Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-12-30 | Page 2 | Shocks Devastate Guatemala's Capital

SHOCKS DM mwm CAPITAL WASHINGTON, Dec. 29. Eighty per cent of Guatemala City was demolished by earthquake which began December 26 and continued two days, the state department was advised today iu a wireless dispatch from the American 1 charge there. Forty deaths had been officially reported and thousands wrere homeless. Martial law had been established estab-lished and good order prevailed. The American legation building was damaged and the consulate destroyed, the dispatch said, but .American and other foreign diplomats were safe. The legation was crowded with refugees. This message of condolence has been sent by President Wilson to Estrada Cebrera, president of Guatemala: In the great affliction with which you are now visited let me express on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of the United States the greatest ot sympathy, if there is any way in which we can be of assistance to you in your trouble or in which we may alleviate al-leviate some of the sorrow and suffering suffer-ing you will experience because of the calamity, we stand ready to do so. Until Un-til it is possible to render some material mate-rial assistance pray ta"ke this opportunity oppor-tunity to convey to the people of your country the sympathy which we feel for them in the circumstances; a sympathy more profound by reason of the proximities prox-imities of our countries aud the relation of our people to yours. JJ