The Call-chronicle-examiner. [volume], April 19, 1906, Page 3, Image 3

About The Call-chronicle-examiner. [volume] (San Francisco, Calif.) 1906-1906

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ENTIRE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO IN
DANGER OF BEING ANNIHILATED
Big Business Buildings Already Consumed by
Fire and Dynamite--30,000 Smaller
Structures Swppt Out and Re
mainder Are Doomed
PANIC-STRICKEN PEOPLE FLEE
SAN FRANCISCO. April 18.— This
city lies la smouldering ruins and to
tal annihilation seems* to be Its fate.
The magnificent business district ly-
Jns/ between the water's edge and
\u25a0 Tenth street and evea stil! farther
west is destroyed, and there Is scarce
ly any hop« of saving but a few of the
•magnificent skyscrapers that have
been -erected during the last ten
' years.
Thirty thousand houses were either
partially or wholly destroyed by -earth' -
and the subsequent fire which
started In 100 different places simul
taneously has swept the city from one
end. to the other." Hundreds of build
ings are burning without any effort
betas; made to check the fire. By to
night It Is estimated that there will
be 150,000 homeless people.
• NUMBER OF DEAD.
the number of the dead cannot be
roughly estimated. One hundred bodies
about have been reoovered, but hun
dreds perished miserably In the broken |
down wooden houses along the water
front, la the Mission shid along Mar
ket street.
Falling walls pinned many victims
Cast end they wers compelled to euf- |
fer ttatold agonies while the fiery
' fi&xnes crept toward them. Some be
tter* that the number of deaths win
reach the appalling figure of 6000, but
- from the number of bodies thus far
1 recovered the figure may be excessive.
*- PEOPLE IN PANIC.
• The entire city presents a seen* of
; taOescrlbable confusion. The fire rone
*is so large that It takes two and one
half hours to go around ft. Every
/automobile vehicle and wagon ta the
city was pressed Into eervioe as am
buiano«s. •
Mayor Schmidt appointed 8000 or
more special policeman. It Is esti
mated that aside from the regular fir*
department there were 21,000 fire
fighters. Marvelous deeds of heroism
are reported on all sides.
There were many thrilling rescues.
The deeds of valor performed by the
firemen and police would nil a vol-
TURNED INTO HOSPITAL.
The Mechanics* PavtUoo was early
•ftl« morning turned Into a hospital
Or the city Injured, and a resting
place for the unfortunate dead.
Every physician and nurse In the
city volunteered their services. Short
ly after noon the flames hedged the
r»av!!!on about and the Injured and
- dead were removed la wagons, auto
* mobiles to the Presidio, the Children's
\u25a0
and other hospitals which
a go to the front and assist the po
lice la mfffr fßi " Ir> ir order.
Market street at the two extremes
of the fire and all the Intervening
streets ere practically under martial
law.
Mayor Schmltz to prevent disorder
ordered all of the saloons closed. There
were but few cases of theft reported.
The Call building la already de
stroyed utterly and 1 is probable that
the Examiner building anft the Chron
icle building will also be .destroyed.
The Emporium la reduced to ashes (
as Is the Flood building. The mag
nificent new store of Hale 2 Brother*
• \u25a0 •. \u25a0- \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 •- • •-.-.\u25a0•—"•:.* \u25a0\u25a0"'t-: -\u25a0-—\u25a0'.«
whs dynamited In an effort to stop the
progress of the flames' which burned
with the same uncontrollable Intensi
ty that was manifested in the Balti
more fire.
CITY HALL GONE.
The City Hall la a grand mass of ruins.
It la totally destroyed. The surrounding
streets are choken with the debris. Sev
eral other buildings were destroyed as
the huge building tottered to Its de
struction. In all 160 of San Francisco's
J best buildings have been destroyed and
probably 20.0000 others.
STOPS CLOCKS.
