The Minneapolis journal. [volume], April 19, 1906, Page 3, Image 3

About The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939

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STORY OF SUFFERING
TOLD BY NIGHT WIRE
With Power Gone, San Francisco Had
Only Light of Conflagration:
-$
San Francisco, April 18.2 a.m.)
A thickly "built up area of eight
square miles has been burned over
and there is no telling when the
Are will be under control.
Losses are estimated at $200,000-
000.
4
87 Associated Press (Night Report).
San Francisco, April 18.Earthquake
nd fire today have put nearly half of
Ban Francisco in ruins. At least two
hundred people have been killed, a
thousand others injured and the prop
rty los will exceed $100,000,000.
of people are homeless and
The water supply was cut off and
when the fire broke out there was noth
ing to do but to let the buildings
burn. Telegraph and telephone com
munication was shut off for a time.
The Western Union was put out of
business completely and the Postal was
the only company that managed to get
a wire out of the city. Atjput 10
'clock the Postal too was forced to
suspend in San Francisco. Electric
power was stopped and street cars
fould not run. Railroads and ferry
boats also ceased operations. The
various fires have been raging all day
mite the threatened buildings.
The explosions shook the city and
added to the terror of the inhabitants.
Following the first shock there was
another within five minutes, but not
ncarlv so severe. Three hours after
there was another slight quake.
A. Night of Terror Falls
On Sadly Stricken City
Crocker building, across the street from
the Palace hotel, is on fire.
At 9 o'clock last night an Associated
Press man, who went to a high hill
overlooking the city, noted that the
sky on the east and south sides was
illuminated for a distance of four or
five miles. The illumination on the
south was of a duller glow, showing
that the flames were not consuming
property of such great proportions as
was the case of the east side.
Many fine buildings were leveled to
dust by terrific charges of dynamite
in the hopeless effort to stay the fire
horror. In this work scores of heroic
soldiers, policemen and firemen were
maimed or killed outright.
MONTGOMERY STREET, FROM MARKET, LOOKING NORTH TELEGRAPH OFFICES IN FOREGROUND.
destitute, and all day long panic-strick
en refugees have been fleeing from the
devastated districts to places of safety.
It was 5:15 o'clock this morning
when a terrific earthquake shook the
whole citv and surrounding country.
One shock lasted two minutes and there
ami the fire department has been landing, bu it was impossible to de
powerless to do anything except dpa-'/...."..
Night added to the horror and as
darkness fell the skv was illuminated
in all directions. As the flames spread
into the residence districts people left
their homes and fled to the parks and
squares.
The series of rather severe shocks
at 7 o'clock fuither increased the ter
ror and many left homes that were not
in danger.
No afternoon papers were issued, and
it is doubtful if the morning papers
will appear. The Southern Pacific
tracks are in such condition that only
a crippled train service is possible.
The Chronicle building and its New
street annex are still standing.
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
Claus Spreckles building, at Third and
Market streets, 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
he Call buildings are gone and the as the strong wind, which is every five
-&?\.^^ii^A* Vijfer?&3^? IMs-MM
was an almost immediate collapse of street, north of Market. The fire ex-I At 10 o'clock the Occidental hotel
flimsv structures in all parts of San 1 tends out Hayes and McAllister streets began to burn, and the great Crocker
Francisco. nearly to Fillmore and from the water building, containing the Croeker-Wool-
front along Market to Montgomery and I worth National bank, was
ablazet,
north from the water front to Mont- I On
Fire in Business District
Has Been Checked or Blocked
In the business district, toward the
waterfront, the flames were either
checked or blocked at about Washing
ton street, and at the corner of Kearney
the Hall of Justice could be noted
fi
termine what damage had been done
to the interior. From the Hall of Jus
tice to the south the fire cut its way
thru some of the choicest buildings in
the city, the Pacific' Mutual and the
Italian-American bank building being
reduced to ashes. Down Kearney street,
on both sides, at 10 o'clock the con
flagration was still ragjng with fury,
but the direction of the wind prevented
its advance up the hills to the west.
Yet the greater portion of the struc
tures to the west of Kearney UD to Du
pont were burned as far south as Cal
ifornia.
All around the new fourteen-story
Merchants' Exchange building the fire
burned fiercely, licking the sides of the
steel giant until late in the evening.
Then came the destruction of the West
ern Union building, at the corner of
Pine and Montgomery streets. In this
building was located the office of the
western division of the Associated
Press. Earlier in the day the occupants
had been ordered out by the authori
ties on account of danger, and the As
sociated Press established a temporary
station in the Bulletin editorial rooms.
Then the latter place was closed and
this dispatch is being written on a
doorstep near Chinatown, the illumina
tion of the burning buildings furnish
ing light for the writer. It appeared
that the great Mills building would
block some of the southward sweep of
the blaze, as it had already checked an
advance northward earlier in the night.
