The Minneapolis journal. [volume], April 19, 1906, Page 5, Image 5

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

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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PANIC REIGNS'
AS HOSPITAL FALLS
Mechanics' Pavilion, Crowded
with the Injured, Evacuated
in Frantic Haste.
San Francisco, April 18.At Me
Ihanics' pavilion scenes of heroism and
ater of panic were enacted. The great
frame building was turned into a hos
pital for the care of the injured, and
lere a corps of fifty physicians, under
ihe direction of Drs. Miller and Hert
tog. rendered aid. Nurses volunteered
their services and girls from the Red
Dross ship that steamed in from the
rovernment yards at Mare island con
tributed aid and supplies.
But while the ambulances and auto
mobiles were unloading their maimed
ind wounded at the building, the march
f the conflagration up Market street
jave warning that the iniuTed would
lave to be removed at once. Every
available vehicle was pressed into ser
rice to get the stricken into the hospi
tals and private houses of the Western
iddition. A few minutes after the last
the wounded had been carried thru
he door, some on cots, others in strong
urns and on stretchers, shafts of nre
Ihot from the roof and the structure
burst into a whirlwind of flame.
The Earth Has Sunk.
Down on the harbor front the earth
leems to have sunk from six to eight
inches and great cracks appear in the
ltreets. Car tracks were twisted into
all sorts of shapes, and buildings be
fore thev were destroyed by the fire
were seen to be completely out of
plumb. The flames swept sheets
across Front street and street cars and
Bouthern Pacific rolling stock together
with the mail cars were burned,to their
First Relief Boat Arrives.
Last night the first relief boat loaded
with groceries and provisions crossed
from Oakland while other boats are
reported to have started from Sacra
mento. The Berkeley Chamber of Com
merce has sent word that the town hall
and all public buildings there have been
turned into lodging houses for the ref
ugees. The homeless will be fed and
housed until they are able to find
shelter.
The new ferry building did not
escape the wrath of the trembler, and
the tower of this California landmark
is badly shattered.
At Seventh and Howard streets a
great lodging house took fire after the
first shock, before the guests had a
shance to escape. There were hardly
any exits, and nearly all the lodgers
perished.
Woman Leaps to Safety.
Mrs. J. J. Munson, one of those in
the building, leaped, with her child in
her arms, from the second floor to the
Eavemenst
below and escaped unhurt,
he say she is confident she was the
only one who escaped from the inferno.
Such horrors were repeated at many
points.
In the commission house of C. D.
Bunker, a rescuer named Baker was
killed while trying to get a corpse from
the ruins. Other rescuers heard the
pitiful wail of a little child, but were
Unable to get near the point from
which the cry issued. Soon the on
"ushing fire ended the cry, and the men
turned to other tasks. Tonight hun
dreds of firemen and rescuers are pros
trated, the strain of the continual fight
31 the face of the awful calamity prov
ing more than anyone can stand.
In the crowds at many points people
Fainted, and in some instances dropped
lead from reaction following the shock.
Havoc Among Chinese.
The earthquake has worked astonish
ing havoc in San Francisco's famous
Dhinatown. The theaters and joss
bouses are in ruins and rookery after
Eookery
has collapsed, burying alive
undreds of the orientals. Panic reigns
imong the countless thousands of Chi
nese and they filled the streets, drag
ging whatever they could save from
the wrecks.
The Japanese quarter has been
burned out and from the part not de
Itroyed the people have fled in terror,
packing on their backs what house
hold effects they could tie together.
Thousands of men and women and chil
dren from the Latin quarter quit there
when darkness began to fall and
marched in endless procession toward
the hills or to the water front, frantic
to get away from the city, lest other
earthquakes follow and the flames trap
them before they can make their es
cape from the charnel house. Artil
lerymen from the Presidio, with their
supply wagons, and the army commis
sary wagons, are aiding in getting the
fleeing inhabitants and their baggage
out of the threatened quarters.
Says He Killed a Sufferer.
W. Hussey came to the station at
the Hall of Justice and told how, at the
direction of a policeman, whose num
ber he gave as 615, he had cut the ar
teries in the wrists of a man pinioned
under timbers at the St. Katherme ho
tel. According to Hussey the man was
begging to be killed and the policeman
shot at him, but his aim was defective.
