File No. 814.48/39
The Chargé in Guatemala ( Thurston) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith a brief narrative covering the recent disaster suffered by Guatemala City:
At half past ten o’clock Christmas night this city was shattered by a violent earthquake. The destruction was great. At the time I was in the British Legation, but, although the shock was rather terrifying and greatly damaged the Legation building, all of us who were in it escaped unharmed. The British Minister, his Secretary, the Chilean Minister, and their wives and children all are living in the gardens of the British Legation.
Upon my arrival at our Legation—a 20-minute journey during which the shocks were incessant—I found everything to be in good condition and I then went to the Consulate, a massive two-story building. This had suffered extensively, and is now almost demolished. The Consul and his wife and the Vice Consul were not occupying the Consular premises and, although the houses in which they lived were greatly damaged, they also were unharmed.
After offering the hospitality of the Legation patio to some American families whose houses had been destroyed. I spent some hours inspecting the city, and witnessed the gradual and pitiless demolition of a great number of buildings. (A decidedly noticeable quake has just taken place, 12.45 a.m., January 3, 1918.) The remainder of that night was passed in the patio where, by moonlight, I framed my first cablegram to the Department. The sending of this message presented difficulties, since the cable, the telegraph, and the wireless stations were all out of commission. Mr. Clark, the general manager of the railways, accepted the message, however, and when his damaged line was repaired, my cable went over it toward the west coast as far as Escuintla, and from Escuintla to San José, the cable port, on a handcar.
Up to the present time I have remained practically without communication with the Department, for the cable is utterly unreliable, and the wireless does not seem to bring me any replies to my messages. One of your few messages to me has been received four [Page 482] times: I am anxiously awaiting its next appearance. My personal belief is that a most ineffective attempt at censorship is being made by the Government.
The next morning, December 26, 1917, I interviewed President Manuel Estrada Cabrera at “La Palma”, his suburban residence. His Excellency received me in the garden near his office quarters, which had been entirely ruined the night before. (Another shock, 12.55 a.m.) My visit seemed to please the President very much and he was apparently greatly moved when I presented the condolences which I assured him would undoubtedly be repeated by my Government when communication was again established. I then proffered my services for the organization and operation of relief measures, and departed. Since then I have twice conferred with the President, laying before him plans for the sanitation of the city, distribution of food, and the sheltering of the homeless—and some of my suggestions have been put into operation. Mr. Alfred Clark, upon the request of the Red Cross of Washington, D. C, addressed the President requesting information as to the aid desired from the Red Cross, and has transmitted the desired data to that institution.
The relief measures, and the organization of a local Red Cross relief committee, will form the subject of a later despatch.
As to the effects of the earthquakes:
The death toll was very small—possibly 100 during eight days of continuous earthquakes, and possibly even fewer. (The third earthquake since beginning to typewrite this despatch has just occurred, 1 a.m.) The material losses, however, are enormous. The accepted estimate places the destruction suffered by the city at 50 per cent of all structures; of the remaining 50 per cent it is estimated that the far greater proportion of the buildings are unfit for habitation. I have taken and will transmit to the Department when possible a number of photographs of the more striking scenes of destruction. Briefly summarized, it can be said that all municipal buildings, nearly all churches, the theaters, hotels, banks, the railroad station, and nearly all of the private residences, are in a state of partial or total ruin. I believe that not a building has entirely escaped. Among these is the Legation which, with a few dangerous cracks in the outer walls, and minus its flagstaff, cornices, some tiled roofing and a great deal of plaster, stands as one of the least damaged buildings in the city. Certain simple repairs will make it quite safe again, but for the present it is unsafe to remain inside of the residence quarters. The office quarters seem quite safe, and I have turned over a portion of them to the Consul.
The city is under martial law, and there have been no disturbances. A young American was taken up by soldiers and marched to the San José fort in this city because he had displayed a pistol. He was released immediately upon my verbal request.
As reported by radio yesterday, I have, for the convenience of the American colony, and in view of the fact that the post office is destroyed, and the temporary arrangement made by the Government for the handling of mail matter being considered unsatisfactory, accepted open letters, in English, and addressed to people in the United States, for transmission by the mail pouch. I have informed all who have entrusted their letters to me that neither the Department nor [Page 483] myself would assume responsibility for the contents. I also informed them their letters would very likely be strictly censored.
Another departure from the customary routine has been made necessary by the present situation. Due to the general destruction, applicants for passports are unable to secure photographs, in view of which circumstance I am issuing emergency passports without the bearer’s photograph. I am placing a low time limit for the expiration of these passports, also, which is generally 30 days.
Finally, I have taken from local bankers $1,500 United States currency and 35,000 pesos Guatemalan currency, with which I have conducted a small banking business for such members of the American colony as were embarrassed. All these measures have been of great convenience to a greatly distressed people during very trying conditions, and, while I realize I may not have held authorization for my actions, I trust the Department does not disapprove of them.
I have [etc.]