The San Francisco call. [volume], September 12, 1900, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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again the theater managers of San Francisco have been called
,/i \\' J P° n to aid a common cause und relieve a distressed people. The ap-
II llpeal from the inundated districts of the Texas coast has been" a*
promptly rt-Vponded to by thtm as though It was to them alone it was
iddressed.'- The news of the Galveston disaster, followed by the call
iJv.i.. for aid, took them to the counsel chamber. Thera they laid their
plans for a benefit, but that their aid might be of greater benefit in the fields
of, .suffering and death they decided to forthwith subscribe $1000 to the relief
fund and. immediately forward the same to the authorities of Texas.
A' check was yrepared and signed and by to-night this money will have
been expended in securing comfort for many of the homeless. The discussion
of the proposal to five a benefit to secure additional funds for the relief of
the sufferers was next taken up. Without much arsument It was decided to
give the benefit at the Orpheum-on Tuesday next. Kach thf Jter In San Fran
cisco will send its talent to take part in the performance. Clay Clement and
L. R. Stockwell and their company from the Columbia, Ferris Hart man and
the "Ship Ahoy" company from the Alharnbra. the fumous Italian opera com
pany booked to appear at the California. Jessie Bartlett E>av:a and other stars
from the. Orpheum. Ada Lewis and company from the Alcazar, the Frawley
company from the Grand and the Tlvoll opera company and chorus will ap
pear, on- the hill and vie In entertanlng. those fortunate enough to be among
the audience at the monster entertainment. ".
. Though the above f*cts have been announced by the thtater managers,
the hour of beginning and the length of time necessary to run the programme
through have not been announced. During the remainder of this week the
managers will busy- themselves completing arrangements. Jeciding upon th«
prices to be charged for admittance and preparing the bill. Though these pre
liminaries must yet be arranged, the one fact Is assured— that through the the
ater managers of San Francisco the people will substantially respond to the
call for aid -from": Galveston. the scene of s/uffering. desolation and death.
Managers Send Big Check to
Flood Victims and Will Again
Respond to Call for Aid.
SAX FRANCISCO'S Board of Trade will make immediate and substan
tial response to the urgent appeals for aid from stricken Galveston
The appalling tragedy that destroyed the business of the city par
alyzed its commerce and left no employment for thousands of home
less and suffering people but to search the tide for the dead and dy
ir.K. is as keenly lamented throughout San Francisco as elsewhere on the
Rlobe. Likewise the response to the call for aid has been as prompt and will
be as rich in result.
Though yesterday was a holiday, early in the morning various members
of the Board of Trade conferred with President A. A. Watkins as to the
advisability of calling a meeting of the directors forthwith. Messengers
were sent to the various members of the board of directors. Within a few
hours the meeting had convened and suggestions had been offered as to the
beft means to the end. At the suggestion of President Watkins it was agreed
that three solicitors ehouid be employed to visit each and every member of
the Board of Trade, lay before them the purpose of the board andsecure their
subscriptions. A corps of employes under the direction of Henry S. Smith,
secretary of the Board of Trade, took up the labor of notifying as many mem
bers as possible of the, distress and urgent reed of the people of Galveston.
Until late In the evening the work of notifying the members of the Board
of Trade went on. This morning It is rxptcted that the gold will begin pour
ing into the coffers cf the relief committee and into the satchels of the so
licitors.
At the meeting: yesterday It was decided that money, not food and cloth
ing, would b<" forwarded for the aid of the distressed. Before food or cloth
ing could roach Galveston from this part of the country it would be too late to
be of benefit. As soon a^ the money comes In it will be r.lred to GaJveston
and within a day or two, perhaps by to-night,, the first Installment of San
Francisco's contribution will have reached the ucepe of the disaster.
"Our action for the relief of the sufferers of Galveston." said President
Watkins. "was tho result of our own deliberations and followed the sugges
tion of various members who called and made known to me their determin
ation to aid the sufferers of the flooded district. As soon as the relief fund
has assumed Fubftantial proportions it will be wired to Galveston.