The officer then handed Hussey a knife
with instructions to cut the veins in the
Buffering man's rists and Hussey
obeyed.
Chief of Police Dinan directed that
Hussey be locked up. There has been
no opportunity to investigate his story
but the police believe that the awful
calamity has rendered him insane.
Mayor Schmitz has ordered that the
physical necessities of the sufferers be
attended to first. Goldberg, Bowen &
Co., have placed all of their stores at
the disposal of the city, including the
provisions contained therein.
Prayed Amid Ruin.
The pastor of St.'Francis' church, on
.the slope of Telegraph hill, a few
blocks from the raging furnace below,
gathered his flock about him on the
Bidewalk. where all knelt in prayer.
BELIEF GOES FREE
Freight Charges Waived on Supplies
for Stricken City.
Chicago, April 19.That relief sup
plies for San Francisco will be carried
gratuitously by various transportation
companies was indicated yesterday,
when within a few hours after the news
of the catastrophe had arrived, the Ex
port Shipping company announced, thru
President F. G. Bailey, that it would
acree to take supplies to the suffering
municipality free of cost.
Mr. Bailey said that clothing and
food supplies would be transported as
faBt as received.
How's This?
We offer S10O reward for any case ot Catarrh
that cannot be cured by Hall's Catarrh Cure.
F. J. Cheney & Co.. Toledo. Ohio.
We, the undersigned, have known F. J.
Cheney for the last 15 years, and believe him
perfectly honorable In all business transactions,
and financially able to carry out tfay obligations
made by his flriu.
Wftldlng. Klnnan" & Marvin,
WholesaleT Druggists, Toledo, O.
Hall'sf
Catarrh Can Is taken internally, act
sy8tem
41
th
8en
faces of the system. Testimonials sent free
Price, 76c per bottle. Sold by aU druggists.
Take Hall's/ Family PUls for constipation.
Thurs'daypEvenin^,
Flames Continue into Night, with
Firemen Powerless to
Check Them.
San Francisco, April 19.At 5 p.m.
last night the firemen were as far as
ever from checking the progress of the
flames.
In the northern section of the down
town business section the fire swept
around the Hall of Justice and com
municated to Chinatown, proceeding
westward into the heart of that colony.
It then began rapidly eating its way
southward on both sides of Kearney
street and at this writing (7 p.m.) was
within a block of the California hotel.
This point is close to the plant of
the Bulletin, an evening publication, in
which the three morning papers had
agreed to join for the issue of a four
page paper this morning. That plan
was abandoned when the Bulletin was
found to be directly in the path of the
flames.
Palace Hotel Gone.
About 6 p.m.
Palace hotel, built
the world-famous
at a cost of mil-
lions, fell prey to the conflagration,
and the Crocker building, across the
street began to burn.
One of the big losses of the day was
the destruction^Of-'St. Ignatius' church
and college at Vim Ness avenue and
Hayes street. This was the greatest
Jesuitical institution in the west and
was built at a cost of a couple of mil
lions.
Homes Are Destroyed.
At 7 p.m. the. fire had swept from
the south side of the town across Mar
ket street into the, district called the
western addition, and was burning
houses at Goldeu avenue and Octavia.
This result was reached after almost
the entire southern district from Ninth
street to the eastern water front had
been converted into a blackened waste.
In this sectio, nwere hundreds of fac
tories, wholesale houses and many busi
ness firms in addition to thousands of
homes.
Mayor Forced to Flee.
On the north side the fire was not
making such rapid headway as in the
western addition, where there is a limit
ed water supply, and the firemen were
making despertae efforts to prevent fur
ther encroachments of the devastation.
Temporary headquarters were estab
lished in tents in Portsmouth square
for Mayor Schmitz, Chief of Police Di
nan and General Funston, but this site
became too dangerous about 6 o'clock
and was abandoned. Later the flames
swept the square.
SUCCOR PROVIDED
FOR SUFFERERS
Mayor Orders Shops to Harbor
Supplies for the Frisco
Homeless.
tag directly npon the blood and mueons sur- trades council last night voted to send
San Francisco, April 19.The mayor
has notified bakeries and milk stations
that their food supply must be harbored
for the homeless.
Preparations have been made to place
tents in every park in the city, and in
these those who have lost all will be
given food and shelter.
