The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-12-27
QUARTER OF A MILLION
Francis, Valentine & Co. Are the
Heaviest Losers.
LIST OF INSURANCE CARRIED.
The Insurance Adjusters Commence
Work, Which Will Not Be Com
pIeted Before Friday.

All day yesterday, though the rain fell
without intermissiOD, great crowds OF
curious persons stoed around the scene of
Christmas days fire in printers row.
From early in the morning until the lamps
were lighted they watched the busy forces
working among the debris. asserting into
piles the salvage of the wreck
In the printing-house of Valentine &
Co., which was the center of the fire,
the scene presented was one of devasta-
tion. On the upper floors the presses stood
in their places supported by-no one could
tell what. The floor on two or three sides
of almost every one of them was burned
away. leaving the weighty iron machines
standing on an isthmus. Underneath most
of them the joist was eaten away. leaving
nothing but the charred remains to hold
them up. Piled up on top Of them was
every imaginable kind of debris. Burned
papers, wood and iron almost hid them
from view. On the ground floor much the
same condition of affairs existed, although
| probably somewhat worse. the ruins being
piled up on top of the presses higher. The
colOred water caused by the supply of inks
on the floors above had run down. spatter-
ing on everything in sight all the different
colors of the rainbow.
In L. j. Shattuck & Co.'s place the fire
| itself was not so disastrous, the greater
amount Of damage there being done by
water. The place presented a ruined
sight, however. when force of men were
| put to work early yesterday morning to
clean 1t up. On the floor above. where the
establishment of Edward Bosqui was To-
Gated, the fire was more disastrous. The
| com Dosing-roOm with all the type and cases
was entirely consumed. The building is
one mass of water-soaked paper, card
board. glue and colored inks. The presses
here it is not thought are as badly DAM
aged as was at first reported. As YET
they are lying beneath the wreck and
only partial examination into their con-
| dltion can be made.
The paper stock of Blake, MOffatt &
Towne in the basement of the same build.
ing will not be total loss. While tons OF
water were thrown in upon il until it stood
several feet in depth the stock being done
up so tightly In packages a portion of il
escaped material damage. just how much
of IL can be used will not be known until
it is all overhauled and an inventory taken.
A force OF clerks were set at work To DC
this yesterday noon, but will not complete
their work for several days. Just last
| week fOrty-five carloads of paper from the
East were placed in the basement. The
| greater portion of whatever salvage will
be taken out will come from the Clay
|
and Commercial-street END so far as can be
seen are a total loss.
In the Valentine establishment where
! many publications were printed, il will be
| impossible TO give anything like a correct
estimate of the loss until the books of the
concern have been made out. In their
| place, at the time of the fire, were many
| forms. papers, cuts and type, belonging to
various individuals and concerns all over
! the city. just how much each had no
member of the firm is able to say. A large
number of theatrical cuts were burned.
and TO replace these will cost large sum.
| The different insurance companies in
| terested In the losses held a meeting YES
terday morning aud appointed their ad-
! lusters for each or the burn ed-out houses
| They at noon went to work Overhauling
the stock and plants. Although two men
are at work on each establishment, it is
not expected they will arrive at any
figures before Thursday or Friday next
Few of the burned-out firms were dis
posed to talk on what they estimated their
| loss to be. Although they had viewed the
ruins and hurriedly looked over their con.
dition they one and all declared thew were
unable to even approximately say what
were their losses. From the best informa-
ton obtainable the following is list of
fha