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A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO
47
Vol. 18. No. 932.
San Francisco In Ruins
Earthquake and Fire the Cause. Business Section
iu Ruins and Fire still spreading. Other Cities
and Towns damaged. Many Lives Lost.
' San Francisco, Cal., April 19. It
looks now as if the entire city would
be burned. The Associated Presh men
are trying to get matter from Oakland
. by boat, but they are very uncertain.
The' government is furnishing tugs,
but the confusion is so great that they
can not be relied upon. It will be
impossible to send full details for sev
eral days.
Oakland, Cal.,. April 19. The fire
in San Francisco is increasing in vio
lence. It is spreading in all direc
tions in both the business and resi
dence quarters. It is reported that
while a building was blown up with
dynamite a premature explosion killed
fifteen men. The Terminal hotel, at
the water front and Market street, col-
lapsed today, and buried twenty per
sons under the debris. These were in
cinerated and there is no possibility
of learning their identity.
San Francisco, Cal., April 19.
Earthquate and fire today have put
nearly half of San Francisco in ruins.
At least two hundred people have
been killed, a thousand others in
lured and Drooerty loss will exceed
hundred million dollars. Thou
sands of people are homeless and
destitute, and all , day long streams
of people have been fleeing from the
stricken districts to places of safety.
It was 5:13 yesterday, morning
when a terrific earthquake shook the
whole city and surrounding country.
One shock apparently lasted two rain-
utes and there was almost immediate
collopse of flimsy structures all over
the city. The water supply was cut
off, and when fires broke out In var
ious sections there was nothing to do
but to let the buildings burn.
Isolated for a Tirne
Telegraph and telephone communi
cation was shut off for a time. The
Western Union was put completely
out of business and the Postal com
pany was the only one that managed
to get a wire out of the city. About
10 o'clock even the Postal was forced
to suspend in San Francisco. Elec
tric power was stopped and street
cars did not run. Railroads and ferry
boats also ceased operations.
The various fires have been raging
all day and the fire department has
been powerless to do anything except
.to dynamite the buildings threatened.
All day long explosions have shaken
the city and added to the terror of the
inhabitants. Following the first
shock there was another within five
POLITIGS, AGRICULTURE AND HOME
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 19, 1906
minutes, but not nearly so severe.
Three hours later there was another
slight quake.
San Jose Hard Hit
Reports from districts outside of
San Francisco indicate widespread
damage. San Jose, fifty miles south,
lost many buildings anH from fifteen
to twenty people were killed. The
annex of the Vendome hotel col
lapsed and fires broke out.
Stanford university and Palo Alto
suffered. At Stanford many of the
handsome buildings were demolished
and two people were killed.
. The "court house at Redwood City
and other buildings collopsed. Mento
Park, Burlingame and other fashion
able suburban towns suffered, Santa
Rosa, to the north, Napa, Vallejo and
all towns around the bay were dam
aged. These reports, alarming as they
were, created " little interest in San
Francisco, where the people were In
a frantic state. They did not stop
to dress, but rushed out into the
streets in their night garments.
"Prompt Action of Mayor
Mayor Schmitz was about early and
took measures .for the relief and nro-
tection of the city. General Funston
was quickly communicated with, and
by 9 o'clock 1.000 federal soldiers
were guarding the city and assisting
tne nremen m dynamiting the build
ings.
General Funston, realizing that
stern measures were necessary, gave
orders that looters were tn hp shot at
sight. Four men were summarily
executed before the day was over.
The Burned Diltrict
The -burned district extends from
the water front south of Market street
to Market street, and west to Elev
enth street, north to Market. . The
fire extends out Hayes and McAllister
streets nearly to Fillmore, and near
ly to the water front along Market
to Montgomery, and north from the
water iront to Montgomery street.
Manufactories, hotels, .wholesale
houses and residences comprising the
principal part of the business section
have been destroyed. The city hall
a structure costing $7,000,000. was
first wrecked by the earthquake and
then, destroyed by fire. The Palace
hotel, value estimated at $3,000,000
also burned. The beautiful Glaus
Spreckels building at Third and Mar
ket,, was gutted. The Rialto building
and dozens of other costly structures
were also destroyed.
The hall of justice is threatened and
will undoubtedly go. The Examiner
and the Call building's are srone and
the Crocker buildings across the
street from the Palace Is on fire.
. Palace Hotel Destroyed
All efforts to prevent the fire from
reaching the Palace and Grand hotels
were unsuccessful, and both were
completely destroyed, together with all
their- contents.
All of San Francisco's best play
houses, including the Majestic, Colum
bia, Orpheum and Grand opera nouse,
are a mass of ruins. The earthquake
demolished them for all practical
purposes, and the fire completed the
work of destruction.
