El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-13
SITUATION AT
GALVESTON
A Stout Hearted People Show
True Grit.
WON ANS fORTlTUDt
Horrors OF the Stricken City and
the Experlencc OF Survivors
Graphically Described BY d Re
cidenf

sidenf.
Detailed particulars of the grea'
Galveston horror have been publish
| ed in every part of the country. said
Iy F Austin. of Galveston. last night
..but IN seems that few people know
ANYTHING about what the SURVIVORS oil
that terrible calamity have done 10 re-
build the city and to alleviate suner-
ing the most intense ever experienced
by human kind"
| THE outside world has contributed
literally and extended all the sympa-
thy possible TO the unfortunate citizens
of the stricken city. but with that they
stop and now really know little OF the
state of affairs there.
...ro hear of il is one thing and 10
| he there. see the craZed women and
children the grief stricken men Dear
| ing the lifeless. torn. bruised and par
TALLY decomposed forms OF their own
wives and children from the debris and
casting them into living fire or into the
gulf to be devoured by the sharks IS
another Imagination. however vivid
cannot picture the scene or conceive
the suffering.
This. though. has been told often
before but it will never be told cor
rectly as words cannot express IT. l
was going to tell you what Galveston
has done and is doing to regain its for
mer position. Unkind tongues and un-
scrupulous pens have told of the city
that was. but not to be again. While
this was going on the citizens of Gal
weston were wrestling with obstruction
and death and day by day replacing the
ruins with temporary structures and
in many cases building up better than
before. Though surrounded with con-
fusion. riot. misery, with dead. SICK
and dying on every hand. the first
thought of the Galveston people after
aleviating misery was to rebuild tine
city and this determination has done
wonders even as miraculous as the
work of the storm itself.
1T is the verdict of every one tina:
the situation could not have been
handled with more precision. In the
midst of all the confusion relief COM
mittees were organized and they were
not all together foreigners. The best
citizens of Galveston even the most
delicate society ladies. forgot their own
condition and with a vim walked into
the hardest tasks and are even vet at
work | saw ladies' who had never
turned a hand in their own affairs be-
fore. go out into the streets and gather
up the sick. and suffering children
and take them into their houses. They
even helped to remove the dead from
the rubbish and when sufficient help
from Houston and other places arrived
to take care of the rough work, the
ladies converted their own homes irto
hospitals and received every one VINO
was in need. To think OF it now il
seems impossible that women could
stand the strain of such excitement and
suffering. but | am convinced that the
women of the south are equal TO any
emergency. After the first blow they
were as cool as the men and worked
heroically. day and night. as long as
they could render one part OF assist
ance.
when you think of the fact that not
until last week were all the dead gath
cred from the rubbish. not to mention
those who were swept to sea. you have
some idea at least of the true state of
affairs. While this gruesome sight
met the gaze on every side and il seem
ed that the city was almost totally de-
stroyed the work of rebuilding was in
progress. Now the elevators are run
ming on full time. the wharfs are as
busy as ever. and business has beene
resumed in every part of the city. Gal
vestton is still in need o. assistance
however. for many poor people are &C
tually without a change of clothes
wealthy citizens there. although they
have lost half of their fortunes and
have been left without any income
whatever. are doing much to remedy
this state of affairs. Many of them
have used their own money to build
homes for the poor and have contin-
ued to pay the salaries of their en-
ployes from the day of the storm with
out receiving their services. Mr.. Sealey
Noodle and others have contributed
thousands OF dollars to the poor since
losing most OF their own property and
the thought OF their own fortunes have
not crossed their minds.
Galveston has already survived the
flood continued Mr.. Austin. and Will
some day be a better city than ever. |
One thing we ask of the state is az
exempt us from taxes. take charge of
the city under marshal rule and protect |
us from the ravages OF politicians. Gal |
weston cannot afford to be taxed heav- |
Ter and heavier every day that politi |
clans may gain and We will ask the
next Legislature TO relieve us OF this |
evil ard pianage our public affairs that |
we may attend to our own private bus |
mess and know that politicians are |
not putting the city deeper in debt ev-
cry day"