"P<rhaps w* will sono the money to the Mayor of the stricken city, maybe
to the Governor of the State or to any committee which we are advised is in
charge of the relief work. By taking thrs means we will be able to assist
the sufferers when they most need assistance. From one day's labor we ex
pect substantial results."
Directors Meet at President's
Call and Decide to Raise
Funds to Aid Homeless.
BOARD OF TRADE
WILL SEND GOLD
THEATERS WILL
GIVE A BENEFIT
Galveston "under orders of the. War De
partment to investigate tue condition of
affairs and report. It is understood i.ere
that he will take charge of affairs there.
He has already taken charge of the Gal
veston. Houston and Hmderson Railroad,
the only road in -operation to the coast,
and a rigid decree against people going to
oalveston has been Issued. There 13 loud
complaint at the order. Hunareds of peo
ple are here who have relatives in ual
veston. and they are using every effort to
*?et Into the city.
Special correspondents are also having a
Continued on. Fourth Page.
. HOUSTON, Tex.. Septl .11.— General Me
: Kibbcn, commanding ? t he ; Department \ of
Texas, left to-day- on -the. .Galveston ,'
[Houston ' and^' Henderson - Railroad/ for-
Texas 'City.' where he got a skin* and went
I to: Galveston.\V General , McKlbben'goe's r to
•'. ¦ V .¦- :. .. '-..-- .'Or •'•••,.¦¦,-? .:' :.•¦'¦
CARLOADS. OF RATIONS
AND TENTS; FOR HOMELESS
"All. that I have done so far," said he,
"is to announce that if any desire to con
tribute they may leave their contributions
at the office of the Mayor, where care will
be taken" to see that the gifts are safe
until disposed of as intended. I'wlll wait
until. to-morrow /before I act. in any capa
city. .To-morrow's "reports may throw
some" different light upon the situation at
Galveston, and then is time to 'act. It
has .been suggested . that committees be
appointed to solicit contributions v from
the kind-hearted of. this city, but I have
done nothing in this direction as yet and
will not until to-morrow. ...By .'that; time
we will know more, and the' holiday* being
over '.we' can' approach "the matter: in a
businesslike ' way. So - far ; I - have formed
no plans and will not until to-morrow." ,
. According -to .the statement of Mayor
Phelan, he has not made any move In the
mattci 1 of relieving the sufferers of Gal
iveston and will not until" something more
definite is learned from the stricken dis
tricts " ' .¦ V : -*rt. '.' ' " i* ' '¦ :V .
No Move Made by Mayor.
The result of the Governor's .cogitation
was the flashing over the 'wires of the
message of Buccor from the. Golden State.
which has just "celebrated her fiftieth
year of prosperity, to the Lone : Star
State, crippled and crushed .by. the loss
of one ; of her finest cities and thousands
of human lives.
"Yes, this can be done," said the ,Gov r
ernor. "I will give the matter my serious
thought, and will do what seems best
under the* circumstances as we learn of
the condition in ' Texas in the next few
hours.' Whatever. is done must be wlth r
out regard to political, or private ambi
tions. The assistance must come from
the people" of .the State, and I will assist
in the capacity of one of the people."
Ix)s Angeles, Sacramento. Stockton. San
Jose and other large coast cities. request-
Ing them to act as assistant committees
to co-operate with the main committee of
this city. ; ;
GOVERNOR GAGE sent a telegram
late last night to Governor Sayer3
of Texas assuring the latter of the
sympathy felt by California ' for
the sufferers from the terrible dis
aster which has overtaken Galveston. Thu
telegram offers assistance -to those de
prived of home and fortune by the awful
storm. The Governor . returns to Sacra
mento to-day, and upon receiving a repiy
to the dispatch .the chief executive will
appoint a committee' to take charge of the
collection of the" aid money. -
Will Appoint a . Committee.
Shortly after his -breakfast with Cali
fornia Parlor, N. S. ;G. '.'."W., In the Palace
Hotel," the. Governor .was approached by
Charles M. Shortridge and a representa
tive of .The Call, who drew his attention
to the great distress of -the Texas- people.
