The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume], April 21, 1906, Page 2, Image 2

About The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921

Image provided by: University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, HI

                
THE PACIFIC COMMERCIAL, ADVERTISER, HONOLULU, APRIL 21, 1906.
SECURITIES
'V
s
i
com ARE s
Reason to Believe That the Safes of
Big Banks Have. Been Destroyed
in the Conflagration.
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No
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HONOLULU
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inro the first word of the terrible venience through their possession
bine ir.e , . . Wan. this time. You can say the same
calamity which nas iauen oau
Cisco reached Honolulu the opinions as
to the real result have been rather
nebulous. There was not sufficient in
formation on which to build more than
a conjecture and the facts as they
have been transmitted during the past
twenty-four hours have sustained some
of the theories and upset many more.
' A message was received by Manager
Gaines about ten o'clock in the morn
ing to the effect that the cable com
pany would attempt to install an of
fice in the burnt district and it would
be presided over by the Oakland op
erator. This was sufficient to cause
the men of the city to gather on the
corners and discuss possible results.
Shortly after 11 o'clock Messrs. H.
Kackfeld & Co. received a wire from
their house in Bremen, but it was so
full of harrowing detail, .coupled with
the fact of ita having been transmitted
Tia Manila from the European city, it
impelled the public toward the opinion
that it was tampered with in the Phil
ippine capital. Later when the service
messages came in to Manager Gaines
the Hackfeld news was, to a certain
extent, confirmed, lacking mainly In
that portion referring to the damage
to cities outside of San Francisco.
Tne whistle shortly after 10 o'clock
announcing the resumption of the ser-
vice was followed by the posting of
erathAs nn th windows of the ca
ble office and the news was, in a sense
relief to very few, for there were
those in the crowd whose severe men
tal suffering had left its trace on their
countenances. To them the news was
not in the nature of a relief; women
in the crowd, and some of the men
v, on the verge of nervous pros
tration and it was only by encourage
ment from their friends that they were
kept from breaking down.
One rnan was heard to say, "I am all
in; everything I had has been" burn
t-d. There were others of the thou
sand who watched the posting of the
dispatches who could have said the
same. The cable office was the news
center and the calamity the sole topic
of conversation. Anything else was
rrmil fn KVerc tho fact that the
Johnson jury consumed less than five
minutes in reaching a verdict of guilty
was ignored.
In the business offices during the day
the result of the calamity was less a
matter of speculation; men were will
ing to advance an opinion as to the
situation and the effect it may have
upon this community. The financiers
are as firm in the belief that Honolulu
will not be affected as they were when
the extent of the damage was specu
lative and they base their opinion
mainiy upon the fact that the sugar
t-rop is being sold largely in the East
and the money in payment for the car
goes will be paid in New York and will
be handled between Xew York and the
islands until business in San Francisco
becomes settled.
The value of the Hawaiian securities
held in San Francisco is the same to
day as it was before the fire and it
will remain so unless there should be
a considerable amount thrown upon
the market, a contingency that is not
believed will arise. An immediate un
loading will be accomplished by as
prompt a shrinkage and it is not
thought that the holders will be so
bard pushed as to warrant a sacrifice.
For the ivason that present prices will
btain only in the event of the own
ers holding on, it is not thought there
will be many offerings.
L. Tenney Feck says there is no real
cause for anxiety in so far as Hono
lulu is concerned so long as the sugar
finds a market in New York and the
money is handled there.
"If the cargoes were going direct,"
lie remarked, "the affair would be dif
ferent, but they are going around th
Horn or through the Straits. Our
people are not large investors in San
Francisco realty and they will meet
with no losses in that way."
He does not believe that the finan
cial institutions will lose much through
the fire for the reason that their se
curities are in their large vaults an.1
when the fire cools oft they will be
found intact. "As to loans on real es
tate," he continued, " the land is still
Here and the buildings are usually in
sured" up to the amount of the loan?.
