The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1927-07-22
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Earthquake in Palestine and
.Transjordania Is Fatal
to Hundreds.
BY EDWARD w. ,PlcKARD


HUNDREDS of men, women and
~ children-perhaps as many as,
thousand-were killed in Palestine
and Transjordania by the severest
earthquake that region has expert
enced in a hundred years.. Thousands
were injured and other thousands
were rendered homeless. In Jerusalem
many famous buildings were seriously
damaged, including the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher, the Hebrew univer-
sity, the Dome of the Rock, the Basil
lea, the Russian church. the Bag
dadese synagogue and the government
house on the Mount of Olives; but the
casualties in the City of Peace" were
few. Elsewhere. especially east and
south of the Dead sea, the destruction
in towns and villages was almost COM
plete and hundreds of mangled bodies
were taken from the. ruins of houses.
Half of the town of NabluS was ut
terly wrecked and many inhabitants
were killed. 1t was reported that 300
Were dead at Maan, SO at Amman, Y
at Ramleh and so at Judd. In Jericho
there was but one victim, but the Win
ter Palace hotel collapsed and other
buildings were damaged.
British military aviators from Trans
jordania helped in the rescue of many
survivors, and relief work was got
under way promptly. Pope Plus,
deeply grieved by the catastrophe,
sent instructions to the patriarchiate
at Jerusalem concerning relief meas
ures. The earthquake was felt in
Egypt and caused great alarm but not
much damage. On the same day there
were severe temblors in Victoria, Aus
tralia.
Floods following cloudburst in the
valleys of the GOttleuba and MuglitZ
rivers, tributaries of the Elbe in Sax
ony, killed about 200 persons and
devastated the valleys, burying the
ruins of villages deep in mud. Troops
and hundreds of relief workers were
rushed TO the rescue, the Red Cross
leading the expedition and being fol-
lowed by the communists, the Fascists,
the "Steel Helmets" and the rebub-
lican "Reichsbanner" forces, all united
for once in the task of extricating and
feeding the hapless survivors. The
same violent storm that struck Sax
ony ragged along the Alps and Apen-
mines in northern and central Italy,
doing vast damage.
r%E,rIN .>IJpISrnpuEp O,IJIC
An GINS, vice president of the Irish
Free State, minister for justice and
perhaps the leading man in the gov
eminent. was assassinated as he was
on his way to church in Booterstown.
a suburb of Dublin. Three men fred
escaped in motor car. O'Higgins,
before his death a few hours later,
whispered: Il go as Collins went and
as my father went die as l have
lived-for Ireland. die at peace with
my enemies and with God. l forgive
them ALL"
The brutal murder caused intense
Indignation, not only in the Free State
but throughout the world, and mes
sages of sympathy were received by
President COsgrave from King George.
the duke of Abercorn for northern Ire
land and many other personages.
cannon de Valera denounced the crime
as murder incXcusable from any stand
point and, said he was confident the
republican Organization was not re-
sponsible for it. Ten men, all said to
be connected with irregular organiza-
tions. were arrested. the charge being
that as senior officers of secret groups
they directed the conspiracy resulting
in the assassination. One of the pris-
oners was son of Count George
Plunkett. 80
A MOTHER week of debate in the
~ naval limitation conference at
Geneva. and no definite results. Great
Britain, still striving to maintain her
predominance on the seas but not will
ing that the conference should fail.