga
BILE hanging two feet nearer the road
than its foundation posts. Another
had buckled in the middle and leered
at the passing world through bare bay
windows, which until yesterday had
been sheltered from the Summer sun
by an old-fashioned veranda.
Immediately next door was a little
home of two stories. which looked
much weaker in build than its neigh
Dor. but here not a bit of damage had
been done except to the chimney cap,
which had been catapulted into bed
of roses. Torrents from broken wa
ter mains had rushed through a num-
Der of home tracts, burying gardens
and sidewalks.
Back on the hills the old Mission of
Santa Barbara, founded by the Span
ish fathers who came with the con-
stood in part. defying the earthquake.
1t had gone through a similar quake
in the eighties and was rebuilt, only
to suffer a similar fate yesterday.
The missions tower, with its sweet
toned bells, crashed while a kneeling
congregation bowed within. Then the
congregation walked out over the
adobe wreckage. led by the priest.
Walls that could be saved were
propped up with great timber stays
and throughout the night crews
worked steadily clearing away the
ruins.
Now and then a new temblor made
itself felt, a reminder of the terrify-
ing leading shake that had started
the work of damage, and the pick ak
and shovel squads sprang back for a
moment, beyond the swaying piles,
awaiting it's passage before resuming
their work.
Nowhere, or only in very rare in
stances, did the men, women and
children of Santa Barbara spend last
night within doors. Many whose
homes We're wrecked were forced to
sleep in the open.
Slept on Lawns.
Others slept on their lawns from
choice, not knowing when fresh
earth tremor might bring their cell
ing down about their ears.
Two facts stood out from many
striking features in this city today
One was the continued, determined
calm with which it's citizens faced
their destiny and duty, and the other
was the absence of any serious fire,
which in earthquakes elsewhere had
added to the horrors of stricken COM
munities.
The leading bankers and business
men of Santa Barbara planned to
meet in general session today and
night they started the program by
raising s10,500 in 10 minutes at a
hastily summoned assembly to finance
the clearing away of the wreckage.
Just how the volume of insurance
carried in the demolished territory
will compare with the loss could not
be ascertained early today. This will
be one of the estimates likely TO be
prepared at the business mems ses-
sion this morning.
No insurance adjusters We're OBJ
served at work yesterday or last
night and these. in all probability,
will not take up their tasks until
the city enigneer and his staff sur
veys the wrecked buildings today. 1t
was freely reported about the streets
that there was but little earthquake
insurance in Santa Barbara, but the
statement could not-be- Yerideds