The earthquake which did such terrific
damage occurred at 5:16 o'clock pre
cisely. The clock on the dome of the
Ferry building stopped precisely at that
time. The Ferry building itself was
cracked and split, but Is still In a safe
condition. Twenty or more wharves and
the buildings en them collapsed utterly
along the water front.
STEAMER SUNK.
The steamer Baa Pablo wac struck and
sunk, by a huge girder which fell on it
How many lives were lost la not
known.
Some of the crew are missing, but j
owing to the _ great oonfuslon nothing j
definite could be ascertained. Another
vessel Is reported to have been sunk by
the walls of a build In a falling on It .
The name of the vessel is not known.
After the work of demolition had been
accomplished by tho earthquake nrea in
twenty places started up along the water
front.
It is assumed that the twlstlngs and
turnings of the earth broke the electrlo
wires and caused the fires to break out
MANY ALARMS.
la twenty minutes' time alarms to the
number of several hundred bad been
turned In.
The fire department responded, but
the extent of the conflagration made
the streams of water poured on them
seem like toy streams.
On the water front the hose was con
nected with the bay and a fair showing
mad*.
Owing to the fact that the mains of
the Spring Valley Water Company were
broken by the earthquake during the
early progress of the fire nothing could
be done to stay the hungry blaze.
BUILDINGS DYNAMITED.
More than 100 buildings were dyna
mited with hope that the fire could be
kept within a certain district.
In the business district, at Sansome
and Bush streets, the names are sup
posed to be 'under control. Twenty
buildings were dynamited in this dis
trict
One of the paxtlcularly sad "features of
the catastrophe was the drowning of a
score or more persons In the Mission.
Apparently the earthquake was more vio
lent at this point than anywhere else in
the city. Depressions of ten feet were
made.
MAINS BROKEN!
The mains of the Spring Valley were
broken at this point and flooded the
I tenements.' Many of the victims were
pinned In the basements by falling walls I
and had no recourse but -to await their
fate by drowning.
750 ARE
TREATED
SAN FRANCISCO. April 18.'— Up to
half-past two this afternoon, more than
780 persons who were 'seriously injured
by the earthquake and the fire, had been
treated. at the various hospital!" through
out of the city. The proportion of dead la
i not an large as it might be expected!
Only twenty of those admitted to the
hospitals have died since their admis
sion.
DEAD IN
STREET
SAN FRANCISCO. April 18.— The
front of the Bailey and La Coste
building on Clay near Montgomery
fell in. Three men and seven horses
were v killed and were still lying there
at 9 o'clock. \u25a0,-., •
Captain .Gleason of- the Police De
partment was. seriously Injured at
noon today by. the falling- of tllins;.
BIG FIRE
IN MISSION
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18.
—A great fire- is raging in the
Mission I \u25a0district*" and "is latterly
beyond control. Before" night, it
is estimated, that in this partic
ular section of the city 50,000
persons will be homeless.
RESIDENCES
BURNING
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18;
— An intense fire broke out late
this afternoon immediately west
of the . Mechanics' Pavilion,
threatening to destroy one of the
most thickly populated "residence
districts' of the ."•'\u25a0 city. As there
were no fire apparatus on hand
the flames are raging unchecked.
RUINS 20
COMPANIES
SAN FRANCISCO, April IS.— From the
present appearanoe . of things, it is prob
able that twenty or more -insurance oom
panJes will be ruined. The , managers of
the \u25a0 larger companies are of ; th« opinion
that they will be able -to meet the losses. 1
In any event all of • the . insurance . com-,
panics doing business in this city have
been hit' a staggering blow, from the ef
fects , of which many '« will . never Yre 1 -
SAN FRANCISCO.? April .18.— The
United States bonded warehouse
where liquor is stored before the dii-.
ties are collected Is destroyed
.-.-\u25a0\u25a0-\u25a0
EMPORIUM
IN RUINS
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18.
— The Emporium is a mass of
ruins', with ' nothing but the walla
of this magnificent store stand
ing. The buildings immediate
ly adjoining it are doomed to
destruction. • • 4 •!
