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Show I SAN FRANCISCO; LIES IN ASHES Earthquake and Fire Bring Death and Desolation to City at the Golden Gate, tlic Number of Lives Lost Being Estimated Esti-mated at From 5C0 to 1.500 While the Monetary Loss is ' at Least $200,OCO,CCO, and May Reach $500,000,000 i Residents Arc Living in Public Parks and on Vacant Lots. I The fire at San Francisco hat been gotten under contrcl, but only after the entire buclnscs section of the city h.id Ivor; wiped out, but a few buildings on the outskirts being taved. i It Is Impossible to estimate the loss of life, and the total '' loss will probably never be know. Various estimates of the number of dead are made, the figures being all the way from 600 to 1,500. The property loss Is estimated at from $200,000,000 to $500,000,-000. $500,000,-000. A great many buildings were gutted and much may be saved from the wreck. No effort has been made to I Identify the dead, and In fact It i Is Impossible to do so, many bodies being entirely consumed In the flames. Extraordinary meatures for relief have been taken. Con i gress has appropriated $1,000,. 1 000, while gifts of from $10,000 y to $100,000 have been sent by leading financiers of the country, and everywhere offers of assistance assist-ance are made. Carloads of food are being shipped to the suffering people, and everything possible done to relieve their distress. The city will be rebuilt. Of that there Is no doubt. San Francisco. Tho number of ( ilvcB lost ns tho result of the earth quake on Wednesdny, April 18, nnd tho jtorrlblo flro which followed, will probably prob-ably never bo known, us undoubtedly undoubted-ly many bodies were burned to nshes, and many will never be Idcntllled. Dut It 1b known that at least 500 aro dead as tho result of tho tcrrlblo catastrophe, whllo scores of unldcntl- fled corpses have been dumped Into trenches, unknown grnvos, for tho cako of preserving tho public health. Tho monetary loss aB the result of ' Uio ca'rthquako and subsequent lire Is simply appalling, being placed nt from $200,000,000 to 500,000,000. Holla Hol-la V. Watt, western manager of tho Royal & Queen Insurance company, nnd ono of tho most prominent Insurance Insur-ance men on the coast, was asked If ho would hazard an estimate on tho financial loss. Ho said: ' "My Idea Is something llko $200,000,-OOQ. $200,000,-OOQ. I havo heard other insurance men place tho figuro at $500,000,000. Wo don't know. It Is simply too big for any human head to figure at this time." I After four days of chaos and such terrible destruction of property and human hu-man suffering ns has seldom been witnessed wit-nessed In all tho past ages, during which timo almost tho cntlro business portion of this givat city and many of its most palatial residences wcro destroyed, cither by earthquake or lire, tho llames wero brought under control In somo portions of tho city and had burned themselves out In othor plnccs for lack of further fuel to feed tho hungry maw of tho flro demon. Hut what vast nnd terrlblo destruction. destruc-tion. Few of tho magnlllccnt buildings build-ings of tho city aro left standing, and not a landmark that nmdo tho city I famous remains. Nearly every houso iln tho city Is damaged. Tho work of relief for tho Burterers ds going forwnrd as rapidly as possible. possi-ble. Tho homeless nro now being supplied with food enough for their pressing needs. Carload after carload of supplies from eastern points nnd from sister towns of tho stricken city nro being received and distributed, and It is bcllavcd that suffering from dock of food will not bo great. Tho greatest danger that now threatens the residents of tho stricken city Is tho breaking out of a pestilence, which mny bo caused from Inability to preserve sanltory requirements. Hut everything that can bo done is being done to prevent such an occur- renco. Vast armies of men will bo i jput to work at once to formulato mens- .urea of protection for tho public health. ' That tho city will bo rebuilt, greater nd grander than over, thcro Is not tho dhadow of a doubt. No sooner have the smouldorlng embers cooled than an army of men will commence the work of reconstruction. Men llko James D. Phclan, Isaac Guggenheim, Herman Olcrelch, W. n. Hqarst, and hundreds of others who havo contrlb-uted contrlb-uted to the upbuilding of the mctropc-Ms" mctropc-Ms" of the Paclilc, havo, not lost heart, bat are ready to make a new aad grander city on the ruins of tho old one. The mnll service of tho city was ro jr.umcd Saturdny. Threo hundred and .fifty nun nre at work In tho main of-, of-, flco