If there are numerous cases where the
i ans were beyond the insured value
then there will be a nipping, but I do
not believe it will bp considerable. The
potential value of the land can not
have changed unless it should follow
the example of Chicago and take an
upward tendency. Hack there it was
Thought after the. fire or, I may sav.
during it, that the values would de
crease, but the opposite was the cast
and thy began climbing before tlv
ashes had cooled and they continuet
to do so until stopped by" the disas
trous iamc of 1S73.
"Another thing: San Franciscans ar
large holders of securities outside o
the city and in some cases, perhaps i
good many, outside of the State. Thin
of the money in mines and in ranches
Well, those securities are as good t,
day as thy were before the fire am
"the holders will not suffer any incon-
at
of,
Honolulu. The place might burn down
and yet a large portion of the popu
lation would not suffer ruin in conse
quence. Men in this day do not carry
their wealth over their heads; it is
around about them, but not of them,
and when trouble comes they can go
and get it where rust and decay can
not touch it."
Practically that is the opinion of a
leading financier of the Territory, ana
his views are coincided in by others
on the same line. E. I. Spalding says
"I am sure that Honolulu was never
in a more prosperous condition, and
there is absolutely no reason for alarm.
I know of no reason for calling any
loans here and if they are called I guess
they will be met. Our local banks are
strong, very strong, and the situation
at the Coast causes no alarm here,
but a feeling of sympathy and regret
mnr intense than I can express. It
occurs to me that we should look upon
the bright side of the affair and not be
too pessimistic in our views as to the
outlook. San Francisco has plenty of
money and the State has rich mines
that will help materially in pulling
them out of their difficulties. Our
greatest sympathy should go out to
the individual losers, those whose
homes have been burned and who may
not be in a position to rebuild or re
coup their losses. There will be much
suffering among the poor, but you may
depend upon it the people of the State
will rise to the occasion."
Charles , M. Cooke, president of the
Bank of Hawaii, has not changed his
mind in any particular since saying
to the Advertiser on Tuesday night
that the effect on Hawaii would be in
considerable. "Why should we feel
it?" he asked yesterday. "Our banks
are strong financially, perhaps as
strong as they ever have been, and
we do not owe the California banks
enough to make it worth while men
tioning. I speak for my own bank and
I believe . I am expressing- the situa
tion regarding all of the others. San
Francisco is going to pull out of this
fog surprisingly fasti she will follow
the pace of Baltimore after the great
fire there. When I went through that
city the last time I was in the States
I could not realize that only a short
time before there had been a conflagra.
tion that wiped out the town. If there
are holders of Hawaiian securities who
feel that they may be obliged to have
their value in money they may send them
here for sale and there may be people
here to buy them, but it does not fol
low. The hanks over there are as
strong, probably, as any in the' coun
try and there is no need to worry over
their financial condition."
It will be remembered that when the
little New Jersey manufacturing town
of Patterson was burned a few years
ago the citizens in all of the neigh
boring places came to their rescue
with offers of assistance. "Patterson
was all right," said James B. Castl'e
in referring to the incident, "and the
mayor wired to those who had offered,
'Patterson will take care of her desti
tute and suffering poor.' "
That may sound a little perky at this
time, but Mr. Castle is of the opinion
that the great State of California will
do the same thing.
There was a great deal of comment
upon the fact that there was nothing
definite in the dispatches as to the
loss of life; the public did not consider
that at the time the message was dis
patched at San Francisco chaos reien-
ed and particulars were not obtain
able. That information will com inter
md until it does the suspense will
continue among those who have rela-
F
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ALL THIS BUILT-UP DISTRICT IS NOW IN RUINS.
