The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-27


buiIdfng valued at $1,000
What the Fire Destroyed.
r, actual count the fire swept forty
-+-5r business houses. niuety-sevcn res
dances and two churches. There is
-of single place Of business stand
irr 10 is impossible TO spend a penny
tr lrc~rur today. Although less than
-a1 dwellings, were burned, the fact re-
mains that 600 people were rendered
r.r-razs. MerCur. like all other min
inc camps. had a large floating popu-
lafion. and a great many counted in
-rr list Of homeless We're single men
,,ro we're living at the various board
5rr houses and hotels. One hotel
burned would leave possibly thirty or
trrrv men without places to sleep. And
en- the italian quarter. which was COM
rIatcIv wiped out, a three-rOOm house,
81. rule. sheltered seven or eight
miners. I'm this way, Mayor Luft eX-
mains the difference between the num-
i.. of buildings gone and the number
of homeless people.
As luck would have If, i'm the lower
,rH of town there were any number
ar uuoccupied houses-the result of an
rmvarrautcd extension Of the camp
some time agO-and into these those
who were burned out viii be able TO
obtain shelter.
IT the impression prevails that Mer-
cur is in any great need it is errO-
ua0us. Another car of provisions dur
frg the next forty-eight hours could
De- used to good advantage, but little
beyond that will be required, accord
ing To- Mayor Luft Most of the peO-
MI. have money, and between the ped
l. fHrr In
row and the merchants who viii open
stores as quickly as provisions can ar
rive. the citizens can get about all they
will require.
Caring For the Unmarried.
The old boarding house became a
boarding house in reality today noon.
IL WAS found that the unmarried men
pf the camp were not faring satisfac-
torilv ON the raw provisions, having
nobody to cook for them, and upon
discovering this situation. the mayor
had several cooks put to work over
hurriedIy erected stoves, and hot meals
are being served at the provision sta
ton. Meanwhile the steady stream of
humanity up and down the hillside
continues. Everybody is given enough
food stufs 20 last twenty-four hours,
aI least anu Alldl ~ lllDAf AAAciA NAANg
ask for. although there is a certain
amount of grUmbling to be heard. as
usual among a certain undesirable
class.
A stiff complaint was heard during
the morning from several indignant
miners who had been refused break
fast by a certain OfficiOus mining boss
who was for a time in charge Of the
station. When Mayor Luft arrived he
dispensed with the services Of the
aide" and smOothed matters over to
the satisfaction of ALL
To will be but a short while before
some Of the most substantial Mercur
firms are i'm temporary quarters, ready
for business. The town was full of
drummers after the arrival Of tOday's
train. Manager Marshall of the Union
Mercantile company has a force OF
men tonight engaged in moving a
frame building up town from the West
dip and Immediately 10 viii be stocked
with groceries. The Mercur Meat
company viii resume business at once
and Ben Steinman, the ClOthier. viii
open a grocery i'm a tent tomorrow.
Others will get ready for business as
quickly as possible. Each and every
one of the firms designated win re-
build, but with more substantial ma
tcrial than timber.
Mercur Will Be Rebuilt.
Considerable alarm was caused this
morning by the report that c. J.
Schmidt. a ledger in the Oquirrh hotel
met death in the flames. That he was
missing from town was an undeniable
fact a brief investigation developed
The fact that he had taken the train
Tor Salt Lake last night.
The mayors proclamation that no
liquor should be sold on the day and
night OF the fire was generally Obeyed.
Twenty special police patroled the
ruins last night and no trouble OF any
nature was experienced.
Mayor George Luft, with his sleeves
rolled up to his elbows, a meat axe in
one hand and the other resting on a
quarter of beef was a picture at the
relief station. Between minutes, he
managed to make the following state
mont.
"Nercur viii certainly be rebuilt.
The business is here; the people are
here. the site is here. And while this
has been a terrible blow. the town will
ha uUt up again. beyond an question
o.. doubt. and upon a more subStan-
tisI basis. There may not be so many
hUildinEs-fOr We had more than we
uooded-but 10 viii be a better town.
We were chiefly Handicapped in the
fight against the fire by the intense
heat. more intense than would be the
case ordinarily, because Of the narrow
oonfue Of the canyon. Hundreds car
riei their stock into the street. but IL
was burnt there just as rapidly. The
fire. apparatus got in the lower end
off town to save the building there and
It was impossible to work up the street
later to where the fire was fercest.
When the boys tried it. the apparatus
took fire and practically everything
was destroyed but the hook and ladder
truck and a couple of lengths Of hose.
AN We need is enough provisions to
supply our ira ediate needs, and I am
NOT sure that we haven't enough al
ready. The people have money, but
cannot buy. I only hope that the mer-
chants viii set up temporarily, as they
express their intention of doing, to re-
|eF0 the embarrassment. Luckily there
arc many vacant stores in the I'M
burned section. making temporary es-
JnEshments practicable
Loss to Municipality.
When questioned as to the municipal
Joss. Mayor Luft said it would be diff
..HII 10 estimate the same fully. The
city hail was worth $1,000. with $1,000
insurance. The Jail was not a costly
structure. IL was, by the way, empty
#' the time Of the fire. The city stables,
The board walks all over the town. i'm
iaet, everything owned by the city,
except its records, went ~ i'm smoke.
Even the old fire bell is lying among
The ruins. split open in about the same
manner as the famous liberty he'll
u desire to express, on behalf Of the
citizens. my warmcst thanks and dp-
.iatiOu Of the services Of all who
nave aided I'm the relief work said
Mayor Luft. ITO Governor Wells Mr..
nom M------ --L.---..nn ALr L-i-l,.I