It was suggested* to him that California
should not be behind in .succoring .those
whom the elements, had rendered desti
tute. In order that the contemplated as
sistance-should be '• delicately offered it
should come' from the entire people of thi3
State, and.no one-. is -more .representative
of the people than the Governor. Private
enterprises in this worthy direction' are
always regarded with the suspicion that
self-aggrandizement or: personal gain arc
the prevailing -motives,. -but when, the
Governor takes up such, a movement the
public : has full cpnfldence in what Is be
ing done and a conviction, that; their do
nations are not going astray or being mis
applied. : • '
Governor : Gage grasped' • the : situation
and stated that from an oflicial position
he could not act. He'nad not, been of
ficially informed of any disaster in Texa»
or that help for the sister State Is needed/
and added, "However, there ;is '.another
standpoint to view the situation from. The
sentiment of : humanity' and brotherhood
demands that action be taken without of
ficial red tape. I cannot see '¦¦ my way
clear to act ; in ah official capacity, but as
an individual' I do. : A rough plan which
suggests; itself to my. mind, is to appoint
a -committee of representative': men whose
Integrity Is unquestionable, and have them
take in hand. the matter of collecting food,
clothing and cash"* for - those" who are * in
need In Texas. The urgency, of the 'case
demands 1 that the majority of . the com
mittee, be selected from the; business men
of, San Francisco."* ¦'¦'; : .• ¦ •. •. Vj/
; Mr. Shortridge ¦ suggested r that' the Gov
ernor wire to some prominent citizens ; of
Qoveraoir Qage •. Sends a Message, ©f Cond oflemice .and a
Promise of .Succor to ; Texas 5 CUM piiltlii
CALIFORNIA WILL AID
HOMELESS OW GALVESTON
SCENE OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION IN STORM-RENT GALVESTON.
GAL.VKSTON, Tex., Sept. 11.— Over
2300 bodies have already been taken
out to sea or bjirled in trenches.
Other hundreds are yet to be taken
from the ruins. These bodies are now ill
badly decomposed and they are being
burled In trenches where they are found.
Others are being burned in the debris
where it can ¦foe done safely.
There is little attempt at identification
and It Is safe to say that there will never
be a complete list of the dead.
. Chief of Police Ketchum Is in charge of
the work of burying thfc dead. There are
large bodies of men engaged in this work,
tearing up the ruins and getting out the
corpses. Sorrie of those •whose bodies arc
being taken out were probably only, in
jured when they were first struck down,
but there was no getting relief to them,
and they perished miserably.
, The remnant of the force of regular sol
diers who were stationed here, and It is
a very small remnant, have joined the po
lice in patrolling the city. ' • ¦
Several persons have already been shot,
It' Is reported.- A soldier of Captain Raf
ferty's battery, while patrolling the beach
this morning, ordered a man to desist
from looting. The fellow drew a weapon
and the soldier shot him dead. . The sol
dier was attacked by fcur other men and
he killed all of them. He had five'car
tridges in his rifle and each of them found
a victim.
Other men have also been shot but the
details. are not known, nor can the exact
number be ascertained. It. is probable
that twenty-five were killed. Some of
these were shot for falling to halt when'
ordered to do so. Others were shot for
vandalism.
The ruins of the brick buildings have
not yet been searched for the dead, and
there is a large number in them. In the
mass of rubbish which marks the site of
the Lucas Terrace Bridge house forty or
fifty people were killed outright and' their
bodies are still In the ruins.
The Orphans' Home is totally demol
ished. Ninety-two children and eleven
nuns were killed. It is rumored that one
sister escaped, but if she did no. trace can
be found of her.
Of the regular soldiers few remain.
Twenty-three were drowned at the bar
racks at Camp Hawley and seven at Boli
var. .One man drifted about in the bay
until Monday morning and was taken out
alive.
The correspondent stood at the foot of
Tremont street and counted" nine floating
bodies without- mo'vlns, and* this Js .only,
one instance. \ It is not known 'whether
these were water, front victims . or. dead
beings cast up by the sea. A lot of rub
bish was. being: loaded on-barges and this
stuff had many bodies In it.