The prisoners in the city prison on
the fifth floor of the Hall of Justice
were transferred into the basement of
the structure. Later, they were re
moved to the Broadway jail, and, if
necessity arises, they will be taken to
the branch county jail on the Mis
sion road.
Insurance Companies to Fay.
Commissioner E. Myron Wolfe has
announced that the eighty-odd fire in
surance companies interested have de
cided to pay dollar for dollar to every
one insured with them.
The companies will not discriminate
between fire and earthquake, and every
one Insured will be paid to the extent
of the loss. But two of the companies
affected are Pacific coast concerns, the
others having principal offices in the
east or in Europe. All will stand the
loss, without danger of failure.
Saloons Closed.
One of the first orders issued by
Chief of Police Dinan was to close
every saloon in the city to prevent
drink-crazed men from rioting.
SEND IDLE TO FRISCO
Army of New/ York's Unemployed to
Assist in Cleaning Ruins.
New York, April 19.The allied
'an army of its unemp&yed to San Fran.
eisco to assist in the work there.*
*r-
FIRE'S MAD MARCH*|CAN'T COLLECT
SWEPT ALL IN WAY ANY INSURANCE
No "Earthquake" Policies, and
Others uon't Cover build
ings Shaken Down.
Journal Spcoial Service,
New York, April 19.Millions for
fire, but not one cent for earthquakes.
Ihis is the insurance situation in
San irancisco. Ihe owners or proper
ty destroyed oy earthquake cannot col
lect a dollar under their fire-insurance
policies, even tho the buildings that
iell were later swept by flame. But
in case a structure shattered by the
seismic disturbances should spread a
blaze to an adjoining building, the
owner of that building can collect his
fire insurance.
As far as the heads of the big fire
insurance companies with policies in
this city know, no policy has ever been
written to cover disasters by earth
quake. There is not an insurance com
pany in America that is allowed by its
charter to write earthquake insurance.
Henry W. Eaton, manager of the
Liverpool. London & Globe Fire Insur-
THE NEW POSTOFFICE, WHICH STOOD ON MADE GROUN AND COLLAPSED.
SAN FRANCISCO'S WATERFRONT WHERE THE BIG FIRE RAGED.
ance company, explained today that the
insured can only collect on a building
fired while standing. Once a structure
is shaken down by earthquake the
writers of insurance on it are not liable.
No matter how fire reaches a stand
ing building/' said Mr. Baton, "un-
less it is incendiary, the insurance
companies are liable. In this case of
the conflagration in San Francisco, the
buildings that withstood the shock but
caught fire after the earthquake, are
protected if policies have been written
on them."
COMPARED WITH BALTIMORE
Earthquake Makes Frisco Insurance
Problem Different.
New York, April 19.Never were the
New York underwriters so bewildered
in a catastrophe as yesterday, when
they tried to figure their losses in the
California earthquake. Several place
the damages at $100,000,000.
A comparison with the Baltimore fire
of Feb. 7, 1904, was instantly drawn
in insurance circles. In that conflagra
tion $70,000,000 worth of property was
destroyed, and the loss which eventually
fell upon the insurance companies was
approximately $39,000,000.
Between that disaster and yester
day's there was the one great differ
ence in the fact that the fire under
writers are not liable for losses caused
by the earthquake itself. But as for
the damage to buildings which collapsed
partly and then took fire, underwrit
ers were uncertain during the day. As
to the blocks of buildings which escaped
the earthquake and then were burned,
the estimates were clearer.
Not a "Standard Policy" State.
California is not what is called among
insurance men a "standa rd policy"
state, and for many years most of the
fire insurance polit ies issued upon prop
erty there contained a specific clause
excepting from liability for wreckage
thru earthquakes. Within a few years
most of the companies writing the bulk
of San Francisco insurance have used
the New York, standard policy, which
contains only one clause in any way
bearing upon liability for earthquake
damage. That clause is as follows:
"If a building or any part thereof
fall, except as the result of fire, all
insurance by this policy on such build
ing or its contents shall immediately
cease.''
Some companies have retained an
old-fashioned policy which exempts
from "damage "occasioned by earth
quake." Officials of these companies
were busy today examining the ques
tion as to how far this clause would
exempt them from losses by resultant
fires.
The general disposition, however, was
that the companies would raise no tech
nicalities, but wherever there could be
the slightest question the benefit of the
doubt would be given to the policy
holder.
