Weekly Trinity journal., 1871-10-14
GREAT FIRE IN CHICAGO.

We extract the following article, regarding the
late great confagration in Chicago, from the
Sacramento Union of the 10th instant
Our dispatches up to late hour last night en-
ables us to give the reader something approx
matng the truth as to the magnitude of the
great Chicago fire, which broke out at 9:45 on
Sunday night, and not yet under control at
midnight on Monday. The burnt district is
something over a mile and half long by little
over mile wide, covering area of about 900
acres. 1t includes the whole business part of
the city all the large hotels-Tremont, Sher-
man and Briggs houses all the banks, theaters,
great railroad depots printing offices, churches
and immense stores warehouses, etc; and of
course the greatest part of the wealth of the city,
probably two-thrds of it. What this is in dol.
lars, will estimate as follows The whole
taxable property, real and personal, as assessed
for municipal purposes, was in round numbers a
year ago, S270, ,00O, 900. OF this the two-thrds
is $3.50 900, 900 and of this the real estate Tex
Guiding value of building) is probably one-half.
We should thus have approximately clear loss
of but $50, 600 ,00O assuming that all the build
ings in the burnt district have been ruined. But
the assessment of all cities is generally but
about 40 to so per cent of the cash value, these
figures of loss would have to be raised to at least
$3.50 600, 900 probably $l80,O0O, 600 would be
nearer the mark. The amount is enormous
enough to startle belief, even without indulgence
estimate of $500 900, 900 given by dispatch.
That is more than double the taxable property
OF the entire city, as valued at the last assess
ment and we must now throw out of the reck-
oning the fact that the land is still left as as good
as it was before, except that it is encountered by
ruins.
This is, perhaps, as to dollars and cents, the
most destructive fire that has occurred in mod
ern times. 1t is certainly out of all proportion
bavond he loc ont al ad hv fra
this continent. In the Winter of 1858, what is
still known as the great fire of New York oc-
Cured. 1t destroyed 600 of the best houses in
heart of the city, and the loss occasoned was
$4,000 600. In 1915, Pittsburgh lost So 900, 900
by fire sweeping away all its business houses.
May 18th, l849, fire broke out in st. Louis
which, aided by tornado, in one night destroyed
forty blocks in the heart of the city, with twen-
ty-seven steamboats, loss, Sl7, 900, 900. During
the eighteen months ending June 22d, 1851, San
Francisco had five great fires, the total loss be-
ing SIG, 600, 600 loss by the greatest of them,
May I'd, 1851, 81 ,000,0 600. On July 4th and 9TH,
1866, fire broke out in Portland, Maine which
burnt over district a mile and half long by
quarter of mile wide. The loss was So
000, 900. From all these American fires the
burnt cities rose speedily, and of their ef-
fects were visible in five years after their occur
renee. All these losses together do not aggre-
gate 1.-THE of the reported loss by the Chicago
fire. For anything nearly equal to it we must
search the the records of great fires of the Old
World for several centuries.
The greatest of these was that of Moscow,
September 18th to 10th, 1872 This, we are
told, destroyed 1882 houses, the Kremlin pail
ace, and some very grand and costly churches
The losses by the fire and the war to the city of
Moscow are estimated at S233, 600, 900. Oc this,
probably not more than two-thrds is strictly to
the account of the fire the rest to the devasta-
tions and pillages of the French army The
great London fire broke out September 3D. 1866
1t ragged for several days and consumed 80
churches, l3 200 dwellings, forming 400 streets
and covering an area of 436 acres London at
that day was not as well built Chicago, though
it had some costler buildings doubtless. We
are told that in five years it was completely re-
built and better than ever, with not a trace ofl
the fiery destroyer visible. The loss by the Lon
don fire was $4,000, ,000-a dollar then being
equal to four or five now.
The great fire of Chicago will be classed with
these two European ones, at least as to the ag-
gregate of loss by it. Ia the matter of recuper-
ative power the American city will not be found
wanting. Chicago is the most vital and enter
prisimg of all American cities, save only one |
Such people may be cast down by an event so
truly appalling, but they will soon return to the
work of rebuilding, and we shall not be sur
prsed if in two years the city shall be completely
restored, greatly improved in its architecture
and with its business unimpaired. They will
find in the West and on the Atlantic seaboard
all needful assistance in their present distress,
and as we can give them little from here more
subtantial, at least let them be assured of our
most earnest sypathes in their misfortunes and
our best wishes for their speedy and complete
recovery from the effects of the dreadful calamity