DYNAMITE
BUILDINGS
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18.
— At 2:30 o'clock this afternoon
the firemen are dynamiting one
of the most imposing structures
on Market street. Buildings in
the vicinity of the United States
Mint-and the United States Post
office were blown up in the hope
that they would be saved. Both
of them are in grave danger, and
while standing the shock of the
earthquake, will probably fall
victims of . the uncontrollable
conflagration raging in that vicin-
DOCTOR'S
BRAVERY
;•»\u25a0**-» -c .- \u25a0' : \u25a0-..\u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0-\u25a0-.\u25a0 \. \u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0 •
SAN. FRANCISCO, April 13.— Dr. Me-.
Glnty" of «the Central Emergency Hospi
tal, while attempting- to rescue some per
sons ,woh had been; burled by., the falling
wall, -was himself pinned • to the ground
by additional debris ; that ' fell. He i was
rescued and insisted on renrming 1 his du
ties: of attending the wounded and injur^"
FATEFUL
BUILDING
BAN FRANC3SOO, April 18.— The
scene at the Meohegrtoa' pavilion during
the early hours of the morning and up
until noon, when an -. the Injured • and
dead' were remored. because of the
threatened destruction of the building by
fire, was on* of ladesorlbable sadness.
Bisters, brothers, wtvea sad sweethearts
searched eagerly for some missing dear
once. Thousands of persona hurriedly
went through the building Inspecting the
cots oa which the sufferers lay la the
hope that they would locate some loved
one that wns missing.
- The dead were placed la one portton
of the building, and the remainder was
devoted to hospital purposes. After the
fire forced the nurses In positions to de
sert the building, the eager crowds ft*»
lowed them ta the Presidio and Children's
Hospital, where they renewed their
search for missing relatives.
WITHOUT A
NEWSPAPER
SAN FRANCISCO. April 18.-^The
buildings occupied by the San Francisco
Post and the San Francisco Bulletin are
threatened with fire and may be consum
ed. This will leave the city without a
single dally newspaper. -
DAMAGE A
BILLION
SAN --FRANCISCO,. April IS.— Market
street, which has beet) the: pride or Sun
Framclsco since IS4?, is simply on© black
I mass of ruin. It is estiraated that up to
j the present time, the nre and earth
quake have done at least J1&0.00O.0O3
i.worth of . damage to this thoroiyjnfare
alone., .The damage to the entle .city
will- pobably aggregate j1.y00.000,000.
There 19, however, no accurate means
whereby, the loss can . be ascertained.
THEATERS
RUINED
All of San Francisco's best
playhouses, including the Majes
tic, Columbia and Grand Opera
House, are a mass of ruins. The
earthquake demolished them for
all practical purposes, and at the
present time it appears the fire
will complete the work of de
molition. sThe Rialto and Cas
serly buildings were burned to
the ground, as was everything in
that district. • ; ; ,
. The Terminal Hotel *f tSa
foot of Market street tell tab
morning and buried twenty per
sons under the • debris, Xbese
were incinerated, and there is no
possibility of learning their
NARROW
ESCAPE
SAN FRANCISCO. April 13.— The
Btereotypera and pressmen of thi~~ls>
amtner and Call, as soon as the temblor
w&a felt, rushed out of their buildings
and found tnat the coffee house at Stav
<nson and Third street bad collap«sd
They tramedlatety set to work with
• axes and anything la tha way of an lm
i plexnent they could arm themselves with
| ana s« to w«rk t*> iwcn« ihir.-» inside.
Mr. ~i::£ tins. Sts^s, rts* y.'ryi i ;gt'nr &Mrt
his wife, end 'a' waiter whose name la
unknown, were resetted from the build-
Ing *-.hd taken from uhder the debna ua-
SAN FRANCISCO. April 13.--EV
*2ry grovernnicnt conveyance is press
ed into service and is used In haulms
explosives i.frorn the Presidio fcr the
j blcvwing up of buiMinga In the center
of the city.
3