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Show ids m mm sum .c?- o CRVawjsi- ... ''SAN FRANCISCO, April 20.-Next to the many square miles of ruins that once mad Ban Francisco a city, no better realization real-ization of tho ruin that has corn to this place tan be gained than by visiting refugee ref-ugee camps located in the district which were untouched by the flames. Golden Gate park was thfe Mecca of the destitute. This immense play ground of the municipality munici-pality has been converted Into a vast mushroom city that bears striking resemblance resem-blance to the fleeting towns located on the border of a Government reservation about to be opened to public settlement The common destitution and suffering have wiped out all social, financial and racial distinctions. The man who last Tuesday was a prosperous merchant Is occupying with his family a little plot of ground that adjoins the open air home of a laborer. The white man of California Cali-fornia has forgotten his antipathy to the Asiatic race and Is maintaining friendly relations with his new Chinese and Japanese Jap-anese neighbors. The society belle who Tuesday night was a butterfly of fashion at the grand opera - performance, is assisting as-sisting some factory girl In the preparation prepara-tion of humble dally meals. Money this afternoon had little) value. The family who had had foresight to lay in the largest stock of foodstuffs on the first day of disaster Is rated highest in the scale of wealth. A few of the families who could secure Willing expressmen are possessors of cooking stoves,- but over 95 per cent of the refugees are doing their cooking, on little camp fires made of brick or stone. Kitchen utensils that last week would have been regarded with contempt are today articles of high value. I Many of the homeless people are in possession pos-session of comfortable clothing and bed covering, but the great bulk of them are In need. The grass Is their bed and their daily' clothing their only protection against the penetrating fog of the ocean or the chilling dew of the morning. Fresh meat disappeared Wednesday morning and canned foods and breadstuffs are the only victuals in evidence. , Not alone are the parks the places ' of refuge. Every large vacant la In the safe sones has been pre-empted, and even the cemeteries are crowded. A well-known young lady of social position, po-sition, when asked today where she had spent the night, "replied: "On a grave." Throughout the entire western portion of the peninsular county of San Francisco Fran-cisco these camps are located. The municipal mu-nicipal safety committee has had pians of concentrating these unfortunate people in several great camps, but unless they are forcibly herded together like cattle, this scheme seems impossible of accomplishment. accomplish-ment. MaJ. McKeever of the United States army has been appointed commandant of the camps, and with his staff of assistants assist-ants was today trying to bring some sort of system and order out of the chaotic situation. His first thought is to supply food and water and then to arrange sanitary sani-tary measures. These throngs of people crowded elbow to elbow in the open lots and fields without con venletices that are naturally demanded are threatened with an epidemic of disease, unless some wise precautions are speedily observed, and the authorities, even as early as yesterday, yester-day, had men constructing necessary outhouses. out-houses. Good order and fellowship soems to prevail pre-vail in these Impromptu settlements, the common ruin and poverty having made all of the unfortunates akin. In buildings close to the camps the police po-lice are storing available foodstuffs and btd clothing for convenient delivery. That there will be a just and equal distribution dis-tribution of supplies Is evident from the ttmper of the city administration. No distinctions are drawn and but little favors fa-vors shown. The grave question Is, How soon will an adequate supply of food arrive from outside points to avert famine and destitution? destitu-tion? There is little food In San Francisco Fran-cisco outside of what little each person possesses, and this cannot last more than a few days. San Francisco is geographically geographi-cally an isolated city. Its nearest largest neighbor on the south Is Los Angeles. 600 miles away. To the north is Portland, nearly 8uo miles dlstanct, and Its nearest sister in the great East Is Salt Lake. 1000 miles away. These cities and all of the less populated nearer towns are mak-lnd mak-lnd sacrifices for the destitute here, but It is to the big cities of the nation that San Ftanclsco looks with anxious eyes for -relief In Its time of need. BOSTON. Mass., April 20. This city has pledged 1500.000 toward the San Francisco relief fund, which from New England cities will total over Jl.OOO.OOO. Arrangements Arrange-ments are also being made for sending train loads of provisions from convenient Western cities, money being wired there for that purpose. Hundreds of New England Eng-land people are besieging newspaper and telegraph offices for news of relatives and tourist friends. Ask for Messages. Boston, newspapers request that New Englandera - who . were in San Francisco and are safe wire them briefly direct at their expense. Fears are felt for Prof. James Harvard, who was lecturing at Leland Stanford, and whose physical condition con-dition was such that excitement of troubles there may. have caused his collapse. col-lapse. Appropriation Held Up. x An appropriation of $100,000 by the Legislature Leg-islature has been held up by the Attorney-General as unconstitutional. New England Is hard hit by the fire, over $11,-400.000 $11,-400.000 worth of risks being carried by New England Insurance companies in California. Over $8,000,000 Is carried by Boston companies alone. One Hartford-company Hartford-company carries $43,000,000. Mjias meetings meet-ings and benefit' subscriptions are being arranged for everywhere here. SAN FRANCISCQ. April 20.