If this prediction proves true, the limits
of the fire wilUbe. determined, but pre
dictions on this point are as unreliable
At 10 0 'clock tonight the fire was It is impossible to give anything like
unabated and thousands of people are an accurate statement concerning the
fleeing to the hills and clamoring for killed. Unquestionably many people
places on the ferry boats. 1 were either killed outright, imprisoned
The burned district extends from the or rendered unconsciouB in collapsed
water front south of Market street to buildings which were afterwards
Market street and west to Eleventh burned,
gomery street. Factories, hotels, whole- Memorial temple of the California
sale houses and residences, comprising
the principal part of the business sec
tion have been destroyed.
'_i..it iT~,i 1 A~~.
Evening, 55^SSS5B^OT"'THE MINNEAPOLIS jdtJRNAL.
minutes changing from one direction
to another.
Four Ghoulish Looters
Shot by Funston's Orders
General Funston realized that stern
measures were necessary, and gave or
ders that looters were to be shot at
sight. Four men were summarily exe
cuted before 3 o'clock this afternoon.
At a meeting of fifty citizens called
by the mayor, it was announced that
1,400 tents will be pitched %n Golden
Gate park and arrangements have
been made to feed the destitute in the
public squares.
A meeting of the citizens' commit
tee has been called for 10 o'clock to
morrow (Thursday) morning. It is
probable that even with the spirit and
willingness shown by the people of
San Francisco that outside aid will be
necessary. A message from President
Boosevelt was received this morning,
and it had a cheering effect. Ueorge
Gould also telegraphed, offering aid.
The city in the face of its appalling
disaster is fairly quiet and orderly.
Liquor cannot be had anywhere, and
the formidable presence of federal
troops, militia and naval reserves has
had its effects on any element. that
might be disposed to be disorderly.
The mayor's proclamation, authoriz
ing the shooting of looters on sight,
has been scattered broadcast on cir
culars, and little reports of thieving
are being received.
Geary street the Alber Pike
bodies of the Scottish Rites, containing
scenery that cost $20,000, and cos
tumes valued at $15,000, collapsed.
The new Jewish synagog adjoining
was cracked to its foundations.
Extreme Unction Administered
Mid Crash of Falling Walls
While five dying men were being
taken from the collapsed building at
Second and Jessie streets, Fathers
Hogan, Rogers and Huber of St. Pat
ricks church granted them the last
rites of the Catholic church. This
*f?*!&JL$ '.'-SIS'
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FOREGROUN SHOWS THE BUSINESS^DISTRICT^NO W IN JRUINS
ceremony was performed while a mass
of coping overhead threatened to crush
the priests to death. Three of the men
died. Joseph Lindsay, a shoemaker,
was four hours in a demolished building
and when dug out it was found that
he had not been hurt.
The entire Larkin street frontage of
the city hall for a distance of several
hundred feet was thrown out into the
street and that thorofare for two blocks
is piled high with boulders of mortared
brick and twisted iron.
The freaks of the earthquake were
many. Wide fissures were opened in
the streets, street railways were
twisted out of line, sewers and water
pipes were bursted and it is feared that
there will be an epidemic of disease.
Provisions are being .sold at fancy
prices and even water is being vended
by the glass.
It is impossible to give a list of the
dead and wounded, or even a list of
the principal buildings destroyed.
Mayor Calls Upon Citizens
To Help in Keeping Order
At a meeting of the committee of
safety today Mayor Somitz issued the
following proclamation:
ProclamationTo the Citizens of
San Francisco: The federal troops,
which are now policing a portion of
the city, as well as the regular and
special members of the police force,
have been authorized by me to kill any
Iooting
iersons whomsoever found engaged in
the effects of any citizens, or
otherwise engaged in the commission of
crime.
Under these circumstances, the re
quest is made that all citizens whpse
business does not imperatively require
their absence from home after dark,
remain at home during tUe night or un
til order shall have sbeejS restored. I
beg to warn all citi*ns of the danger
of fire on account o# defective or de
stroyed chimneys, gaspipes, gas fixture
and the like,*, E. E. Schmitz,
Mayor.''
Thousands of Refugees
Seek Safety at Oakland
This afternoon the ferryboats 're-
sumed running from Oakland, and to
night thousands of homeless and panic
stricken people are leaving the city. The
suffering and hardship beggars descrip
tion. Countless numbers in the poorer
sections, including the Chinese, Japan
ese and Italian quarters, have been
rendered homeless and unless supplies
and aid reach the city within twenty
four hours, starvation will add to the
awful calamity.
Nearly every landmark that has
made San Francisco famous has been
laid in ruins or burned to the ground.