at Seventh ami Mhslon streets, which escaped serious damage. In spectrin by Lieut, (icorgo II. Arm strong and Postolllco Inspector O'Con-nell O'Con-nell show that nil but fifty bags ol mnll which went through the flro have been recovered nnd is now being hand' led expeditiously. Nino branch offices nro In operation. All trains nre carrying mull Into the city, nnd this Is being distributed nl tho postoftlcc, wheh was only partially dnmnged. Urnnch offices under th( co-authority of the postmaster and the military nro established throughout tho city and tho adjacent hills where the refugees arc camped. All moll matter Bhould be addressed to the old street number In San Frnn-Cisco. Frnn-Cisco. Unless tho new address is positively pos-itively known. Money orders nro being cashed as rapidly as funds can bo so cured. The postmaster hnB complete!", arrangements with tho superintendent of tho mint to convert Into ensh paper now on hnnd In tho postofflcc, All money orders will bo paid on demand nnd represent tho only posslblo meant of sending money Into San Francisco nt present. Letters nro being accept cd without stamps or envelopes nnd will reach their destination without delay. Homer S. King, president of thf Snn Frnnclsco clearing house, It quoted ns saying: "Tho banks nro moro than willing to help the people who have shared In tho common distress. Chicago and Baltimore recovered from oven greater setbacks. Tho people of Sar Francisco havo always been progressiva progress-iva and nre recognized ns hard workers. work-ers. There Is no reason why they should not do tho samo. "Tho bankers will help to rebuild tho city. Wo nro nbsolutoly satisfied nnd assured as to our own stnndlng. Most of tho money that Is put Into circulation cir-culation will bo directed Into chnnnclt whero It will bo most effectlvo In tho re-establishment of business Interests, "You mny stnto that tho poor poo plo and tho wage-earners who hnvt Buffered loss by flro should not be needlessly nlnrmcd. Thcro will bo nc pressuro for payment on tho pnrt o-tho o-tho bonks. Wo will wnlt. Wo expec: to co-operate In every respect with tin people who must build tho now Sni Francisco." Snn Frnnclsco Ib having n tnsto o. martial law. Whon darkness falls up on tho desolated city, ovcry luhnblton of tho homes that nro left stnndlng an forced to grope their way about Ii darkness, nnd when cooking is to b done. It must ho dono on fires built li tho yards, ns no fires nro nllowed in-Bldo in-Bldo tho houses, This rulo Is mndo tc prevent a further spread of tho flames nnd In order to savo ns many hornet as possible, no chances nro taken. Mnyor Schmltz has Issued tho fol lowing proclamation which cltlzoni nro Instructed to ohsorvo: "Do not be nfrnld of famine. There will bo nbuncinnco of food supplied. Dc not uko nny wnter except for drlnklnp nnd cooking purposes. Do not light any llres In houses, stoves or fire place. Do not uso nny house closctt under nny circumstances, hut dig earth elosets In yards or vacant lots using If posslblo chloride of lime oi somo other disinfectant." Thus precautions nro being taken to provent disease nnd tho danger of pestilence. Burned District Boundaries. In tho section north of Mnrkct street tho ruined district Is prnctlcnll bounded on tho west by Vanness nv cnuo, nlthough In ninny blocks thf llames destroyed squares to tho west of that thoroughfare Tho Vnnnesi avonuo lino runs northerly to Green wlch street, which Is a few block! from tho liny. Then tho boundnrj goes over Telegraph hill and dowr to that portion of the shoro thnt facet Oakland. Practically everything In eluded between Mnrkot. Vnnncss nv enuo. Greenwich nnd tho bny Is It nshes. On tho enst sldo of Hyde- strco' hill tho fire burned down to Hay streel nnd Montgomery avonuo nnd stopped at that Intersection. All south of Mnr ket Btroet, with perhaps somo excop tlons In tho vicinity of tho Paclflt Mall dock, Is gone. This section li bounded on the north by Market street and runs out to Guerrero Btreot, goei out that etroct two blocks, turns wesi to Dolores, runs west bIx blocks t Twenty-second street, taking In fou: blocks on tho other sldo of Dolores The flro then took an Irregular course southward, spreading out ns far oi Twenty-fifth street and going down that way to tho southerly bay shore. Mission Dolores church, tho oldest building In this city, orccted 130 years ngo by the Spanish missionaries, survived sur-vived tho earthquake Bhocks ond was aaved from tho flro, It 1b constructed of ndobe brick. Tho newer church, built of brick nlongsldo of tho old building. Buffered from tho earth-awake. |