-Plunged into absolute darkness tonight at 10 o'clock, San Francisco had not seen the conclusion ot the devastating work of the conflagration. v The fire that started at Nob Hill and worked its way to the North Beach station, sta-tion, sweeping that section clean, of buildings, build-ings, was later veered around by a fierce wind and made its way southerly to the immense seawall sheds and. grain -warehouses. 1 ... ... The flames were-heading directly for the Immense 'ferry building, the terminal point of all . central overland and local . train of the Southern Pacific road. The darkness and the Wind, which at times amounted to a gale, added fresh terrors to the situation. . On Thousand Special Police. The authorities considered conditions so grave that it was decided to swear in lm-, lm-, mediately 1000 special policemen, armed with rlflee furnished by the Federal Government. Gov-ernment. In addition to this force, companies com-panies of the National Guard arrived from 1 many interior points. Two Chinese were shot and killed on Market street for' refusing to obey orders of the soldiery. Six , hundred laborers from the Ocean Shore arrived tonight to look after the city's sewers to prevent an epidemic, and I the United Railways commenced its ef-' ef-' forts to clean up some of the streets. Babes Born in Streets. Reports at babes being born in the refu-1 refu-1 gie camps were frequently received. Five womerr- became . motheca in Golden Gate i park. --Tonight the main remaining fire, was confineo-to east-of Van Nesa avenue and north of Union street, but was burning burn-ing its way to the shore. Late this afternoon The police broke open every saloon and corner grocery In 1 the saved districts and poured all malt ' and spirituous liquors Into the gutters. :", Fifty Acres Burning. , I At 7 o'clock tonight the fire was raging over" fifty acres of the water front lying . between Bay- street and the end of , Melggg's and Fisherman's wharf. To the eastward it extended down to the sea 1 wall, but had not reached. the piers, which lie a quarter of a mile toward the east, Great Cannery Burned. I The cannery and warehouses of the Central California Canneries company, together to-gether with 20.0UO cases of canned fruit, was totally destroyed, as also wai the Simpson and other lumber companies' yards. The- flames reached the tanks of the . San Francisco Gas company, which had j previously been pumped out,, and were' i burning the ends of the grain sheds, five' ! in number, which extend further out toward -ti-.; point. Some Check to Flames At o'clock it was believed that the fire had been checked at Van Ness avenue ave-nue and Filbert streets. The buildings on a high slope between Van Ness and Polk, Union and Filbert streets, were blazing fiercely, fanned by a high wind but the blocks were so sparsely settled that the , fire appeared to have but a slender ; chance of crossing, Van Ness at. this plsce. Mayor Schmltx, who directed operations ' at this point, conferred with the military . authorities and decided that It was not i necessary to -dynamite the buildings on the west side of Van Ness. " This would , seem to assure the safety of what . remains re-mains of the Western addition. It is the only point of exposure to which this section sec-tion of the city was subjected. As much - of the -fire department as could be collected col-lected was assembled to make a stand at this point. LOS ANGELES. Cel., April 20. Several Sever-al men, prominent in Jocal business life, who passed through the' earthquake hor rpr at San Jo9j, reached home today. Among them were State Senator Cornelius Cor-nelius Pendleton, J.' F. - Maier ofv the Maler A Ecobeleln Brewing company, and Thomas Thompson. They arrived home 1 today. All of them had thrilling escapes ' in the northern city. Speaking of his experience ex-perience Senator Pendleton said: Counted Sixty Dead. "After the earthquake we made the I rounds of the city in ah automobile and . saw at least twenty dead there. At St. ' Agnews hospital for the Insane we count-, count-, ed sixty dead among the Inmates. There re a good many more. Practically every brick and stone structure In San Jose was either totally or partially demolished. demol-ished. We were all quartered at the - Vendome hotel. The shock of the earthquake earth-quake was so severe that the floors and 1 walls of the building collapsed at once, 'and those of us who escaped made our way as best we could out of the ruins. Saved by a Tree. '"We had a room on the side of the hotel, near a large tree. The side wall of my room fell against this tree, which also sustained that portion of the roof. i preventing It from falling In on us. My room was on the second floor, but when I picked myself up 1 was In the basement base-ment of the building. I crawled up and out over the- debris) and escaped through . a window on a level with the ground. i After getting out I discovered that this was one of the third-story windows. Those of us who were uninjured at once set about assisting the less fortunate. I ' taw on dead in the hotel. This was a 'woman. We carried her out. '. Dead All Over City. ' "The remainder of the dead were in various parts of the town. The residence district wu not badly damaged. Mar-. Mar-. tlal law had been declared In the city when we left. Among the large bulld-I bulld-I Ings that were totally demolished were the Hall of Justice, First Presbyterian 1 church, Catholic cathedral, the Hale ; block the Vendome hotel, and several other' large buildings that I do not know the names of,--Fire broke out following he earthquake In several quarters, but fortunately the water mains were uninsured unin-sured and the spread of the flames was - checked." ' Says 2000 Dead. j b' Lankershlm, a millionaire resident resi-dent of Los Angeles, and owner of the Lankershlm hotel; Dr. J. M Ward of nn cut P who estimates the probable death list at VW; Dr. M.Howard of La Tavette Park. Chicago, whose estimate is loon dead and $500,000,000 property loss. xr Webb and Mrs. Shepherd, Chicago Society women; Mrs. D. M. Llnnard of I Pasadena: O. W. Posey, a millionaire rnnfng man of Los Angeles; Mr. and ' "" Sri R A. Wells of Philadelphia, and rnore than 100 others have reached this city- ' ' |