GOAT ISLAND AND THE OAKLAND, BERKELEY AND ALAMEDA SHORE
IN THE DISTANCE.
tives in the city who have not been ; and the regular customer at the res
heard from. J taurants who has been all the time
Mr. Giffard was skeptical as to the ' accustomed to having two pats with
extent of the damage reported in the h,s waffle will have to content him
early dispatches. "Every - pgent here se!r with one and make it go around,
has sent a menage asking for par-1 The officers and passengers on th3
ticulars and it is strange we do not America Maru expressed surprise at
hear from our representatives. The the news that greeted them on their
report that the Spreckels refinery has arrival and there were some of the
been destroyed may be correct, but it Passengers, those with homes in San
is stiuns-e that we have not heard of Francisco, who showed a decided dis
it in this office. There are three position to return to the States on the
Spreckels refineries in the State, but tlrst steamer. The impossibility to se
we are not told which one it refers to cure answers to their cablegrams made
and for that reason I am inclined to the uncertainty greater and their de
the opinion that the message in whica j s're to return stronger. One of the of
the statement was made was gather- fibers stated to a reporter for this pa
ed in Xew York from the columns of Per that he had noticed a marked
one of the daily papers which, in such shortage in "the supply of "float" coal
times, does not always linger' close to sucn as ls used for bunkering trans-
truth."
The action of President Roosevelt in
Ordering the coin of the mint to be
distributed called forth most favorable
comments from the public and at the
same time it was looked upon as a
most unusual proceeding. As an
emergency measure it was permissible,
pacific steamers, and he and the other
officers of the steamer are of the yesterday.
SORT OF MAN
M'KENNA IS
McKenna, the cable superintendent
at San Francisco who opened up com
munication from that city with the
rest of the world, is a Canadian by
birth. He has worked under Mr.
Gaines, Superintendent of tho local of
fice, and is known among his associ
ates as a man who never tires.
"If there was any trouble at the
office, McKenna was sures to turn up
and work right along until the rush
or trouble was over," said Mr. Gaines
opinion that vessels scheduled to leave
since the departure of the America
Maru may be unable to leave owing
to a difficulty in securing a quantity of
McKenna is about 35 years old, 6
feet 1 inch tall, and is married.
Mr. Gaines stated last evening that
j McKenna had not only saved all the
this coa
The steamer Mauna Loa arrived from instruments in the town office, but had
for the coin capital of the entire city "awai e1arly yesterday morning, the got them all safely out to the "hut."
, first nf tnp islqnfl floot n ra-n r-V hPrA rnt. 1 1
was Duriea in the ruins and the only V "V " , ici?a were uat-
avnihhiB oaoh woe i tv,o T-anc " uiocioicr was xc- teries. Tne instruments saved were
of the mint. There is no doubt of the ce5vea- ne of the passengers says the those of the elaborate duplex system,
immediate necessity for the money and rews. reached Honuapo Wednesday aS well as the testing apparatus. When
President Roosevelt found a
Til OTn in fT aa fha rsi ecno-i-a Ti-crti Am.
way of . . . " , .
putting it into circulation without v
Hminary steps. This ls the way the f s import than that the entire city
people of this
way
city expressed them
selves and the President rose in their
opinion according as he would help the
sufferers.
The shipping interests in Honolulu
were stirred from center to circumfer
ence by the late report that the
wharves were burning. It is the opin
ion of some of the shipping mastei-3
that the vessels were removed out into
the harbor at the first sign of danger
so that they might be safe from de
struction. This feature of the disaster
may bring consequences to Honolulu
that were not at first thought; this city
depends largely upon the market of
San Francisco for certain supplies and
unless they arrive regularly bad re
sults will follow. If the Sonoma got
away on Thursday she would" bring
down an immense quantity of food
stuffs and without which there will be
shortage. This applies more partic
ularly to the ice house goods that
should have been, in the regular order
of loading, placed on board on Wednes
day last. It is already noticed that
there is a tendency in some quarters
here to raise the price of commodities
and the frugal housewife will within
a few days curtail in the use of butter'
had been destroyed and half the in
habitants killed. It is possible that
the news reached Hawaii by wireless
message, several having been sent from
here within a short time after the ac
cident was reported, and the usual
number of "rubber necks' on the land
wire line caught the message and gave
it out. The anxiety was allayed later
when the news properly disseminated.
PHILLIPS GETS
FURTHER NEWS
one sees the duplex instruments in the
local cable office, the . wonder increases
that McKenna and his men ever trans
ported them across the peninsula. In
the local office the duplex system is con
tained in six booths, each containing
ten heavy chests. McKenna also saved
a month's files of messages.