THE INSURANCE CARRIED
How the Bisks in San Francisco Were
Distributed.
Chicago, April 19.Fire insurance
companies had about $250,000,000 at
risk in the city of San Francisco, the
estimate being based on the premiums
received in 1905. For years fhe Pacific
coast bas been the one section of the
country which could be depended upon
for a* steady profit. San Francisco has
been the best profit producer of the
coast. Its loss ratio for a period of
years has been the lowest, being less
than 25 per cent of any city in the
country, despite the unusual proportion
of frame construction. As a result of
this unusually favorable experience
rates were low in that city and all the
fire insurance companies wrote liberally.
On the other hand tue proportion of
insurance to value was unusually small,
partly because of the overconfidence re
sulting from the long immunity from
heavy losses, and also because there is
no co-insurance clause in use there, as
THB MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL.
ia tne 1'iuo in oti|fc* Itufce ciUtp, requir
uij. me erf not' to iufrry certain pro por
tion ox msurancolio value.
Foreign Companies' Policies,
The total San Fran&aco premiums in
19U5 were $2,1*86,540!, ol Wiucu $1,045,-
iou were written in American com
panies and $l,i!4u,8bu in toreign com
panies, xhe latter proportion is much
greater than that nma oy roreign com-"
panics in the country at large. The
xuime and moseiie, ior instance, whicu
writes nowaere* eise in tue Dmtea
Estates, haa nearly $5,0u0,0uU at riaK in
ban Jbrancisco.
There were 105 fire companies doing
business in CaUiorma last year. The
firemen's Fund, Which us tne leading
fire insurance company 'of Wan Fran
cisco, stands third, the premium income
in tne city last year being n,oU$ and
the Homo Fire and Marine, owned Dy it,
nad ifrdl.lUd. Local insurance men esti
mated tnat the two companies had over
$8,0UU,0U0 at riski The Hartford had
$2,2Li premiums and the New York
Underwriters owned by it, jjS/7.552, mak
ing a total risk of over $12,000,000.
Tne California* Fire, Which only re
sumed business last year, had large
premiums, and the Pacific underwriters
nad $2U,6d5 The Pacific waB recently
amalgamated with the Conservative of
Los Angeles, which will be doubly a
sufterer, as that company wrote both
life and accident insurance. It had the
largest business on the coast last year.
BLOOMINGTON, ILL.A relief fund
for San Francisco earthquake sufferers
has been started by the board of super
visors, who voted $200 for the purpose.
HEROIC OPERATORS
GAYE WORLD NEWS
Courageous Telegraphers Stuck to
Posts Until They Were Com
pelled to Leave.
New York, April 19.That the world
received news thruout the day of the
San Francisco disaster is due in part
to the courage of the telegraph opera
tors there, who stuck to their posts and
continued to send news and other mes
sages in spite of great personal dan
ger.
The operators and officials of the
Postal Telegraph company remained in
the main office of the company at the
corner of Market and Montgomery
streets, opposite the Palace hotel, until
they were ordered out of the building
because of the danger from the dyna
mite explosions in the immediate vicin
ity. The men went to Oakland, across
the bay, and took possession of the of
fice there.
Last night the company operated
seven wires from Oakland. All mes
sages from the city were taken across
the bay in boats.
Goes Thru Burning Streets.
W. C. Swain, an electrical engineer
in the service of the Postal company,
returned several times in the afternoon
to the main building in San Francisco
and got communication east. His last
message was timed 5:47 p.m. He said
he wa9 surrounded by severe explosions
of illuminating and sewer gas.
The Postal building was not de
stroyed up to 7 o'clock last night. The
roof only had been damaged. It was
surrounded by fire on three sides. The
cable apparatus of the Postal company
was moved to the cable hut on the
beach, near the Cliff house.
The Postal company received com
mercial messages until 2 p.m. in its
San Francisco office. No attempt could
be made to deliver these because the
city was under martial law and mes
sengers could not pass thru the streets.
The company will move back into San
Francisco as soon as conditions per
mit.
5,000 MESSAGES "HUNG UP"
Chicagoans File Inquiries but Com
panies Oan't Forward Them.
Chicago, April 19.Telegraph and
telephone offices were deluged last
night with thousands of messages from
friends and relatives in this city, in
quiring for information of the fate of
loved ones in devastated San Francisco.
