Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1925-07-02
BARBARA Is
SHAKEN BY QUAKE
Citizens of City by the Sea Start at
Once 70 Rebuild. Second Time
City is Shaken

Santa Barbara, Calf, June 29-
This city b ythe sea, which early this
morning staggered under the blows
of rending earthquake, tonight sur
veyed its great. losses and began figh-
ting back.
No community ever took and alb
sorbed punishment with more stoi-
cism and calm.
Blue jackets of the naval mill
tary and national guardsmen para
ded the heart of the business dis
trict, but never at any time had there
been the least sign of disorder. No
frenzy, no rushing about marked this
disaster.
The dead were elected as quick
iy as possible, numbering upwards
or dozen bodies. Close to a score
of injured were cared for, and even
as the ambulances moved off to the
hospital, there followed in their wake
trucks loaded with battered bricks
and twisted steel. The work of clean
ing up had begun.
The handling of the sudden emer-
gency should not have been more eff
ficient if it had been a motion pic
ture scene planned weeks in advance.
The main street of the city, State
Street, was picture of calm ruin
almost from end to en-. Not all
of its business buildings were de-
molished but what had suffered dam
age and many were twisted and smas-
he'd beyond repair. The imposing
facade f the county bank appeared
from the front as beautiful in its
simplicity as ever, but down one side
ran jagged crack, like lightning
streak, throusR the concrete. The
San Marcos, a stately four story,
class A. structure of the newest type
just completed, occupied principally
by business men, seemed from the
southern and esatern ends of it's "L"
to be untouched. But it's other ell
evations lay flat. The Santa Bar
Bara mission, which fell in an earth
quake during the early eighties, again
was partly wrecked today. Its pair
of massive towers were piles of crum-
bled debris.
The telephone company's building
has fur walls still standing by virtue
of half a score of props made from
telephone poles.
Inside the Arlington, hostelry
known to the travellers of two hem
ispheres, a pisture of absolute des-
truction presents itself. The center
dome crashed with Ahe first trem-
bier, carrying with it rooms in both
diyerging wings. The remainder TO
the building is ripped and torn in
number of places. Manager Rich
mond says it is complete loss.
One newspaper, The News, is home
less, it's city desk and editorial staff
functioning from the civic square and
it's issues coming from the press of
sister publication at Ventura, %
miles distant The morning paper, tn
Press, has it's plant intact, but lacks
the power to turn its cog wheels.
Two distinct sounds, not loud, but
persistent, stand out wherever one
walks in the stricken area; the tumb-
ling of bricks and mortar and wreck
ers removing dangerous walls, and the
hammers of builders rushing up tenn
porary structures.
Throughout the residential section,
particularly in the east side, the small
Ter frame houses in many cases were
knocked askew by the trembler, some
with fronts fallen out, chimneys and
gables gone and yards flooded by the
broken water mains.
Lawn room is almost at premium
from Santa Barbara residents tonight
who are stunning the confinement Of
their walls. The shock was too re-
cent and fresh in their minds.
From fashionable hotels and apart
ments guests fled in the early morn
ing, clad as they had jumped or had
been thrown from their beds. Many
never went back for their belong
ings.
For 40 miles both ways up and
down the coast it's telephone and tel
egraph wires were whipped back and
forth on thei poles by the shocks, and
became so badly tangled that it will
take many hours work to put them
into commission again.