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Mr. Phillips received the following
cablegram from Portland via Manila
last evening at 7:30, It was in answer
to a round-the-world query sent Wed
nesday morning at S:30. The family
referred to is that of the mother of
Mrs. Phillips:
PORTLAND, Ore., April 20. To
Manny Phillips, Honolulu: Goslinsky
family safe Oakland.
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If 'tl3irJJyl'l'
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SEND THE
MANNING UP
The suggestion was made last even
ing that it might be wise to get au
thority to send the United States rev
enue cutter Manning from Honolulu to
San Francisco, taking along one or
even three representatives from the
business community to look after the
Hawaiian Bureau in San Francisco,
recommended by Acting Governor At
kinson to be established there for the
relief of Hawaiians. The Manning is
doing nothing here at present and has
no cruises mapped out. She 1s regis
tered as a 16-knot boat and could easily
make the trip to San Francisco in
about five and a-half days. The Lawton
could make the trip in six days an-1
the little IT. S. tug Iroquois in about
eleven days.
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HAS HAUNTED
CABLE OFFICE
Ever since Honolulu was notified of
the disaster at San Francisco the local
cable office has been haunted by a
young man named Crawford whose'
father, mother and grandparents re
side in the Richmond district of San
Francisco. Only when it becomes
necessary" for him to get his meals
does he leave the vicinity of the office.
Mr. Gaines found him at 3 a. m..
Thursday sitting on the curb and in-
vited him inside the office.
"Well, I don't suppose a young fel
low like me can show his respect for
his parents better than by keeping in
touch with the only thing that connects
with the place they're in dead or
alive," said the young man.
Crawford came here in December as
a member of the crew of the Alameda J
and remained is now .working with an
electrical company.
CASHIERCOOKE
TALKS ON VAULTS
C. H. Cooke, cashier of the Bank of
Hawaii, said to an Advertiser reporter
yesterday:
"I think that the securities and rec
ords in the different banks and other
financial institutions of San Francisco
are probably safe in the vaults. It Is
my impression that this was the case
in the Baltimore firo "
Some particulars of the Baltimore
fire which were given in a mail special
to the Advertiser would indicate that
the large financial institutions found
their paper wealth intact in their
vaults. This appears under date of
February 10, 1904, three days after the
fire started and the second day after
it had burned out:
"Financial institutions are today
busily engaged in carting their secu
rities and funds to temporary offices
outside the confines of the burned dis
trict.'
There
is
W i?
nothing in tho
know that any loss was sustained from
heat penetration of vaults.
With regard to ordinary safes, it is
a piece of wisdom, long ago learned
at cost, not to open the receptacles
until they have been thoroughly cool
ed. If a safe is opened when hot like
an oven, its paper contents aw ant
instantly to take fire.
IROQUOIS AND
LAWTON ORDERS
Admiral Lyon yesterday sent to
Washington for orders concerning the
naval transport Lawton and the U. S.
S. Iroquois. Xo answers had been re
ceived up to last night, late. Captairt
Parker and other officers of the Law
ton are quite anxious to return to San
Francisco. They have a fine, fast ves
sel, filled with naval stores of every
description, which had been intended
for the Pago Pago. Samoa, station,
and she is loaded with extra coal at
present to take her t .Samoa and back.
The vessel could leave within an hour's
notice.
M'CALLUM HAS
BEEN HIT HARD
r--f .i.. -m
'Si
j SAN FRANCISCO BURNT DISTRICT, WITH CITY HALL IN THE DISTANCE.
si
McCallum, the young operator who
reached the cable hut at the Clrfi
House yesterday morning and relieved
Cable Superintendent McKenna so the
latter could obtain sleep, has been un
fortunate in the last year. In the San
Francisco disaster he In.st a.'l that he
owned. During the past eight months
he has had no word f his father and
mother who went to sea in the HI-
fated British bark Drunn-raig. a ves-
sel which has never been heard from.
The bark was posted as an overdue
andi finally posted as lost. McCallarn's
father was captain of the vessel.