Hundreds of Chicagoans are in the
city, either oh business or on pleasure
trips, while many residents here have
relatives who make San Francisco their
home.
One telegraph company last night re
ported that it had 5,000 messages on
file waiting to be dispatched to the Pa
cific coast. Frantic men and women
who feared for friends or relatives tried
to bribe clerks of the company and to
bring the influence of'business men to
bear to have their messages rushed
ahead of the others, but the rule of
"first come, first serve d" was strictly
enforced. Another company reported
like conditions.
United States Mint's Millions Safe.
Washington, April 19.The United
States mint at San Francisco escaped
serious damage from the earthquake
and the resulting conflagration, and its
stock of gold and silver coin and bul
lion, amounting to about $39,000,000, is
safe. *-_-
NIGHT SCENE lift
anE DOOMED CITY
f*'^
that are attempting to save the city
from complete annihilation.
Thieves Are Shot.
Early in the evening a horde of
roughs started to loot the stores and
rob the dead. Mayor Schmitz and
Police Chief Dinan issued orders for the
soldiers to kill outright all who en
gaged in such work. Before the eyes
of an Associated Press representative
three thieves were shot in the back and
fatally wounded in the burning com
mercial district.
OPERA COMPANY'S
BELONGINGS GONE
Metropolitan Organization's Valu
able Costumes and Scenery
Reduced to Ashes.
San Francisco, April 19.The fire
reached the Grand operahouse, on Mis
sion street, and in a moment had
burned thru the roof. The Metropoli
tan opera company from New York
had just opened its season there and
all the expensive seenery and costumes
were soon reduced to ashes.
Destroyed in Minutes.
From the operahouse the fire leaped
from building to building, leveling
them almost to the ground iiuquick suc
cession.
The Call editorial and mechanical de
partments were wiped out in a few
minutes and the flames leaped across
Stevenson street toward the fifteen
story stone and iron Claus Spreckles
building, which, with its lofty dome,
is the most notable edifice in San
Francisco.
Two small wooden buildings fur
nished fuel to ignite the splendid pile.
At first no impression was made, but
suddenly there was a cracking of glass
and an entrance was effected.
Leaps to Dome.
The interior furnishings of the
fourth floor were the first to go. Then,
as tho by magic, smoke issued from
the top of the dome.
This was followed by a most spec
tacular illumination. The round win
dows of the dome shone like so many
full moons they burst and gave vent
to long waving streamers of flame.
Thousands watched the spectacles
with bated breath.
The tall and slender structure, which
had withstood the forces of the earth
quake, appeared doomed to fall a prey
to fire. After a while,-however, the
light grew less intense and the flames,
.finding nothing more to consume, grad
ually went out, leaving the building
standing but completely gutted.
April 19, ??-19061^
4-
inscribed as One of "Unspeak
auie irfranueur" iiow xb
juooiteu iiuin instate.
Uft.^ -laucisco, April 19.The city
labt juKUk rebemoleu one vast shambia
with tne red glare of the fire throwing
weird shadows acioss the worn anu
panic-stricken faces of the homeless,
who wandered the streetB or slept xiuw
exhaustion on piles ot mattresses and
clothing in the parks and on tne side
walks in those districts not yet reached
by the fire
Forgetting for a moment the trials
in the wake of the disaster, the scene
presented by the flames was of un
speakable grandeur. Looking over the
city tiom a high hill in the western
addition, the flames could be seen roll
ing skyward for miles and miles, while
in the midst of the spurting and writh
ing tongues of red fire could be seen
the black' skeletons and falling towers
of the doomed buildings. At regular
intervals the booming of the dynamite
told of the work of the brave men
&*WOMEN'S WEAKNESSES. l^\
Two things there are. that womea^
Will jump at in a trice. "i*^^^
Rash conclusions These things are:
And timid little mice.
MOREAU FORETOLD
IT LAST OCTOBER
.~~,*^S( ^s.
French Savant Predicted Califor
nia and Vesuvian Disasters
Many Months Ago.
Abbe Moreau, in a Paris dispatch to
The Minneapolis Sunday Journal, Oct.
28, predicted the catastrophe which has
overwhelmed San Francisco.
Not only this, but he announced that
the spring of 1906 would be marked
by four principal disturbances, and the
occurrences of March and April have
fulfilled his prophecy.