There is 'neither gas nor elect ric
light in San ; Francisco. The plant
of one of the gas companies blew up
and as a meaure of precaution all the
other gas in the city was turned off.
Panic Stricken People Flee
Ferry boats resumed running from
Oakland and thousands of homeless
and panic-stricken people are leaving
the city and are seeking shelter in
Oakland and other suburban towns.
SHORN OF FURTHER POWER
Russian Assembly Given Little to
Say on Finances.
St. Petersburg With absolute una
nimity the papers here today, even
the Novoe Vremya, express extreme
discontent with the imperial ukase,
issued April 11, creating a "committee
of finance" to decide matters relating
to -the v-'nationional credit, , . , This -is
regarded as another 'severe blow to
the power of the parliament and as
virtually taking away from the na
tion's representatives all control of
the nations finances.
Warsaw, Poland The religious
troubles between the Catholics and
Mariavits, the new Catholic sect, in
many places in Poland are assuming a
very serious phase. Indeed the situa
tion has almost reached the dignity
of civil war. At Luptsi 3,000 Mariavits
attacked 2,000 Catholics, and a regu
lar pitched battle followed, during
which three men were killed and forty
wounded. The fighting is proceeding
today. At Lehno constant skirmishes
are in progress, and several persons
have been killed or wounded. Last
week at Chwartek the Mariavits, who
are in the majority there, took pos
session of a church and insisted on
the reappointment of a priest who was
dismissed by the Catholics.
Plans for Palace of Peace
The Hague Several hundred plans
for Andrew Carnegie'spalace of peace
have been offered by architects, all
over the world to the jury consisting
ot experts from France, Germany,
Italy, the United States Russia and
presided over by a Hollander. This
jury will, meet early in May and will
award six prizes ranging from $54,000
to $1,200. The palace will be built
on a tract of ground provided by the
Netherlands government and situated
on the famous old Schevengient road.
Labor Men to Start Bank
Chicago, 111 It was announced to
day that the Commonwealth and Trust
and Savings bank, an institution pro
moted by organized labor will open
its doors for business May 29. The
capital of the bank is $500,000, and all
of the directors, except one, are mem
bers of labor organizations. None of
the bank's officials will be taken from
the ranks of organized labor,, but all
will be practical banking men.
LIFE .
' Subscription $1.00
LINING UP FOR THE VOTE
Bailey's Speech Cinvlnces Senators of
Constitutionality of Amendment
.Democrats to Hold Caucus
, Washington, D. C, April 18. (Spe
cial.) Interest still centers in the out
come of the rate bill In the senate.
Senator Bailey's masterful , speech
practically closed the debate as there
was nothing left to be said on the main
puuu ux uispuie.jjuier uie iexas sen
ator had submitted his brief showing
the decision of the supreme court in
an unbroken chain from the beginning
in support of the power of congress
over the inferior federal courts. i
The enemies of the rate regulation
are nonplussed. Of course, they are'
holding out and making a fierce fight.
The railroads are represented by rail
way presidents and attorneys and are
determined to win if possible. With .
fourteen billions of wealth at their
back representing over two luiiLdred,.
thousand miles of railway traversing
every , neighborhood in the country,
holding practically despotic power over
the wellfare of communities and indi
viduals, and with unlimited treasuries
and an elastic legal fund, their power
is great and is being felt.
But the staggering blow delivered
to them by Senator Baifey has dis
arranged much of their work through
the inspiration that it has given the
friends of the bill here, and else
where throughout the country.
The game of politics that the ene
mies of rate regulation were enmesh
ing the president In "has been given a
black eye since the lucid and unan
swerable argument of Senator Bailey
has been accepted by such , a large
number of the prominent republican
newspapers as being sound and con
clusive, establishing beyond doubt or
cavil the right of congress to autho
rize the Inter-state commerce commis
sion to fix a reasonable rate, and
have the rate stand until it reaches
the supreme court of the United :
States for review in tho regular way,
prohibiting the inferior federal courts
from suspending the rate by injunc
tion. President Roosevelt was per
suaded by the railroad attorneys in
his cabinet and among the republican
members of the senate, that it wa3
necessary to yield the point of allow
ing a court review amendment in or
der that the bill might be constitu
tional and effective. But since Air.
Bailey's speech his views .pon tho
subject have been materially modified
in that regard and it Is now ml that
he has accepted the Bailey amendmeot
pohibiting a suspension of rates by
the inferior courts and that Le will
i'3e his influence to have the bill
amended accordingly.
The democrats under the load of
Senator Bailey are to hold..! confer-ei:cc-
soon and it is expected that all,
with possibly two or three exceptions
will unite in favor of the Ba'ley
amendments in 'which case reimblicuu