MORE THAN TWO
THOUSAND BODIES
HAVE BEEN BURIED
dertake this work without charge
and all' moneys subscribed will be
promptly. forwarded. The company
Issued a statement to this effect
last evening and by to-night the
sounders in ¦ far away Texas will
begin to tap off the many sums .
subscribed by the people and or
ganizations of this city. The Postal
Telegraph Company's offer means
the saving of many dollars to the
relief fund and will doubtfes be
taken advantage of.
HE elves twice who gives quick
ly.". This truth has been rec
ognized by the people of San
Francisco and prompt organization
by those who have taken up the
relief work assures quick returns.
All moneys subscribed for the re
lief of the Galveston sufferers must
be as quickly forwarded. The
Postal Telegraph Company will un-
RELIEF FUND TO
BE WIRED FREE
GREWSOME WORK AT GALVESTON IN
COLLECTING AND BURYING THE DEAD
Many Conflicting Reports Sent
Out Concerning the Num
ber of Victims of the Hur
ricane, and the Figures
Range From 6OO to 5OOO.
Some 23OO Bodies Said to
Have Been Buried.
GOVERNOR OF TEXAS
WIRES THE CALL ON LOSS
OF LIFE AND PROPERTY
MOST conflicting arc the reports from Galveston relating
to the number of persons killed by the hurricane. Es
timates of the dead range from hundreds to thousands.
In a message to The Call Governor Savers of Texas says the loss
of life in Galveston alone is from 600 to 1500. The relief com
mittee of Galveston, headed by Mayor Jones, declares the dead
will number 3000. In another message Jones figures out that
5000 perished in the storm-swept city. However this may be,
the fact remains that thousands of families are homeless. Relief
is being hastened to them from many sections of the Union.
GALVESTOX, Texas, Sept. 11. — Some order is being
brought out of chaos, and something like a systematic attempt
is being made to clear the debris and remove the dead. Idlers
are being pressed into the service at the point of the bayonet
and made to work, and a military cordon is being drawn tighter
and tighter about the place. Even- horse and mule that was left
in the city is in service. Supplies are coming in from Houston,
and the first line of communication with the outside world was
obtained to-day via Texas City. The forces are working on rail
roads, and in a few days the people of Galveston believe the situ
ation will be greatly improved.
AUSTIN, Tex., Sept. 11.— To The Gall, San Eran
cisco: The loss of life at Galveston -alone is
from 600 to 1500. The loss of property is $10,
000,000. Four thousand houses were swept away.
JOSEPH -D.-SAYERS.yr
SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1900.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
VOLUME LXXXVIII-NO. 104.
The San Francisco Call.
MAYOR OF GALVESTON
SAYS 5OOG PERISHED
»
GALVESTON, £»pt. 11. — It is my opinion, based on personal
information, that 5OOO people have lost their lives here. Ap
proximately one-third of the residence portion of the city has
b«en swept away. There are several thousand people who are home
less and destitute — how many, there is no way of finding out. Ar
rangements are now being made to have the women and children
sent to Houston and other places, but the means of transportation
are limited. Thousands are still to be cared for here. We appeal to
you for immediate aid. WALTEB C. JONES, Mayor Galveston.
Tex.. Sept. 11.— The following statement of conditions at
GalvcFton and appeal for aid is issued by the local relief committee:
A conservative pFtlmate of the loss of life is that It will reach 30flf>. At least MK30
farellles ar* FVlterless an* wholly de«mi>t<». The entire remainder of the population
if FurrertliB in greater n- 1i>sb degree. Not a Mncl? church, school or charitable insti
tution, of tvhieh Galveston had bo many, is left Intact. Not a building escaped
damage, and half the whole number were entirely obliterated. There is immediate
r.eed cf clothlngr. food and household goods «,? a!l kinds. If nearby cities will open
• Fyluras for women and children the Fltuatlon will be preatly relieved. Coast cities
should Fend v* rn»: eg wen as provision*. Including kerosene oil, gasoline and candles.
W. C. JONES. Mayor.
M. I,ASKHR. President Island Savings Bank.
J. D. BKPfXER. President Cotton Exchange.
C. II. McMAPTER. for Oamlxr of Commerce.
R. O. LOWK. Manager Galvppton News.
CLARENCE OWSL.EY, Manager Galveston Tribune.