Here is Abbe Moreau's specific state
ment of the disturbances to be ex
pected, and the verification of his fore
cast:
(a) The west coast of the two Amer-
(Earthquake in California April 18
tidal wave on coast of Colombia and
at Panama, Feb. 16, 1906.)
(b) The ,line including the volcanic
district of eastern Asia.
(Earthquake in Formosa April 14,
1906.)
(c) The South Sea islands and Aus
tralia.
CALL BUILDING, MARKET STREET NEAR MONTGOMERY, BURNED
(Earthquake and tidal wave in the
Society islands, March 4 and 5, 1906.)
(d) The depression of the Mediter
ranean.
m. (Vesuvius in eruption April 5, 1906,
and succeeding days.)
Abbe Moreau's prediction was pub
lished in The Sunday Journal Oct, 29,
1905, in a Paris dispatch of the New
York Herald cable service, exclusively
used in the northwest in The Sunday
Journal. The dispatch read as follows:
Paris, Oct. 28.Abbe Moreau, writ
ing on the subject of the recent solar
activity, says: "As the solar activity
will slowly diminish, it is highly prob
able that earthquakes will occur in
March or April next.''
It will be remembered that Abbe Mo
reau, in an article which was widelv
copied, predicted the earthquakes which
a few months ago devastated India and
which, he holds, were due to sunspots.
He maintained the following in an ar
ticle published this week:
Therer is a connection between solar
activity and volcanoes and even earth
quakes.
"The awakening of the internal
forces of the globe coincides with a
sudden change in the curve of sunspots
if it rises or if it falls. The nuinber
of sunspots is not alone a decisive fac
tor there must be sudden augmenta
tions or diminutions.
"Earthquakes, and especially vol
canic action, are localized on the lines
of fracture of the globe, and particu
larly at the intersection of these lines:
(a) The west coast of the two Amer
icas (b) the line including the vol
canic districts of eastern Asia (c) the
South Sea islands and Australia, and
(d) the depression of the MedHterra
nean, cutting the three first lines of
fracture almost at right angles.
"These are facts. Hypotheses less
certain have been suggested. The sun
acts on the cruBt of the earth by caus
ing its potential electricity to vary or
by modifying the heat sent to the
earth. For both there would be a dila
tion or shrinking of the envelop."
PACIFIC SQUADRON SAFE
United States Warships Escaped Dam
age by Earthquake.
Washington, April 19.A telegram
received at the navy department this
morning from the commander of the
Pacific squadron, sent since the earth
quake, reports that all is well with his
squadron.
Damage at Navy Yard.
Washington, April 19.A telegram
received at the navy department today
from the commandant of the Mare
Island navy yard, sent, since the earth
quake, reports that $1,000 will cover the
damage done there. No mention is
made of any injuries to any of the peo
ple of the yard.
CHABITY.
Houston Post.
"Do you give much to charity?"
"Well, I was held ut by a woman
who eomplained that she had nothing
to wear this morning, and I had to
write her out a check for $50 before
she would let me go.''
'Gee! when your wife "holds you up
she holds you up Tropcrly doesn't
mitm
J. J. HILL ON THE
DISASTER'S EFFECT
1 *|rKfej|
Development of Pacific Coast Will
SufferWall Street in
Dismay.
Journal Special Service.
New York, April 19.The entire
financial district in New York was
filled with dismay over the tidings from
San Francisco. Stocks broke violent
ly and financial sentiment was much
affected. Wall street has enormous
interests on the Pacific coast and iB a
large stockholder in all of the financial
and industrial corporations that do
business there. The controlling inter
ests in the United Railways Investment
company, which owns the street railwa
system of San Francisco, is held in W a
street. The stock of that company
was seriously affected by the news. Th
combination stock declined from 92
64t while the preferred stock broke 2C
points to 71. Both issues recovered
somewhat before the close.
A great many of the stockholder*
make their headquarters at the office oi
Ladenburg, Thalman & Co., No. 2(
Broad street. The company has an of
fice at No. 69 Wall street, and at theS
Mercantile Trust company. *To alj
these stockholders rushed, and some 0$
them were in a condition of panic*
Some insisted on selling out their stocks^
no matter what price they brought, hntt
the majority yielded to the urgent soltjl
citation of their brokers to await rel
suits.
New York Had Direct Wire. g#%
The headquarters for San Franciscan
financial interests were the offices of E.