Never has the fate of a city been more
disastrous.
For three miles along the water front
buildings have been swept clean and
tonight the blackened beams and great
skeletons of factories and offices stand
silhouetted against a background of
flame that is slowly spreading over the
entire city. The whole commercial and
office section of the city on the north
side of Market street from the ferry
building to Tenth street has been con
sumed the raging hell while hardly a
building is standing in the district
south of Market street.
At 2 o'clock a.m. despite the heroic
work of the firemen and the troops of
dynamiters, who razed building after
building, and blew up property valued
at millions, the flames spread across
Market street and swept upMontgom
erv street, practically to Washington
street. Along Montgomery street are
some of the richest banks and com
mercial houses in San Francisco^ The
famous Mills building and the new Mer
chants Exchange, in which is situated
the Marine and Stock Exchanges are
still standing, but the Mutual Life In
surance building and scores of bank
and office buildings are one fire, while
blocks of others houses are in the path
of the flames and nothing seems to be
at hand to stay their progress. Block
aftei" block of banking houses are now
masses of red hot ruin, and it will be
months before the money that was
housed in their valuable vaults can be
reached.
Fire Department Works Without
Guidance of Injured Chief
The earthquake caused the partial
wreck of the California hotel, on Bush
and Kearney streets, and the falling ments.
PHELAN BUILDING, MARKET AND O'FARRELL STREETS, BURNED,
efective Pag*
chimney and cornice of the hotel
crashed thru the firehouse adjoining,
severely injuring Fire Chief Sullivan
so that he was unable to direct the
work of firefighting. He is now in a
hospital in a precarious condition.
Despite this disheartening accident,
the fire department, assisted Dy part of
the Oakland department and many vol
unteers, did heroic service, many brave
men losing their lives while perform
ing works of succor. The earth
quake, however, had broken most of the
water mains. Whatever water was ob
tained to fight the flames on the harbor
front and in the factory districts was
pumped from the bay.
This compelled dynamiting, as the
only possible method of saving any of
the city.
The flames were kept confined to the
south of Market street in the business
section until about 3 o'clock in the
afternoon, when the wind carried
sheets of flame into the richest part of
the city.
Nearly every big factory building
has been wiped out of existence and
a complete enumeration of them would
look like a copy of the city directory.
The Shocks Were Felt
Over a Very Large Area
Reports from outside districts indi
cate widespread damage. San Jose,
fifty miles south, lost many buildings
and between fifteen and twenty per
sons were killed. The annex of the
out.
Stanford university and Palo Alto
suffered. At Stanford many of the
handsome buildings were demolished
and two people were killed. One of
them was Junius Robert Hanna of
Bradford, Pa., and the other was Otto
Gurts, a fireman. Six other students
are lying in the Palo Alto hospital
with bruises, cuts and internal injuries.
These are Ross D. Howard of San Fran
cisco, Henrv L. Dearing of Santa Ana,
Cal., Frolli, Halbert R. Thomas of
Los Angeles, Robert Westwick of Santa
Barbara, and W. H. Masters of Port
land, Ore.
The courthouse at Redwood City and
other buildings collapsed. Menlo Park,
Burlingame and other fashionable su
burban towns suffered. Santa Rosa, to
the north, Napa, Vallejo and all towns
around the bay were damaged. These
reports, alarming as thev were, created
little interest in San Francisco, where
the people were so frantic that they
rushed into the streets in night gar-
April 19,, 1906.
Vendome hotel collapsed and fires broke New York, as a monument to her fath
er, the late United States Senator
James Fair, but she recently sold it to
local people for $3,000,000.
.?&-<
UMOMMi
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Today's experience has been a# testi
monial to the modern steel building.
A score of these structures were in
course of construction and not one suf
fered. The completed modern build
ings were also immune.
Worst Damage Was Done
In Tract of Made Land
The greatest destruction in San Fran
cisco occurred in that part of the city
which was reclaimed from the bay.
Much of the district was at one time
low marshy ground entirely covered by
water at high tide. The Merchants
Exchange building, a 14-story steel
structure, was situated on this re
claimed ground. It had just been com
pleted and the executive officesof the
Southern Pacific company occupied the
greater part of the building.
The damage by the earthquake to the
residence portion of the city, the finest
part of which is Knob Hill and Pa
cific Heights, seems to have been
slight. On Knob Hill are the resi
dences of many of the millionaires who,
in the early seventies, became wealthy
thru mining investments or the con
struction or the Central Pacific railroad.
They include the Stanfords, Hunting
tons, Hopkins, Crockers, Floods and
others. The Fairmount hotel, not yet
completed, stands on the brink of Knob
Hill overlooking the bay. It was not
seriously damaged. The hotel was
started by Mrs. Herman Oelrichs of
STUDEBAKER BUILDING, TENTH AND MARKET STREETS DESTROYED.
