Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1877-06-27
The st. John Fire.

To any one at all inclined to fatal
ism the disasters which 1877 haswit-
messed thus far must seem to fore
bode another such year of sorrow as
1871. The record of loss by lire,
flood and tornado was exceedingly
full before st. John came to swell
the total, and with that it becomes
SIMPLY appalling. Considered
merely in reference to its aggregate,
as compared with the loss 10y
previous large fires, that at ST.
John is immense. Considered with
reference to its probable conse-
quences, it is Overwhelmingly
greater than the loss at any fire in
modern times. Five-siXths OF the
city, territorially, and larger pro-
portion measuring by the value Of
the property destroyed than that
which remains, has been wiped ont
of existence. 1t is as clean a
sweep as there was at Chicago six
years ago. Indeed it is, if possible,
more disastrous relatively than the
Chicago confagration for the por-
ton OF st. John which is spared is
far less able to afford food and
shelter to the homeless ones than
was the saved part of Chicago A
fair idea of the destruction can he
gathered Ivy suppoSing fire started
near the Michigan Central elevator.
in this city, to sweep everything
east of a line drawn from that point
to the Westminster Church on
Woodward avenue. What such a
fire would do for Detroit the st.
John fire has done for that city.
st. John, the chef city of New
Brunswick, was founded in 1882,
by the self-exiled American loyalists
to whom the Revolution was rebel
lion against "good King George"
and the Declaration Of lndepen-
dence high treason. 1t was occu-
pied, however, much earlier, the
Huguenot noble, Claude de la Tour,
having built a fort there in 1884,
which his gallant wife successfully
held some ten years later, when it
was attached by D'Aulnay, under
orders from Louis Kill, of France.
In 1887 nearly one-third Of the
commercial portion of the city was
burned, involving loss of more
than a million of dollars. Since
that time it has, until within a few
years, enjoyed comparative pros
perity, and its growth, though slow,
was steady and sure. During the
Crimean war large fortunes were
made by merchants through the
closing of the Baltic ports, which
compelled the British timber mar
ket to draw almost entirely for its
supplies upon the Provinces. As
the trade in timber decreased, the
people turned tteir attention to
the fisheries and a considerable
portion Of the business of the city
for the past fifteen years has been
connected in some manner with the
fishing interest. Since the close OF
the civil war in the United States
st. John has been stagnating, and
since the panic of 1873, followed
as it was, by extensive failure:
among the American lumber mer-
chants doing bushes in New
Brunswick, the city has suffered
from a depression scarcely equaled
In any American city. II is this
fact which makes the fire so ap
palling. Chicago, wiped out, had
recuperative energy which rebuilt
the city in Ave years, but st. Johr
has no such reserve power; and il
is very gravely to be doubted
whether any attempt will be made
TO rebuild the city. II is almost
morally certain that no attempt
will be made to restore it 10 il
former condition. even through thu
insurance should cover a much
larger proportion Of the loss thar
there is reason to believe it will.
The present needs of the home
less people must I've very great, am
the efforts which are being made
by cities In the immediate neighbour
hood will have to be supplemented
TO a certain extent by the benevo
lence Of an entire continent. The
population of the city Is not fal
from 10000, half Of whom, IL ]:
safe 10 say are homeless and desti-
tute. Some of those can no doubt
be provided for in the suburb ol
Portland, which has a population
of about $4,000. Carlton, the other
principal suburb, is chiefly occu.
pied by the mansions Of wealthy
men doing business in ST. John
and can do little for the suffering
The country IN the immediate vicin-
ity Il comparatively poor. and the
chief reliance OF the people must
he upon help from abroad. -Free
Irp,s4