F. Hutton & Co., 35 New street, and
J. S. Bache & Co., No. 42 Broadway..'
Both of these firms Have a large San
Francisco clientele and yesterday had a
wire working almost the entire day to*
their San Francisco offices. Early in
the day E. Hutton & Co. placed their
wire at the disposal of all persons who
desired to make inquiries concerning
friends in the stricken city. Many
people took advantage of this offer.
The private wire of Hutton & Co. ran
direct to their offices in the Kohl build
ing, at the corner of California and
Montgomery streets, San Francisco.
This is in the very heart of the devas
tated district. Hutton & Co. were
about the first firm in Wall street to
receive news of the disaster.
First News of Disaster.
When the office was opened about 9
o'clock the telegraph instrument was
clicking frantically a language which5
the clerks did not understand. When
the operator arrived the voice that had
been meaningless to them appalled him
with the news it sent.
"Great heavens!" cried he "San
Francisco has been destroyed by an
earthguake. Our office building is still
standing, but fire is raging everywhere
and shock after shock is occurring."
From that moment until about 3'
o'clock, when the wire ceased working,
the operator was surrounded by anxious
inquirers. He sent scores of 'inquiries,
but only a few of them brought an
swers.
Then Building Was Dynamited.
An hour later from a roundabout]
way, came a report to the office that
the building* had been destroyed in
which the offices of E. F. Hutton &
Co. had been. Whether it had been
dynamited in order to prevent the^1
further spread of fire, or whether
it had been weakened by thel
successive shocks and had fin-!
ally become untenable the firm had
not learned. All their .efforts to obtain?
further news failed.
Unloaded Their Stocks.
All the stock exchange houses Te-i
ceived large selling orders and thef"
transactions in stocks were unusually!
heavy. The offices of the Union Pa-,
caflc, Southern Pacific and St. Louis &|
San Francisco railroads were besiegedi
by inquirers, but they had very meager!
news. At Mr. Harriman's office in theJ
Equitable building, most Inquirers werej
referred to the afternoon newspapers.
At the banks only meager details off
what was going on in the fifancial dis
trict of San Francisco was obtainable.
There are forty-three banks and trust
companies in San Francisco, and most
of them have New York correspondents.
At the offices of these correspondents
little information was received con
cerning the disaster.
Effect of Disaster in "the Street.'*
It was the general opinion in finan-i
cial circles that the first effect of the
disaster would be the demand for*
funds upon the New York banks. No
such demand was received yesterday,
but that was due to the panic existing1
in the stricken city. I is thought that
later today order may be in some meas
ure restored and the subtreasury is ex
pecting demands for telegraphic trans
fers of currency. Up to the close ofi
business there was no means of trans
ferring money by wire, even if there
had been a demand.
J. J. Hill's Statement.
James J. Hill, who has just returned
to New York, has many interests on
the Pacific coast. He has received a
number of telegrams concerning the dis
aster, but they were mere bulletins^
Mr. Hill said:
I was deeply grieved to hear of
the catastrophe. My news has been
very indefinite and unsatisfactory. If
the disaster is as severe as reported,
it is very deplorable and it may retard
to seme extent the great progress that
is being made in the commercial an
industrial development of the Paciffa
coast.''
D. O. Mills is the largest owner 01
California property in New York.
THEIB STATUS.
New York Sun.
KnickerWhat becomes of the chil
dren in case of a divorce!
BockerThey occupy much the sami
position as the public in a coal strike"
NO WORDS WASTED
A Swift Transformation
scribed.
Briefly De
About food, the following brief bu
emphatic letter from a Georgia womai
goes straight to the point and is con
vincing:
"My frequent attacks of indiget
tion and palpitation of the heart eul
minated three years ago in a sndde:
and desperate illness,
frodm whichh.
arose enfeebled
vin mind an body
doctor advised me to live on cereafa
but none of them agreed with me u
til I tried Grape-Nuts o6d and Postux
Coffee. The more I used of them th
more I felt convinced that they wer
just what I needed, and in a short tint
they made a different woman of
My stomach and heart trouble* we*
cured as by magic, and my mind wa
restored and is as clear as it ever wa
I gained flesh and strength so raj
idly that my friends were astonishe
Postum and Grape-Nuts have benefite
me so greatly that I am glad to bea
this testimony." Name given
Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
There's a reason.