Many Notable Structures
Are Now Down or Ruined
To the westward on Pacific Heights
are many fine, new residences. Bui
little injury was done there.
The Palace hoted, burned, was a
seven-story building about 300 feet
square, was built thirtv years ago by
the late Senator Sharon. The Palace
was then considered the best-equipped
hotel in the west.
The offices of the three morning pa
pers, the Chronicle, the Call and the
Examiner, were within 100 feet of each
other. The last two were destroyed.
The Chronicle, situated at Market and
Kearney streets, has a ten-story steel
frame building, one of the first struct
ures of its character put up here. The
Spreckles building, in which were the
business offices of the Call, is sixteen
stories high and very narrow. The edi
torial, composing and press rooms were
in a small three-story building immedi
ately in the rear.
Just across Third street was the home
of the Examiner, seven stories high,
with a frontage of 100 feet on Market
street.
The postoffice is a fine, gray stone
structure, and has been completed less
than two years. It covers half a block
on Mission street between Sixth and
Seventh streets. The ground on which
the building stands was of a swampy
character, and some difficulty was ex
perienced in obtaining a solid founda
tion. This accounts for its collapse.
The city hall, which was badly
wrecked, is a mile and a half from the
waterfront. It was an imposing struc
ture, with a dome 150 feet high. The
building covers about three acres and
cost more than $7,000,000.
The Grand opera house, where the
Metropolitan Opera company opened a
two-weeks engagement Monday night,
wag one of the oldest theaters in San
Francisco. It is located on Mission
street, between Third and Fourth
streets, and for a number of years was
the leading playhouse of the city. In
1885 this playhouse was closed for a
time and later devoted to vaudeville.
Within the past four years, however, it
has been used by many of the leading
independent theatrical companies.
The buildings that collapsed were all
flimsy wooden and old-fashioned brick
structures. The damage by earthquake
does not begin to compare with the loss
& & Jby fire.
W-^**. rfBpMi*^^ %nM*Maf
The heart of the business section of
BIG STRUCTURES
BURN LIKE TINDER
Buildings, Supposed Fireproof,
Fall Prey to the Con
flagration.
San Francisco. April 19.Fire raged
in so many sections and its progress
was so rapid that it was extremely dif
ficult to trace its destructive march.
Following the destruotioin of the Grand
operahouse it moved on the Parrott
building and, later, the Palace hotel.
The Parrott building, in which were
i
San Francisco has been burned.
Mayor Schmitz took prompt measures i
for the relief and protection of the city.%
General Funston was communicated "*1
with at once, and by 9 o'clock 1,000 -3
federal soldiers were guarding the
streets and assisting the firemen in 1
dynamiting buildings.
3
located the chambers of the state su
preme court, the lower floors being de
voted to an immense department store,
was ruined, tho its massive walls with
stood the heat.
Burned lake Tindr-.
A little further down TTi'-kct street
the Academy of Seiencr ml the Jen
nie Flood building ami the history
building kindled and burned like so
much tinderd. Sparks carried across
the wide street, ignited the Phelan
building and the army headquarters of
the department of California, General
Funston commanding, were burned.
Still nearing the bay, the waters of
which did the firemen good service, the
fire took the Rialto building, a hand
some skyscraper, and converted scores
of solid business blocks into smoulder
ing piles of brick.
Banks Burned. 4
Banks and commercial houses, sup
posed to fireproof, tho not of modern
build, burned quickly and the roar of
the flames could be heard even on the
hills, which were out of the danger
zone.
Here many thousands of people con
gregated and witnessed the awful scene.
Great sheets of flame rose high in the
heavens or rushed down some narrow
street, as tho the passage way were a
horizontal chimney.
Smoke Is Dense. -4
The dense smoke that arose from the
entire business district spread out like
an immense funnel and could have been
seen for miles out at sea. Occasionally,
as some drughouse or place stored with
chemicals was reached, most fantastic
effects were produced by the colored
flames and smoke, which rolled out
against the darker background.
Playhouses in Ruins.
All efforts to prevent the fire from
reaching the Palace and Grand hotels
were unsuccessful, and both were com
pletely destroyed, together with all
their "contents.
All of San Francisco's best play
houses, including the Majestic, Colum
bia, Orpheum and Grand operahouse are
a mass of ruins. The earthquake de
molished them for all practical pur
poses and the fire completed the work
of destruction. The handsome Rialto
and Sasserly buildings were burned to
the ground, as was everything in that
district.
The Bristol (England) Home for Lo8tuf
Starring Dogs has provided an ambulance oa
cycle wheels for the conveyance of Injured dogs
.,te lb* iMtituUos.
J